Contenders Ready To Tackle Fairview Mountain For British Columbia Amateur
Roy Kang, Left, And Ziggy Nathu, Relax On Sunday Before Getting Ready To Compete For The British Columbia Amateur Title At Fairview Mountain Starting Tuesday - Image Credit Alfie Lau
by Alfie Lau
As the field comes into focus for the 113th British Columbia Amateur Championship at Fairview Mountain, it’s clear the best young golfers in the province and beyond will be fighting tooth-and-nail to be holding the Bostock Trophy on Friday afternoon.
The marquee grouping will be going off the 1st tee at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday and features defending champion Jordan Lu, reigning BC Junior Boys Champion Jake Scarrow and 2014 BC Junior Boys Champion Keaton Gudz.
Going out 10 minutes before this group is another group of champions, including reigning BC Mid-Amateur Champion Jordan Belton, defending BC Senior Champion and 49-time participant (and 13-time winner) of the BC Amateur, Doug Roxburgh, and Craig Doell, a perennial club champion at the Victoria Golf Club.
Not to be overlooked is Zaahidali (Ziggy) Nathu, who starts on the first tee at 2 p.m. Nathu shot rounds of 65 and 66 during Round 2 and 3 of the BC Junior Boys at Osoyoos, but a final round to forget saw Nathu caught by Scarrow for the title.
But an upbeat Nathu will be looking to avenge that defeat, as his preparation for Fairview included caddying for a friend, Ali Ladak, during Sunday’s supplemental qualifier. “I relaxed on Saturday in Penticton, no golf at all,” said Nathu. “And I wanted to walk the course today and plan for my practice round.”
Nathu had time to talk with friend and competitor Roy Kang, who finished T11 at last week’s BC Junior Boys and will hope to improve on that in a feature 9:30 a.m. 10th tee grouping with Henry Lee, who finished fourth last week in Osoyoos, and one of Canada’s top-ranked mid-amateurs, Royal Colwood’s Kevin Carrigan.
Last year’s runner-up, Michael Belle of Burnaby and the Vancouver Golf Club, will try to go one spot better starting at 9:20 a.m. off the first tee. Two other names to watch are Team Canada Development Team players Patrick Murphy and AJ Armstrong, both from Alberta.
Murphy, a Calgary native playing out of the Glencoe Golf & Country Club, is out at 12:40 p.m. off the first tee and after playing a practice round on Sunday, said he’s looking forward to challenging BC’s best amateurs and testing his game. He’s already discovered that each of the greens has subtle breaks and reading a 20-foot putt is easier than a four-footer because of the amount of break by the hole.
image courtesy fairview mountain gc
The Par 5 11th Hole At Fairview Mountain Features An Elevated Green Guarded By 3 Pot Bunkers
Armstrong, from St. Albert, just outside of Edmonton, is out at 1 p.m. off the first tee and will be hoping to best his future Washington State colleague, Zach Anderson. Anderson, fresh off winning the Cowichan Open and his freshman year at WSU under coach Garrett Clegg, will be starting out on the 10th tee at 8:30 a.m., alongside a local favourite, Thierry Martine of Fairview Mountain.
Martine knows the course as well as anybody and during Sunday’s practice round before his normal shift in the pro shop, made five birdies in nine holes, many of which came from big drives and tight wedges to kick-in birdie range.
The 72-hole British Columbia Amateur at Fairview Mountain runs from July 14-17. While a full field of 156 will tee it up for the first 36 holes, a cut to the top 70 and ties, along with the top 5 best ball teams, will be made after the second round of play.
There is also a Zone Team competition, where four person zone teams selected by their zones will be conducted over the first two rounds, with the best three of four scores counting each day.
British Columbia Golf has a total of 42 quotas to the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship to be contested at the Weston G & CC and Lambton G & CC, Toronto, beginning August 10.
For full scores from the 113th British Columbia Amateur click here starting Tuesday
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