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Boischatel, July 4, 2023 – Samuel Breton Gagnon captured the victory of the 89th Duke of Kent, on Tuesday, with a smile on his face and the traditional chequered jacket on his shoulders! The Royal Québec golfer is the first representative of the host club to win since 2012.

 

"I've wanted to win this tournament at my home club for many years. I've been dreaming about it for three years. I knew I could do it, but I wasn’t there yet. I'd already come close, so it's really an honour," said Breton Gagnon, one of the four members of the Québec team to take part in this competition. As a matter of fact, these talented players all ranked in the event’s top-10.

 

The eventual winner of the event, aged 19, had a good first day at Boischatel on Monday. He carded a -6 (66), as did his opponent Émile Lebrun of Club de golf Laval-sur-le-Lac, with whom he shared the lead.

 

The defending champion of the event presented in collaboration with belairdirect, Alexandre Mercier (Le Blainvillier) joined in the fun for the final round. He made an eagle on the 11th hole before temporarily stealing first place.

 

The three-way battle continued until the 18th hole, where Samuel Breton Gagnon made his fifth birdie of the day to consolidate his triumph with a cumulative score of 135, nine shots under par.

 

Lebrun (137, -7) and Mercier (138, -6) respectively finished second and third.

 

Samuel Breton Gagnon also won the André Gagné trophy, awarded to the best player coming from the Québec City region, and added a new jacket to his closet.

 

"It was more stressful at the beginning, but I calmed down a bit. I had a lot of support from my caddie, and we just kept going! We worked hard," said the champion.

 

He added by the way that it was his attitude that made the difference on the fairways of Royal Québec, which he is very familiar with.

 

"I never gave up. It didn't start so well, but we managed to find solutions, and we kept on working towards the win.”

 

Sonny Michaud was the last member of the host club to be crowned at the Duke of Kent, an achievement he accomplished in 2012.

 

The Duke of Kent is the second leg of the men's Triple Crown presented in collaboration with belairdirect. The first leg was held last week at the Alexander of Tunis which was won by Olivier Ménard (Summerlea/Québec team). This Tuesday, Ménard finished fifth with a cumulative score of 140 (-4).

 

The third and final tournament in the Triple Crown, part of the Men's Provincial Tour presented in collaboration with belairdirect, will be the Men's Provincial Amateur Championship. A not-to-be-missed event to be held at Les Boisés de Joly from July 24 to 27.

 

In the meantime, the Golf Québec crew will be busy. They will visit the Summerlea Golf and Country Club for the Men’s and Women’s Provincial Mid-Amateur Championship to be held from July 12 to 14. As well, they will be at the Golf Château-Bromont where the best professionals of the PGA TOUR Canada will gather for the Québec Open powered by Vidéotron Business from July 10 to 16. This will be an exciting week of activities including the "Celebrity Pro-Am: The Foundation Challenge powered by Vidéotron Business", the Golf Celebration Day presented by Desjardins, a Junior Skills Challenge, a 4-day fierce competition, and many more!

 

 

The Duke of Kent trophy was first introduced in an invitational tournament held on Saturday, June 22, 1935. This event was sanctioned by the Golf Association of the Province of Québec and won by Gordon B. Taylor of Kanawaki, a former Canadian amateur champion. Seven editions of the tournament were held at the Duke of Kent Golf Club before it definitely moved to the Club de golf Royal Québec. Since then, Graham Cooke has set a very high challenge by winning the precious Duke of Kent trophy five times. No one ever got close to this record except for André Gagné, a member of the host club, who captured the title three times (the latest being in 1979). In the new millennium, Lee Curry of Rideau View (2002, 2003), Mathieu Rivard of Royal Bromont (2008, 2009), Raoul Ménard of Pinegrove (2011, 2014) as well as his brother Émile also from Pinegrove (2016, 2018) wrote their names twice on the trophy.

 

The lowest score ever played in the Duke of Kent was the 134 strokes registered by Mathieu Perron of Club Laval-sur-le-Lac in 2013 after two rounds. In the 2000’s, Sonny Michaud is the last member of the Club de golf Royal Québec who won the Duke of Kent in 2012. Keven Fortin-Simard had successfully represented the club in 2007.

 

In honour of a member of the Royal Québec Golf Club who recorded his 50th consecutive participation in the tournament in 2012, the André Gagné Trophy is now awarded to the best player from the Québec City area. During his amateur career, Mr. Gagné participated in 55 consecutive editions of the tournament and saw his name engraved on the Duke of Kent trophy three times, in 1966, 1975 and 1979. He was inducted into the Québec Golf Hall of Fame in 2016.

 

 

 

For more than 60 years, belairdirect has been providing complete car and home insurance solutions direct to the consumer. Belairdirect also provides insurance for motorcycles and off-road vehicles. Products are available in Québec, Ontario, the Maritimes, Alberta, and British Columbia. Belairdirect pushes boundaries by offering inventive products like The Accident Forgiveness. Today, the insurance company offers multiple services on the web to help consumers compare and choose a car and home insurance that’s right for them.

 

belairdirect is an online quote leader with numerous web-based tools to get quotes, including the 3-minute quote app (for car insurance). belairdirect is a subsidiary of Intact Financial Corporation. For more information, visit https://www.belairdirect.com/.

 

 

Founded in 1920, Golf Québec is the provincial sport federation whose mission is to increase participation in golf, to develop excellence in golf, and to promote and govern the game of golf. Golf Québec provides discovery and introduction programs such as First Tee – Premier départ Québec as well as core services such as the Rules of Golf, Course Ratings, World Handicap System, and the Québec Golf Hall of Fame. In addition, Golf Québec conducts regional and provincial championships to bring the local golf enthusiasts to surpass themselves and eventually reach the upper spheres of professional tours. For more information, please visit https://www.golfquebec.org.

 

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Sources:

 

François Roy, Assistant Executive Director

Philanthropy, sponsorships, and communications

514 252-3345, ext. 3392; Cell.: 514 349-4653 – froy@golfquebec.org

 

Diane Bruneau, Competition Coordinator

514 252-3345, ext. 3395; Cell.: 514 809-3053 – dbruneau@golfquebec.org

 

Émilie Bérubé, Marketing, Communications, and Business Partnerships Manager

514 252-3345, ext. 3393; Cell.: 514 463-5229 – eberube@golfquebec.org