On an overcast and sometimes rainy day at Fairview Mountain Golf Club in Oliver, 27 amateur golfers booked their place into the 113th British Columbia Amateur Championship, running from July 14-17.
24 players earned their spots prior to 9 p.m. and after Charles Kim of Meadow Gardens, Luke Redmond of Fraser Valley Zone 3 and Graham Dell played the first hole of a playoff in the darkness, all making bogey, tournament director Susan White announced late Sunday that all three players will be given spots in the tournament which starts on Tuesday morning.
It’s amazing to see golf tournaments growing with new players who have become interested in the game. Clubs similar to Fairview Mountain often try their best to offer their spots to help golfers practice their swing and even offer tips, for example, where to find the best Women’s Golf Driver to help anyone to improve their game.
Donald Qiu of Marine Drive also had qualified for the playoff after shooting (+7) 79, but he was not present for the opening hole of the playoff and was eliminated.
It was a long day for the 42 golfers who played 18 holes for one of the other 24 spots into the main field for the 72-hole event.
One of the happy qualifiers was Simon Fraser University golfer Tony Ko, who shot a (-3) round of 69 to easily make his way into the main field. “It was a solid round and it played very short today,” said Ko. “I’m happy I played well enough. Now I have to continuing playing well in the tournament.”
Ko received some advice from SFU teammate John Mlikotic before the round and used that to his advantage. “On 16, he told me you can’t hit driver there so I hit a hybrid and got it to the top of the hill and I made par there,” said Ko. “I just wanted to get in with a good score and I’m happy I did that.”
Even better for Ko is that he can now join his SFU teammates in their home rented for the tournament. Teammates like Chris Crisologo, Craig Titterington, Alan Tolusso, Kevin Vigna and Mlikotic have known for a while they’re in the tournament and they can now welcome Ko into their home.
As for Monday, Ko has a plan for his practice round. “I need to figure out my lines off each tee, the yardages on my approaches and get a better idea of what I need to do on the greens,” said Ko.
It’s what 26 other qualifiers from Sunday will be doing as well.
Qualifiers on Sunday include:
T1. Tony Ko, Fraser Valley Zone 3 – 69 (-3)
T1. Noah Guise, Pitt Meadows GC – 69 (-3)
3. Nick Guenther, Ledgeview G& CC – 70 (-2)
T4. Jake Hamilton, Uplands GC – 71 (-1)
T4. Tyler Roope, Hazelmere CC – 71 (-1)
T6. Keenan Flemming, Sunshine Coast GC – 72 (E)
T6. Marcus Brown, Hazelmere CC – 72 (E)
T6. Khan Lee, Lab@Northview – 72 (E)
9. Jacob Bland, Sunshine Coast GC – 73 (+1)
T10. Robert Woods – 74 (+2)
T10. Troy Bulmer, Predator Ridge GR – 74 (+2)
T10. Trevor Bloom, Sunset Ranch G&CC – 74 (+2)
13. Harry Bains, Lab@Northview – 75 (+3)
T14. Taylor Burns, Vancouver Zone 4 – 76 (+4)
T14. Joel Veenstra, Smithers G&CC – 76 (+4)
T16. Harrison Clegg, Fraser Valley Zone 3 – 77 (+5)
T16. Nicholas Harriss, Vancouver Zone 4 – 77 (+5)
T16. Andrew Spalti, Shaughnessy G&CC – 77 (+5)
T16. Michael Kennedy, Vancouver Zone 4 – 77 (+5)
T16. Duncan Bohlen, Osoyoos GC – 77 (+5)
T21. James Decker, Point Grey G&CC – 78 (+6)
T21. Andy Kim, Wolfpack – 78 (+6)
T21. Phillip Mak, Marine Drive GC – 78 (+6)
T21. Gavin Ciulla, The Redwoods GC – 78 (+6)
T25. Charles Kim, Meadow Gardens GC – 79 (+7)
T25. Graham Dell – 79 (+7)
T25. Luke Redmond, Fraser Valley Zone 3 – 79 (+7)
Thanks to Kris Jonasson
Executive Director
British Columbia Golf for the info.