TST #10 The Quail Punishes, Bruce Prevails
The Quail at Okanagan Golf Club is the tougher of the club’s two courses — narrow fairways demand precision, and the back nine can unravel even the most disciplined round. On Sunday, players also had to survive the weather. Rain in the morning gave way to sun, and then the wind arrived with enough force to flip tables and launch the registration tent onto the 18th green. It set the tone: survival first, score second.
Through it all, Bruce Kristinson became the season’s second double champion. His card read +1 Gross and -1 Net, but the story was in how he held on. Four birdies on the front sent him to the turn at one under, looking untouchable. Then came the stumble — bogeys on 13, 14, and 15, plus another on 18. The field drew closer, but on 17 Bruce delivered the swing that mattered most, a birdie that locked down Gross and by the slimmest margin, Net. There was no celebration, no theatrics — just the cold precision of a player who delivers when the round demands it.
The heartbreak belonged to Nathan Samaddar. Playing his home course, he had the path laid out. With four holes left, all with strokes, steady pars would deliver the Net title. Instead, the wind that tossed our tent seemed to ride his putter on 17, turning a chance at victory into a three-putt. On 18, needing a par, his iron came up short into the apron. The chip failed to save him, and the bogey run closed his day one shot shy. Later he admitted he’d checked the leaderboard before his approach. Pressure has a way of flipping a home-course advantage into weight.
The Quail offered no safe passage for anyone. Stat sheets showed the par-4 8th as the real villain, chewing up players with a scoring average of 5.55. Even the large contingent of Okanagan GC members — eight guests and another eight Twlv Stix regulars who call it home — found the course gave no favors. One of the few bright spots came from staffer Brendan Blair, who battled the elements to notch a T4 Net. For most, familiarity didn’t help.
Elsewhere, storylines stacked up. Chris Myer and Reid McIntyre both lurked near the top, but neither could reel Bruce in. Vitaly Yaromich added his own twist — flying in from Europe and arriving just ten minutes before his tee time, no warm-up, straight to the first tee — and still finishing T3 Gross. A few late groups faced the worst of the wind, watching promising rounds spin away. Pace of play, once a sore spot at The Quail, was held in check this year — a credit to both players and marshals for keeping the day moving.
The season picture only sharpened. Bruce’s sweep tightened the Net race, his shadow now looming over Evan Koppa’s shrinking lead. Fred Winters, Mark Johnson, Chris Myer, and Adam Kondra all hover within striking distance. In Gross, the pack is six deep, no clear favorite. And waiting at Tower Ranch is Taylor Campbell, champion there two years running. He can’t win the season mathematically, but he can play spoiler in the biggest way.
Fifty-two players went into The Quail. One left with two titles. And with only the Tour Championship left, everything now hangs on Tower Ranch.
