Rain or shine, Lambert’s fine

Kaleb Lambert wanted to go shot-for-shot with Mother Nature.

While the Lorette teen never got the chance to do that, he won’t complain about the end result.

Lambert notched his first victory in a provincial men’s event earlier this week at Golf Manitoba’s Elmhurst Invitational after carding a one-under 70 in the lone round of play. Typically a 36-hole event, the tournament was shortened to one round during the second round due to inclement weather.

“I really wanted to finish all 18 because I love playing in the rain, tough conditions, I love competing against the guys,” said Lambert, who was on the fourth hole when play was called. “Initially, a bit disappointed, but at the end, I mean, there’s nothing I could do, so I just had to take the win, I guess.”

Lambert, a member of the host course, edged his good friend Jordy Lutz by one stroke to claim the title. The result doubled as a dish of revenge for the 19-year-old, who fell to Lutz in the semifinal of Golf Manitoba’s match play championship earlier this month.

“I’m not gonna say I prefer it. Obviously, ideal conditions are nice, but… a lot of people view it as, ‘My game is not gonna be good,’ but I see it kind of as everybody’s playing the same conditions, so I just got to take that as more of a positive view,” he said. “Let’s see what I can do, see if I can take advantage of some guys that are not thinking positively.”

With his win, Lambert secured a quota spot in the 120th Canadian men’s amateur championship that will be played July 28-31 at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club and Rivermead (Club de golf) in Gatineau, Que.

It was a less-than-ideal stat to his winning round, as he opened two-over par through seven holes.

“Nothing was going, nothing was dropping for me. I had a few birdie putts, but didn’t really capitalize, and then I was catching myself missing the green a lot, so just scrambling for par, and then a couple couple bogeys there kind of set me back,” he said.

A great look at birdie from nine feet on the par-3 eighth didn’t drop, and Lambert was almost ready to throw in the towel.

“I was like, ‘OK, man, it’s not gonna be my day. Nothing’s gonna drop,’ but I just stuck to it,” Lambert said. “I mean, I know I can make some birdies. I know I’m a good golfer. So just stayed confident, stayed patient.”

The birdies came in a flurry. Nine, 10, 11 and 13 were all circled on the scorecard as Lambert vaulted back into the mix. A bogey on the par-4 18th ended his round on a sour note, but little did he know, he had done enough.

“I was super happy. I mean, it’s an event that I’ve been invited to for the last four or five years, but I could never play in it. I was always busy or out of town. So it was good to get the win in my first time around, especially at my home course,” he said.

Lambert hopes this victory is the beginning of a fruitful year on the links, as he’s set to attend Chicago State University, an NCAA Division 1 program, this fall. He spent the last two years playing for Barton Community College (Kansas) in the National Junior College Athletic Association.

The step up in class is more than deserving for the Manitoban after a successful stint with the Cougars.

Lambert’s career with the Cougars featured 10 top-10 finishes, including winning and setting a program record in the Barton Invitational last October, with rounds of 68-70-67 to finish 11-under par.

In the spring, he was named to First Team All-Region 6 and earned All-Central District honours.

“I’m stoked. I’m excited to get down there and play against a lot of good golfers,” Lambert said. “I didn’t know how junior college was going to be. It turned out to be some really good competition. So, I’m just excited to see the better competition out there and playing Division 1. I’m looking forward to the two seasons up ahead.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam