DAY ONE NOTES
BURNABY — The NCAA transfer portal has created a free-agent frenzy of sorts for collegiate golfers. Following two solid years at Weber State in Utah, Nanaimo’s Matthew Wilson threw his name into the hopper this spring and got plenty of interest.
“The portal opened on June 4 and I put my name in there and had 10 or 20 schools reach out the very first day,” Wilson said in an interview after his first round of the B.C. Amateur Championship at Riverway Golf Course in Burnaby. “There were a lot of stressful phone calls, but I accepted an offer on the first day.”
That offer came from the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, which is resurrecting its golf program after a nine-year hiatus. “A bunch of these rich oil guys came in and donated a bunch of money to get it going again,” Wilson said. “So they had quite a bit of money to put into their program this year to pick up players out of the portal and throw a lot of money at them and get the program started hot.”
Wilson, a former B.C. Juvenile Boys champion, is coming off two solid seasons at Weber State, where he established himself as the school’s No. 1 player. He won a collegiate tourney this past season, added six top-10 finishes and was fourth at his conference championship.
Matthew Wilson Tees Off On Riverway's First Hole In The BC Amateur - BC Golf Photo
Wilson said Tulsa’s offer included a better scholarship as well as some money. He wouldn’t disclose how much. “I think it’s going to be a great time,” he said of the move to Tulsa. We play Southern Hills, a major championship golf course, and a bunch of other private clubs down there. Oklahoma Is a great golfing state.”
Wilson opened the B.C. Amateur with an even-par 71 in Monday’s first round. He had it to four-under at one point in his round. “I felt great on my front nine, which was the back side,” he said. “I was making putts and then kind of just slowed down the rest of the day. I think I was a little fatigued. But there are some low scores out there. You just can’t shoot yourself out of it in the first round. I’m excited about the rest of the week.”
HOME COURSE ADVANTAGE: It’s safe to say that no one in the field for this week’s 124th playing of the B.C. Amateur Championship knows Riverway Golf Course as well as Burnaby native Denby Carswell. “I always joke that whenever I am no No. 14 I am closer to my house than my car,” Carswell said. “I definitely feel like this is a home-course advantage for me.”
As a Riverway neighbour, Carswell literally grew up on Riverway’s fairways. “There was a time when I played here three times a week over the summer,” Carswell said. “I figure I have played here at least 200 times.” Carswell was disappointed he didn’t take advantage of his intimate knowledge of the course. He opened the tournament with a three-over 74.
Former SFU Men's Golf Team Member Denby Carswell Is Heading South To Western Washington - BC Golf Photo
“Not the outcome I was hoping for,” he said. “I left a lot out there today, so that means there’s a lot out there for me tomorrow. That’s my mindset. I know this course better than anyone. There’s definitely some low scores out there on this course, I just have to find them.”
Carswell has spent the last four years playing NCAA Division II golf for Simon Fraser University. He’s finishing his communications degree this summer and is heading to Western Washington University in Bellingham this fall to pursue a graduate degree in energy policy and will play his final year of collegiate golf for the Vikings.
“This a good place to start a new chapter for me,” he said. “I am excited for what is to come next year. I am grateful for the opportunity SFU gave me.”
SOLID START: Kris Yardley was a once a regular B.C. Amateur Championship participant. That seems like a long time ago for the Maple Ridge native, who is now 53. “I have not played in this since the 1990s,” Yardley said after opening the event with a one-under 70.
“I decided to play it this year because it’s local and I have been playing better. The kids are getting older so I have had time to play and practice. I just thought I’d take one last kick at the can and see what I could do.”
Kris Yardley Is Back Competing In The BC Amateur After Over Twenty Years Absence - BC Golf Photo
Yardley recently joined the new Surrey Police Service after a lengthy stint with the RCMP. “When I first joined the RCMP I was working in Burnaby so we’d come here after a work a little bit,” said Yardley, who was part of B.C.’s winning team at this year’s Lamey Cup competition at Victoria Golf Club.
