Roxburgh Survives Late Double-Bogey Retains Two-Shot Lead At B.C. Senior Men’s Championship
Don't Look Now But Doug Roxburgh Is In Position To Win Yet Another BC Provincial Title At Myrtle Point GC in The Senior Mens Championship - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)/British Columbia Golf
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
POWELL RIVER -- Doug Roxburgh had just stuck his approach to the 10th green inches from the cup for his third straight birdie when one of his playing partners joked about having to try and find a way to slow him down.
“I’m going to do a Nancy Kerrigan on him,” deadpanned Pemberton’s Lance Lundy. For a while, it looked like it might take a 7-iron to the knees to stop Roxburgh in the second round of the B.C. Senior Men’s Championship at Myrtle Point Golf Club in Powell River.
The 13-time B.C. Amateur Championship winner, who is seeking his third B.C. Senior crown, was dialed in. He was striping all of his drives down the middle of the fairway and firing his irons directly at the flag.
But a sloppy bogey on the par 4 11th and a par on the short par 5 12th, where he was just in front of the green in two, slowed down Roxburgh. He didn’t make any more birdies the rest of the way and settled for an even-par 72.
Nothing much changed Wednesday. Roxburgh, at one-under par through 36 holes, still has the same two-shot lead he had entering the second round, and Burnaby’s John Gallacher, another two-time B.C. Senior Men’s champ, is still the closest pursuer.
Lundy is alone in third at three-over after a one-over 73 on Wednesday. Roxburgh, Gallacher and Lundy played together Wednesday and will again in Thursday’s final round. They all had their moments -- good and bad -- in the second round.
Roxburgh made a double bogey on the tough par 3 17th, where it took him two shots to get out of a greenside bunker. He wasn’t bothered as much by that as the fact that he left a lot of his putts short. “I just wasn’t rolling my putts up to the hole,” Roxburgh said. “If I hit them with a little more pace I would have made some.”
Gallacher had pulled even with Roxburgh through 15 holes, but played the final three holes four-over par to shoot his 72. The 17th and 18th holes have been Gallacher’s nemesis. He has played those two holes in six-over par the first two rounds.
On Wednesday, he bogeyed 17 after hitting his tee shot into the sand, and then he doubled 18 after hitting his approach into the pond. “It wasn’t a good finish,” said Gallacher, who also bogeyed the 16th hole. “Same as yesterday. No finish. I can’t seem to play those last two holes. They are difficult and I made bad scores on them the last two days, so that is not too good. But the rest of the day was good. I putted well, I hit a lot of good shots. I was four-under after 15.”
Lundy, meanwhile, had his disaster on the par 5 12th hole, where he hit his tee shot left and had to declare his ball lost. He went on to make double-bogey on what is one of the easier holes at Myrtle Point. “Bad decision on the tee,” Lundy said. “I hit the wrong club. I knew I had the wrong club in my hand and I hit it anyway.”
Lundy recovered nicely when he almost aced the next hole, the short par 3 13th, where he stuck his wedge inches from the hole. “We all had our moments,” Lundy said. “We all had some great holes. The boys were playing good. I was struggling a little more than they were. They were playing great and I had to make a few birdies to climb my way back in there.”
Lundy and Gallacher know Roxburgh won’t be easy to catch. His game seems sharp after a six-week stretch of lots of tournament golf. “Doug’s game is great,” Lundy said. “Doug is Doug. He is a legend and we all look up to him in amateur golf. And Johnny is playing extremely well right now, too.” Asked about his final-round game plan, Gallacher smiled and said: “Don’t screw up 17 and 18. That’s all it is.”
Roxburgh acknowledged after his round that his game is feeling as sharp as it has in quite some time. “I'm driving the ball very good, hitting it very straight with some good distance,” he said. “I didn’t hit too many bad shots at all. I am more or less happy with where the game is right now. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Mission’s Grey Bismeyer is alone in fourth place at five-over par after carding a one-over 73 on Wednesday. Mark Spooner of West Vancouver and defending champion Harry Ferguson of Invermere are tied for fifth at six-over.
Roxburgh, Gallacher and Lundy are 1-2-3 in the Super-Senior Championship for players 65 and older, which is being held in conjunction with the Senior Championship. A two-man best-ball competition is also being contested and the team of Roxburgh and Ferguson lead at 11-under par.
Norm Bradley of Kelowna and Lundy are two back at nine-under. The 36-hole zone competition ended Wednesday with Zone 4 (Delta, Greater Vancouver, Squamish, Sunshine Coast) winning by four shots over Zone 6 (Upper Vancouver Island).
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CHIP SHOTS: Scores were lower Wednesday, with 150 birdies recorded versus just 88 in Tuesday’s first round. . .The long par 4 fifth hole at Myrtle Point is living up to its No. 1 handicap rating. It has been the toughest hole through two rounds, with an average score of 4.92. . .The leaders tee off at 10 a.m. on Thursday. . .The top three finishers will represent British Columbia at the Canadian Senior Men’s Championship, which goes Sept. 11-14 in Montreal.