Roxburgh Keeping Score At B.C. Amateur; Nathan Szpakowicz Heading To Howard From Hawaii; Mal Hagan Records First Ace Of Tournament
BURNABY — 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.”
BC And Canadian Golf Legend Doug Roxburgh Gives Back To The Game By Doing The Scoring At Riverway GC During The 124th BC Amateur
BC Golf Photo
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.