“So I remember the course. “I just stayed out of trouble today. I had three birdies and two bogeys. I was pretty cautious today. I probably could and should have been a little bit better. Anything under par today is a good. I didn’t realize it was as good as it was until I looked at the leaderboard.”
DAY TWO NOTES
Roxburgh Keeping Score At B.C. Amateur; Nathan Szpakowicz Heading To Howard From Hawaii; Mal Hagan Records First Ace Of Tournament
BC & Canadian Golf Legend Doug Roxburgh Helps With Scoring At Riverway GC During The 124th BC Amateur - BC Golf Photo
Doug Roxburgh wanted to play in this week’s B.C. Amateur Championship. He really did. The 74-year-old still has the competitive drive that helped turn him into a British Columbia golfing legend. What he does’t have is the length to handle Riverway Golf Course, the site of this week’s 124th playing of the B.C. Amateur. Especially from the tips.
“I like the golf course, I mean it’s a really good test, and I’ve played it many times,” Roxburgh said of the Burnaby layout. “But my game just isn’t up to it. The course is just too long for me.” Riverway is being played at nearly 7,000 yards at this week’s championship and Roxburgh just doesn't have that kind of firepower in his arsenal. So instead of playing this week, the 13-time champion is volunteering at the tournament.
On Tuesday, he was working at one of the scoring tables. Most of the competitors weren’t even born when Roxburgh won his last B.C. Amateur in 1996. But many recognized him when they sat down to sign their scorecards. “He’s a living legend,” said Nanaimo’s Manpreet Lalh, who plays his collegiate golf at the University of B.C. “It’s so great to have him out here.”
Roxburgh is coy when asked if he has played his last B.C. Amateur. He has a lifetime exemption into the event. “You know, I hope not, but I probably have,” he said. “We’ll see.” Roxburgh is still playing lots of competitive golf. He played recently in the Mission Senior Amateur and last week teed it up in the annual Ogopogo tournament at Kelowna Country Club. He still has plenty of game.
He is playing in the B.C. Senior Men’s Championship later this month at Crown Isle Golf Resort in Courtenay. He is a five-time winner of that event. “I still play two or three times a week,” said Roxburgh, a longtime member of Marine Drive Golf Club. “And I hit balls on some of the other days I don’t play. I still love to compete.”
This is far from the first time Roxburgh has volunteered at British Columbia Golf or Golf Canada events. He and his wife Lorna frequently help out at tournaments. He acknowledges coming out to the B.C. Amateur brings back many great memories. Those memories are not so much about his 13 wins, but rather the many friends he has made along the way.
He last played in the event at the 2022 championship at Christina Lake Golf Course, where the then 70-year-old fired a five-under 67 in the third round. “I have met so many great people,” he said. “Not just players, but the volunteers, the club pros, the pro shop staff, the food and beverage staff at all of the clubs we have gone to over the years,” he said.
Roxburgh had high praise for Riverway, which is regarded as one of the best municipal courses in the country. He is confident it will produce a worthy champion this year. “Seriously, along with Shaughnessy, it is probably the second best championship test in the city,” he said. “I mean it’s got the length, it’s a great layout and it’s really a good test.”
ACE ALERT: The tournament’s first hole-in-one was recorded in Tuesday’s second round by Mal Hagan of Abbotsford. Hagan, who plays out of Ledgeview Golf Club, used a pitching wedge to ace the 153-yard par 3 11th hole. “It landed a little short and trickled right into the hole,” said Hagan. It was his sixth hole-in-one, but first in serious competition.
Ace Maker Mal Hagan Of Abbotsford - BC Golf Photo
HEADING EAST: Nathan Szpakowicz is saying aloha to the University of Hawaii. After two years at Hawaii, the Vancouver native is transferring to Howard University in Washington, DC. “Hawaii was awesome,” he said. “The weather was great, the courses were fun, the schedule was good, it was a fun time.” So why leave? “I just wanted to compete a little bit harder,” he said.
