Colwyn Abgrall is the 2017 Manitoba Match Play champion.

The 20-year-old Niverville product defeated Jay Doyle 4 & 2 in the 36-hole final this past Saturday at the Niakwa Country Club in Winnipeg.

"It's a great feeling to get some redemption," said Abgrall. "I was in the final last year and wasn't really prepared for that. This year I came prepared, came ready to play and it paid off. It's a great honour to be the 2017 Match Play champion."

Abgrall lost the 2016 final to Travis Fredborg of Pine Ridge at Elmhurst and that was a huge motivating factor this time around when he faced Doyle in the final.

"I made some really clutch putts and another important factor was my mental preparedness," said Abgrall. "He (Doyle) had the home course advantage. He had some fans watching him and his buddies were wearing the Jay Pride shirts. Just being able to block that out, that's really what helped me coming down the stretch."

Abgrall, who fired rounds of 75 & 73 at the qualifier in Morden and finished in a tie for fifth with Doyle, defeated Jacob Armstrong of St. Boniface 2 &1 and Aaron Ryback of Breezy Bend 3 &1 in his first two matches which were held at Teulon.

The championship then moved to Niakwa where Abgrall set foot on the property for the first time when he faced Tyler Nahorny of St. Charles in the quarterfinals.

"It was definitely a shock to the system having not seen the course and coming in there cold," Abgrall said. "The night before I was making notes here at work and the preparedness I had paid dividends."

Abgrall defeated Nahorny 4 & 3 and advanced to his second straight Match Play final by beating Justin McDonald of Breezy Bend 1-up in the semifinals.

"Four out of my five matches, I lost the first hole but my bounce back stats throughout the entire tournament were phenomenal," said Abgrall. "I'd lose the first hole and I'd get it right back. I made a birdie putt on the second hole actually in the final and that's sort of what settled me in there. After that I just took control and didn't look back."

"It's definitely a grind," added the 2017 Manitoba Match Play champion. "We played three different golf courses over the course of the event. Being able to adapt to each course and the conditions, the weather - it's a big mental aspect of the game. Seven rounds, five guys...it was a marathon that's for sure."

And to have the title of Manitoba champion on his resume.

"It's obviously a great honour," said Abgrall who is returning to Arizona this August to complete his final semester at Scottsdale Community College. "There's lots of history with any golf tournament like that. You look at a guy like Aaron Cockerill. Back-to-back champion and just finished in the top 10 at the Mackenzie Tour event in Victoria. It's good to have a role model like that. It's a great honour and lots of history to go with that tournament. I'm glad to have my name on there."