Graham Frey was triumphant in the One Club Wonder golf tournament at the Mountain View Golf Club on Saturday.

Frey, who masquerades as the assistant golf professional with the club in his spare time and shot a respectable 86, managed to squeak out a narrow one-stroke victory over clotheshorse Dan Moore.

The normally taciturn Moore was not disappointed with the result as he gloried in avoiding having to don the dreaded yellow sweater that, reminiscent of the Masters green jacket, goes to the victor.

Barry Davidson, a perennial presence in this fabled event, shot an 88 to come in third overall. Being a bit of a sandbagger, Davidson tied for low net score with Richard Zral, a golfer of some note. The two of them had net scores of 73, matching the second lowest in league history.

Matthew Sills maintains the distinction of having shot the round of the century with a net 67 in 2005. It is doubtful that will ever be matched. Certainly not by Sills himself, who grabbed the red lantern this year with a gross score – an apt description – of 123.

A bit of a digression there.

Getting back to the tie for low net, the winner was decided by a putting contest.

Davidson, for some unknown reason, was able to nestle up to the flag on all three holes to take the victory. Zral, appreciative of Davidson's efforts, was heard to exclaim after one such shot: "What a putz!”

The Mountain View Golf Course was in superb shape for the tournament courtesy of the efforts of Derek Wirth, course superintendent. Wirth, last year's winner of the low net championship, has honed his game a bit and, having trimmed his handicap by two strokes, lost out on a tie this year by exactly that much. His work with the greens, making them as fast as the paved cart paths, made him the subject of many a frown and some colourful phraseology from the record field of 41 golfers.

Frey took down some notable names including last year's champion Jeff Wiggins, who is also the director of golf/head golf professional at Mountain View.

Other players of note who clearly did not bring the A games were four-time champion Vic Istchenko and Blaine Tessier, a three-time winner. With reference to gross totals, Wiggins and Tessier placed fourth and fifth and Istchenko tied for sixth with Wirth.

What was especially remarkable about Frey's attainment of this pinnacle of golfing achievement was that he had performed at such a stellar level while battling a severe case of the stomach flu. But he stuck with it throughout the day and it was only at the conclusion that the frailty of his constitution became apparent. This earned him the usual outpouring – another apt expression – of sympathy from his fellow competitors.

This was the 15th annual One Club Wonder and, in the style of a pro-am event, featured a record 41 players with handicaps ranging from zero to 30. As its title suggests, participants are restricted to one club which must be used for every purpose – driving, iron shots, putting and, if necessary, as a bottle opener.

The tournament, which was first played on the back nine by seven players in 1996, has grown to the current 41 players playing the full 18 holes. The gross and net scores have not changed markedly over that time, although the average gross score leapt to 104 this year from 101 in the 2010 event.

The average net score remained the same as last year's at 86, which may reflect the attention that some players had been paying to padding their scores in the handicap system during this past season.

– Article courtesy of Nat Stremy