“Playing in the NCAA regionals is a big goal for me. I just wanted to go somewhere where I was going to get pushed a little bit more. It will be a big change of scenery.”
Nathan Szpakowicz Tees Off On Day 2 of The BC Amateur At Riverway GC in Burnaby - BC Golf Photo
Szpakowicz also acknowledged there were some financial incentives to transfer to Howard. “I entered my name in the transfer portal on June 4 and it happened pretty quick,” he said. “The money was nice, the coach was great, the schedule was solid. The transfer portal has changed college golf. It’s interesting because if you play well you can figure something out and maybe find a new home.”
Szpakowicz is playing well at this week’s B.C. Amateur. He shot a four-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round and sits at three-under par through 36 holes. That is three shots behind co-leaders Alex Zhang of Richmond and Ryan Vest of Vernon.
DAY THREE NOTES
The tee on the ninth hole at Riverway Golf Course was moved up to make it a driveable par 4 for those who wanted to gamble in Wednesday’s third round of the B.C. Amateur Championship.
Lots did, with mixed results.
The hole was playing about 280 yards into a slight breeze. The green is fronted by a hazard so coming up short was not an option. Tiger Xie of Surrey did not hesitate when he stepped up to the tee. “I really didn’t have to think about it,” Xie said. “I carry my driver about 280 or 285 yards, so it was pretty much a perfect number for me.”
His tee ball flew straight toward the hole and rolled about 40 feet past the pin. “As soon as I hit it I thought it was going to be good,” Xie said. His putt was even better. It was a downhill slider that dropped into the centre of the cup for an eagle.
Tiger Xie Eagled The Par 4 Tenth At Riverway GC In Round 3 of The BC Amateur - BC Golf Photo
Victoria’s Luke Bernakevitch, one of Xie’s playing partners, also hit the green. The big-hitting Bernakevitch only needed a three-wood to drop his drive on the front of the green. He just missed his 20-foot eagle putt and tapped in for birdie.
Nanaimo’s Manpreet Lahl was laughing as he walked off the ninth green after a miracle par of sorts. Lahl pulled his tee shot into the hazard and had to walk back into the fairway to play his third shot. His wedge landed short, just rolling onto the front of the green. Lahl then drained a lengthy putt for his four.
“Easy par,” Lahl said with a laugh as he headed for the 10th tee. Vernon’s Ryan Vest, who enters Thursday’s final round one shot out of the lead, decided not to gamble. Vest laughed when he acknowledged he hit a nine-iron off the tee followed by a nine-iron approach. He then proceeded to drain his long birdie putt. “So my strategy worked,” he said.
THE EAGLE HAS LANDED: Meanwhile, an eagle of a different sort was causing chaos on the par 4 fourth hole. Vancouver’s HongZhao (Thomas) Xiu had played his second shot into Riverway’s par 4 fourth hole and was walking toward the green. His ball had settled just short-right of the green and as Xiu approached his ball, he watched as it disappeared.
HongZhao (Thomas) Xiu's Eagle Encounter Was Of A Different Variety - BC Golf Photo
An eagle had dropped out of the sky, grabbed the ball with its talons and took off. “It just snatched it and it flew away with it,” Xiu said after his round. “I never saw it again. That’s never happened to me before. And I’ve never even seen anything like that happen on TV.” After consulting with a British Columbia Golf rules official, Xiu was awarded a free drop. “I made an up and down par,” Xiu said. With an assist from an eagle.
TOUGH TEST: The par 5 fifth hole is playing as a par 4 this week for B.C. Amateur Championship participants. Not surprisingly, it has played as the toughest hole through the first three rounds of the tournament. The 490-yard hole has played to a stroke average of 4.53. The easiest hole through the first three rounds has been the par 5 13th hole, which has played to a stroke average of 4.83 and yielded nine eagles and 132 birdies.
Click HERE to see Brad's final round championship article.