Eric Prokopowich has always been a fierce competitor on the golf course, but there's something about tournament golf that gets the Dauphin junior that much more into the game.
Earlier this summer, Eric qualified for the 32 man field at Golf Manitoba match play championships where he lost a tight battle in his round of 32 match. Throughout the summer, Prokopowich has also been playing on the Maple Leaf Junior Tour, a circuit that has a few different age levels and it welcomes the top junior golfers from across Manitoba.
The Tour has officially ended its Manitoba circuit for the summer and Eric has a ton of confidence heading into next summer after another solid performance. Playing in the junior boy's division, Eric shot a first-round, 73, playing at the Transcona Golf Club. He would fire one better than that on day two with a 72, the lowest score of the day by any competitor. In the end, Eric would finish in a tie for second behind Jacob Armstrong who won Golf Manitoba's junior championships last season.
"It was great ending the year on a good note. It was my goal to win the tournament, but I was really happy with the second-place finish, and I'm glad that I played well," he said.
The second-place finish turned out to be Eric's second of the summer. He also finished runner-up at an MJT event at the Carman Golf Club earlier this month and he also finished in a tie for second in the Order of Merit standings with 217.5 points with Armstrong topping things with 300 points.
So not only did Eric place second in two events this month and finish second on the Order of Merit list, but he also executed a perfect shot. Playing the par 3, 14th hole in Transcona which measures 171 yards, Eric took his 7-iron and ended up acing the hole for his second hole-in-one in two years. He also made an ace last year playing at the Tamarack Tournament on the 17th hole.
"It's certainly important to get one in a tournament because it gave me a couple of strokes on the field," said Prokopowich. "My playing partner said it was looking good, it went towards the hole and we saw it disappear. Everyone congratulated me and my dad was there as well, so it was super special that I was able to get that done."
Next up for Prokopowich is club championship at the Dauphin Lake Golf Club.
