Notes and stories from the Championship compiled by BC Golf Staff...
INSTAGRAM POST GETS 5K VIEWS — A post that shows four players challenging Bootleg's tenth hole has been seen more than 5000 times. The "Play a Hole With Me – BC Amateur Edition " asks you to "Join Aneesh, JP, Mack, and Hudson as they take on Hole 10 at Bootleg Gap!" See their smooth swings HERE
THAT FIRST ACE — Maguire Lines finally got his first hole-in-one during Thursday’s third round of the B.C. Amateur Championship—and he made sure to savour it. There were high-fives and celebratory shouts after Lines, a University of Victoria golfer, aced the 150-yard par 3 seventh hole at Bootleg Gap with a pitching wedge. “I’ve scared the hole many times,” he said. “It was nice to finally have one drop. We weren’t sure at first, but it was a good time all around.” The Victoria native grew up at Uplands Golf Club but now plays out of Gorge Vale and is entering his third year with the UVic golf team. See full story HERE
BARRAGE OF BIRDIES: Chilliwack’s Maxim McKenzie had quite the front nine in Thursday’s third round. After bogeying the first hole, McKenzie made six straight birdies, followed by a par and then another birdie for a front-nine 30. “I chipped in on No. 2 to get it going,” McKenzie said. “It just kept going from there. I got pretty cold on the back nine, though.” McKenzie shot a four-under 67 and is tied for eighth at four-under par.
HEADING EAST: Surrey’s Bailey Bjornson is heading to the east coast of the United States to use up his final year of college golf eligibility while pursuing a graduate degree. “I am doing a Masters in business and playing golf down at Charleston Southern University in South Carolina,” Bjornson said. “It’s a long way from home, but I am looking forward to it. It will be a fun experience.” Bjornson played golf for three years at Simon Fraser University before earning his Bachelor of Arts degree. “It has always been a dream of mine to play (NCAA) Division I and play in the southeast, so it will be a cool experience to do that,” Bjornson said. “I have one year of golf and then I will finish my degree after that and walk away with a Masters. It doesn’t get much better than that."
THE EAGLE HAS LANDED: Tournament organizers moved the tee up on the par 4 ninth hole and had it playing about 277 yards. It was driveable for many in the field, but there was lots of risk with water left and trees to the right. Kelowna’s Andrew Rouble made the only eagle of the day. “I ended up on the front fringe, so I probably had a 20-footer coming up the hill,” he said. “I didn’t see much in it so I kind of just hit it right at the cup. It was dead straight.”
EAGLE HAS LANDED #2 : Richmond’s Mackenzie Bickell holed out for eagle on his final hole, the 383-yard par 4 ninth during the second round. Bickell’s 56-degree wedge from 116 yards landed just short of the pin and rolled straight into the cup. Bickell, who just finished his collegiate career at the University of B.C. enters the final round in a tie for 10th.
ZONE BRAGGING RIGHTS: A 36-hole Zone competition was won by the Zone 4 team of Franko, Kassam and Josh Baker of Tsawwassen. They finished at nine-under to win by four shots over the Zone 3 team of Stephen Connor of Kamloops, Hunter Kutcher of Langley and Bailey Bjornson of Surrey.
A WISE PURCHASE: Four years after purchasing Bootleg Gap Golf for $3 million from the City of Kimberley, father Harold and son Trevor Simkins have transformed the course into a booming, family-friendly operation. Bootleg features a championship 18-hole course and a popular Rec 9, with over 35,000 rounds played annually. The club focuses on accessibility, affordability, and community support, including charitable fundraising. See Brad Ziemer's full story HERE
BY THE NUMBERS: Richmond’s Michael Crisologo shot what appeared to be the low round of the tournament, a six-under 65 in round three. This score was then matched by Chilliwack's Maxim McKenzie in the final round... The cut for the Championship was 8-over with 76 players getting to play the final two rounds... After the completion of the final round, 17 players were under par. See all results HERE
BIRTHDAY BOY: Vernon’s Ryan Vest is once again in the thick of a British Columbia Golf championship event. Vest, who turned 19 on Wednesday, shot a one-under 70 and is tied for fifth heading into the final round. Vest finished second in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 B.C. Junior Boys championships and is a past B.C. Bantam Boys champion.