PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSE FLORKOWSKI
Jesse Florkowski of Medicine Hat poses with the North American One-Armed Golfer Association championship he won Thursday in Shelton, Wash.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Jesse Florkowski is back on top of the North American one-armed golf game.
The 32-year-old Medicine Hat product won his seventh North American One-Armed Golfer Association championship Thursday at the Salish Cliffs Golf Club in Shelton, Wash.
The win marks Florkowski’s seventh title in eight years and first since 2019 after missing two years due to COVID-19.
Florkowski said it was nice being in competition again.
“It was finally exciting to have some competition under my belt, since COVID I haven’t really been playing very much,” Florkowski said. “It’s nice to finally get out there and travel to the States again and defend my title.”
He won the title in the unassisted division of the tournament. The other division allows for golfers to use prosthetics to assist them in their game.
The tournament started Monday with the first of two qualifying rounds. Florkowski shot a one over par 73 in the first round and followed that up with a four under par 68 Tuesday.
When it came to the match play, he said he was two under the first round Wednesday and was one under in the second round. Florkowski finished the tournament playing five rounds in four days as the tournament wrapped up Thursday. He said he was seven under on the front nine after his final round.
Florkowski said the Salish Cliffs Golf Club was great to play at and they lucked out weather wise all week.
“We heard from a couple locals it was pouring for the last few weeks and when we showed up we hoped for the best but it was good,” Florkowski said. “The competition was good, the course was in really good shape. I was happy to take the victory.”
Being one of his first tournaments since COVID-19, Florkowski said there were some nerves as their is for all of his rounds.
“It’s a good thing, it shows that you’re competitive and you’re ready to go when the first ball’s in the air,” he said.
Florkowski was to flew back from Seattle on Friday. His next big tournament is the biggest of his career.
He is off to Pinehurst to compete in the Adaptive Open held by the United States Golf Association on July 18. Pinehurst, located in North Carolina, has hosted a number of prestigious golf tournaments including three U.S. Open Championships, one U.S. Women’s Open, three U.S. Amateur Championships, one PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup.
Florkowski said he hopes the momentum from this tournament carries into the rest of the summer and into Pinehurst.
“Hopefully it propels me into the right direction for the tournament in July,” Florkowski said. “It’s probably the biggest tournament that I’ve participated in. So hopefully the good golf continues and I bring another victory home in July.”
Editors note: An earlier edition of the story stated Florkowski had won six titles in the last seven years, instead he’s won seven of the last eight titles.
