This is a special report filed directly from the Mountain View Golf Course, by Nat Stremy.

Blaine Tessier very nearly lapped the field, in a remarkable 10-stroke victory at the 10th annual One-Club Wonder golf tournament this past Sunday.

Little daunted by the near freezing temperatures and persistent precipitation, Tessier carded an 81 on the challenging Mountain View Golf Course links. This shattered the previous tournament record of 85, set by Buster Davy in last year's near perfect weather conditions.

The remainder of the field could only be thankful for the sodden grounds on Sunday. Otherwise, the diet of dust fed to it by the folliclely challenged Tessier might well have been a physical as well as a metaphorical reality.

Vic Istchenko, a golfer of some renown in previous One-Club tournaments, and Gord 'New' Zealand tied for second with uninspired 91s. Other luminaries like Wayne McLennan, Greg Wagstaff, Michael Brooks and Mark Pike left the scorer's tent with little but bruised egos.

Tessier has been slowly but surely making his mark in local golf circles and, having achieved some success in lesser known events, felt it time to move to a higher level and the true challenge offered by the One-Club event.

He volunteered that 'The game begins to become mundane when you carry 14 clubs that equip you to face any situation that can arise on a course.

'When you make your way to that first tee carrying only one club the magic returns to the game. It, once again, becomes an adventure. It's no longer simply a matter of doing the calculus 'x' number of yards equals 'y' club.

'In the one club, a player can no longer rely only on the rational side. This game demands imagination, innovation, feeling, patience. And, because of that, far more often than in regular game, it allows for the demonstration of great genius and, contrarily, of great failure. It returns us to our true golfing roots and we are the better for it as golfers and as human beings.'

There were many examples of what Tessier so ably articulated. An Al Fozard who found himself in one of those 'zone' moments hitting three perfect six irons and making a three foot putt to birdie the third hole. A Heino Lilles who made a most judicious use of the six iron to sink every makeable putt as well as a few that weren't.

A Michael Brooks who did his own 'Tin Cup' rendition, with a wood in the sand trap on the fifth hole.

Tessier was also undoubtedly mindful of the rewards that come with victory. First, the treasured trophy engraved with names from history names like O'Meara, Griffiths, Istchenko, O'Hara and Davy. And then, of course, the bestowal by the past champion of the yellow sweater. The room always falls silent at this moment, as the grim realization strikes the champion and all present that he will be responsible for the well being of this most dreadful article of clothing for a full year.

There is much more to this tournament than the catering to the elite at the top of the leader board. A prize almost as greatly desired is the trophy awarded to the participant with the lowest net score.

For the second year in a row, the announcement of the winner in this category was an absolute shock. Those of Scottish descent in our midst allowed as to how they were truly 'gobsmacked' when it was revealed that Gary Hewitt had won the day with a net 77.

Although the hirsute Hewitt was quite prepared to take all the credit for this wondrous result, word quickly spread that he had spent much of the year under the careful mentoring of club professional Greg Wagstaff. The path to Wagstaff's door has been much travelled by lesson-seekers seeking their own miracles in the past few days.

Organizers were greatly pleased that 31 of those registered turned out for the tournament and that only 13 stayed home. Those present were unanimous in their assessment of the no shows 'their loss'.

All participants expressed their thanks to the Mountain View Golf Course and its employees for the cooperation and good humour they exhibited throughout both the planning and the playing of the tournament.

So as not to protect the innocent, the complete results, showing gross and net scores, were:

Blaine Tessier, 81(78)

Gord Zealand, 91(79)

Vic Istchenko, 91(84)

Wayne McLennan, 95(82)

Greg Wagstaff, 95(86)

Mark Pike, 96(78)

Michael Brooks, 96(86)

John Kostelnik, 97(85)

Buster Davy, 97(86)

Robb Dunn, 98(85)

Patrick Michael, 100(79)

Brian Love, 100(85)

Don Morrison, 100(88)

Gary Hewitt, 101(77)

Heino Lilles, 101(82)

Peter McPeake, 102(84)

Emile Aubichon, 102(89)

Hugh Carruthers, 103(91)

John Spicer, 104(80)

Wally Hidinger, 104(82)

Matthew Sills, 106(79)

Al Fozard, 107(88)

Barry Mole, 107(89)

Terry Bidniak, 108(93)

Dave Griffiths, 109(95)

Russ Smoler, 111(84)

Terry Weninger, 113(98)

Larry Malchow, 117(99)

Kent Davy, 120(102)

Dave Nugent, 120(102)