NORTH VANCOUVER — Mike Aizawa picked a bad time to hit what he called his worst putt of the day. The Richmond resident was staring at a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th green with a chance to win the Canadian Mid-Master Championship at Seymour Golf & Country Club.
Make it and he likely wins outright. Two-putt and it’s probably a playoff.
Instead, Aizawa three-putted for bogey after leaving his first putt seven feet short. He finished one shot behind winner Derek Dalziel of London, Ont.
“It was just a complete mis-read,” Aizawa said. “I thought it went up the hill and then went down and broke quite a bit right. It was completely off line, it was my worst putt of the day. I left it seven feet short on like a 20-foot putt. It was just a bad read.”
His seven-footer for par ran past the edge of the cup, ending his chances for a national championship. “I hit the second one too firm,” he said. “The line was good, but I hit it three or four feet by.”
Aiazawa had put himself in great position when he rolled in a 30-foot putt for birdie to put himself in the lead at seven-over par for the tournament. Dalziel, playing in the group behind Aizawa, also birdied 17 to get to seven-over.
Aizawa didn’t check the scores online until late in his round. He knew what he had to do on the par 5 18th. “I knew I had to at least make par here,” he said. “I played the hole how I wanted to. My wedge shot was a little short, but 20 feet for birdie is usually pretty good. Just not a good first putt.”
Dalziel deserves some credit. After a rough start to his round, he birdied three of his final six holes. Mike Landrey of Hanwell, N.B. finished tied or second with Aizawa.
The Mid-Master competition for players aged 40 and older was part of the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship, which is open to players aged 25 and older.
Delta’s Dustin Franko was in or around the lead all week in the Mid-Am Championship and had a chance to force a playoff on the final hole. Franko was trailing Charles Fitzsimmons of King, Ont., by one shot heading to the final hole.
After Fitzsimmons missed his long birdie attempt on 18, Franko had a 12-footer for birdie that would have forced a playoff. He started the putt exactly where he wanted to. “It was 12 feet downhill, it was outside left and it just didn’t move,” Franko said. “I might have hit it a foot too hard.”
After Franko’s missed birdie attempt, Fitzsimmons tapped in his short putt for his third Canadian Mid-Amateur championship. He finished the 72-hole championship at one-over par, one shot ahead of Franko and two better than North Vancouver’s Taylor Durham. Wyatt Brook of Kamloops and Kyle Gordon of Whitby, Ont., tied for fourth at four-over par.
“Nothing but positives,” Franko said. “It was a good week. The game felt better and better as the week went on.” Franko, who played his collegiate golf at the University of Hawaii-Hilo, has plans to turn pro but will remain an amateur until he goes to PGA Tour Americas qualifying school next spring.
Seymour, meanwhile, once again proved to be a stern test for an elite field. No one finished under par. It also played tough in 2022 when it co-hosted the Canadian Amateur. “Those pins were gnarly all week,” Franko said. “It was plenty tough. The Canadian Am gave me a good idea of what to expect. That was pretty tricky as well.”
Fitzsimmons is just the fourth player to win three Canadian Men’s Mid-Ams. “Still processing the win, it feels great,” Fitzsimmons said. “Today was a real challenge, Dustin played solid and he and I were going back and forth, it was just pressure-filled for every moment and a really good challenge. My game’s been close all summer and to be able to get the win here is really special.”
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CHIPS SHOTS: Aizawa tied for 10th in the Mid-Am competition. Other British Columbians inside the top 20 included James Fehy of Vancouver (T13) and Brad LePage of Surrey and Evan Holmes of Vancouver (both T15). . .Kris Yardley of Maple Ridge and Oliver Tubb of North Vancouver tied for seventh in the Mid-Master division. Michael Kennedy of North Vancouver and Victoria’s Craig Doell tied for 10th.