Swanson, Wilson Share More Than lead At Mid-Amateur; Little Leads By One Shot On Women’s Side
Cobble Hill's Brent Wilson, The 2015 PNGA Men's Mid-Amateur Champion, Is Tied For The Lead Going Into The Final Round Of The BC Men's Mid-Amateur At Hyde Mountain GC - Image Courtesy PNGA
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
SICAMOUS -- Brent Wilson and Dan Swanson have more in common than the fact they happen to share the lead heading into Thursday’s final round of the B.C. Mid-Amateur Championship at Hyde Mountain Golf Course.
Swanson and Wilson have also both suffered heartbreak at Storey Creek Golf Course in Campbell River during British Columbia Golf championships.
Way back in 1999, Swanson let a late lead slip away and lost the B.C. Amateur Championship at Storey Creek by one shot to Brad Newman-Bennett. Wilson finished second in the 2011 B.C. Mid-Amateur Championship at Storey Creek when Corey Renfrew beat him on the last hole.
So Swanson and Wilson have both come so close to a provincial championship they could almost taste it. They’d obviously like to finally seal the deal Thursday at Hyde Mountain. Wilson, a 36-year-old from Cobble Hill, and Swanson, a 39-year-old Surrey native who now calls Abbotsford home, are two-under par through 36 holes. They have a two-shot lead on Greg Koster of Courtenay.
Wilson fired the low round of the tournament -- a four-under par 68 -- to grab a share of the lead. “I played pretty good, I hit lots of greens in regulation, had lots of birdie putts,” said Wilson, a financial planner with the Royal Bank. “I missed one short birdie putt and had a couple of three-putts at the end of the day, but overall I played pretty well.”
After that close call in 2011 and a third-place finish at a Canadian Mid-Amateur a few years ago, Wilson said a win in a big event would be sweet. “I’d love to win a provincial championship,” he said. To to do that, Wilson will have to avoid the trouble that seems to lurk around every corner at Hyde Mountain. “It is all about avoiding the damage here and keeping your provisionals in your pocket,” Wilson said.
Swanson fired an even-par 72 in Wednesday’s second round and said he felt fortunate the round didn’t get away from him. “It was the furthest thing from an even-par round,” Swanson said. “I was all over the place. I didn’t strike the ball very well today, didn’t putt very well today, but I scrambled very well. And I got some good breaks.”
Swanson has only recently been reinstated as an amateur. He turned pro after a solid collegiate career at the University of Texas-El Paso and also spent time as a club pro. He is now in property management and excited about being in contention at a big golf tournament again. “This is the first time I have played competitive golf in a while,” he said. “I am super-excited. No matter what happens tomorrow I am happy with this week.”
Koster, who won the 2010 B.C. Mid-Amateur at Cowichan Valley Golf Club, fired a two-under 70 that could have been lower. He shot a five-under 31 on the front nine. “I started birdie-birdie and was just striping everything,” Koster said.
“I hit all nine greens, finished birdie-birdie and shot five-under on the front. Sometimes when I get like that I just keep going. I have shot some real low rounds over the years and I thought that maybe today was the day. But it just started to go the other way and then my head got in the way. I fell back to one-under and made a birdie on 17 to get back to two-under.”
The Mid-Amateur competition is open to players 25 and over. The Mid-Master category is for players 40 and over. The 46-year-old Koster has a one-shot lead on Donald Dunford of Kelowna in the Mid-Master competition. Norm Bradley of Kelowna is two shots back.
A very familiar name is leading the women’s competition. Jackie Little, who just last week won her sixth B.C. Senior Women’s title, has a one-shot lead over Christina Proteau in the Mid-Amateur division. Little fired a five-over 77 Wednesday to sit at 13-over par through two rounds.
BC Golf File Photo
A Familiar Face Is Leading At A BC Golf Women's Championship. Jackie Little Goes For Her Fourth Mid-Amateur Title At Hyde Mountain
“I hit the ball better today,” Little said. “I just want to try and concentrate on keeping that swing feel like it did today and what will be will be.”
Little, who has won five B.C. Women’s Amateur championships, will be seeking her fourth Mid-Amateur title. The Procter resident leads the Mid-Master competition by five shots over Alison Murdoch of Victoria and Lake Cowichan’s Karen Kloske.
Proteau, a Crown prosecutor in Port Alberni, fired her second straight 79. “It was totally different than yesterday,” Proteau said. “I don’t know what to say. I started off well again and then I just really lost my swing for a while. Then I parred the last seven holes, so I figured it out.”
Proteau hopes she can take that momentum into Thursday’s final round where she will try and win her sixth B.C. Mid-Amateur title. “It was good to finish that way,” she said. “Jackie and I will have a fun day out there tomorrow. It is always a highlight to play with her.”
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