The turnout wasn't as high as anticipated, but the action didn't disappoint at the Mountain View Golf Course club championships this past weekend in Whitehorse.

Competitors in four categories played 36 holes of golf over two days, wrapping up with a barbecue and awards ceremony Sunday evening.

Mike Ridout, the general manager of Mountain View, was pleased with the event, as well as the calibre of competition.

'Men's low gross ... with only five holes to go, there was only a two-shot difference. With the junior boys, the top two were tied going onto the 15th or 16th hole on the second day. So again, it was really close.

'Everybody's getting better.'

On the men's side, Vic Istchenko took a two-shot lead into the final day of competition and managed to hold off young athlete Jeff Hunter for the title victory. Istchenko shot a 75 on the first day, followed by a 76, for a gross of 151.

'That's as good as I've played in two years,' he stated. 'I beat an awesome golfer, Jeffrey Hunter. I've played with him or against him three or four times this year. I had to play my best and get a little lucky sometimes.

'The greens were incredibly fast and the pins were as nasty as they could make them, so it was a good accomplishment for me.'

Istchenko said it wasn't exactly the finish he was hoping for, with three straight bogeys to end it, but he got the job done.

Both he and Hunter shot 76s on Sunday.

Juniors Scott Meredith and Riley Tobin were head-to-head until the end of the second day, when Meredith pulled out the win. He had a gross of 166.

'He's only 12 years old and he's a fairly small young man, but he has a tremendous swing and he's really gutsy,' said Ridout about the junior golfer, who also works at Mountain View. 'He beat Riley, who's 16.'

Meredith recently returned from the British Columbia bantam championships, where he finished in the middle of the back. It was his first tournament outside of the territory, and Ridout believes it was that experience which helped him to victory at the local event on the weekend.

'He really got to see what good play is all about. That certainly helped him.'

Istchenko was also impressed by the play of the youngster, pointing out he had four birdies in a row on Saturday, shooting a 79.

'He was something else. He has a silky smooth, perfect swing. He's going to be an excellent little golfer.'

Meanwhile, the senior men's category was won by Gord Zealand, with a gross of 170. Birgitte Hunter took the ladies' title with a gross of 190.

Results were as follows:

Mens

1st Gross Vic Istchenko, 151

2nd Gross Jeff Hunter, 153

3rd Gross Landon Kulych, 159

1st Net Gareth Howells, 141

2nd Net John Taylor, 143

3rd Net Ken Taylor, 144

Ladies

1st Gross Birgitte Hunter, 190

1st Net Della Demers

Senior Mens

1st Gross Gord Zealand, 170

2nd Gross Bob Morris, 174

1st Net Jim Pollock, 142

2nd Net Harry Kulych, 143

Juniors

1st Gross Scott Meredith, 166

2nd Gross Ian Wintemute, 179

1st Net Riley Tobin, 144

2nd Net Brad Gustafson, 152

Ridout said all of the golfers seemed happy with the course conditions.

The staff at Mountain View is hoping to keep the course open and in good shape right through September.

The fourth and sixth greens at the course are being ripped up and re-built this fall, and will both be as good as new next spring, said Ridout.