Tina Papatolis Carries Three-shot Lead Into Final Round Of B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship; Richmond’s Mike Aizawa Leads Men’s Mid-Amateur
Tina Papatolis Is The Leader After Two Rounds Of The BC Women's Mid-Amateur - BC Golf Photo
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
HARRISON MILLS — Tina Papatolis wasn’t about to let a horrible ending to her round spoil what she had accomplished the previous 17 holes.
Papatolis, a Canadian who now lives in the Seattle suburb of Issaquah, arrived at the 18th tee at Sandpiper Golf Course one-under for her round. But after driving her tee ball left into the trees and then dunking her third shot into the pond fronting the green, she had to settle for a triple-bogey seven.
Still, her two-over 74 is the low score posted through two rounds of the B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master Championships. And it gave Papatolis a three-shot lead heading into Thursday’s final round. The event is being held concurrently with the B.C. Men’s Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master Championship.
“I kind of came undone a little bit at the end there, but that’s okay,” said Papatolis, who is nine-over through 36 holes. “We’ll move forward. We had a great group today and had lots of laughs. I’ll get past this.”
Papatolis, a Toronto native, spent about 15 years in the Lower Mainland before moving south. She played softball at Simon Fraser University before catching the golf bug. She plays as much tournament golf as she can every spring and summer.
“I try to play as many tournaments as I can just to expose myself to different courses, different greens, different grasses and all that. The more experience I get playing competitive golf, the more you learn about your game and what you need to do to improve. I just really enjoy that and the camaraderie is great.”
Papatolis hopes Thursday’s final round can be fun as well, although she knows it brings some extra pressure. She feels like she has a good feel for what is required to have success at Sandpiper. “You have to hit your spots off tees and just be smart and not try to be overly aggressive,” she said. “And if I can keep that going and avoid the big mistake like the one I made on 18 today I think I’ll be around at the end.”
Papatolis has a three-shot lead on former Mid-Am champion Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay. Stouffer’s three-over 75 in Wednesday’s second round included an eagle on the par 5 15th hole. “I kept the ball in play today,” said Stouffer, who wasn’t pleased with her opening round of 81. “I didn’t have any doubles, I had two doubles yesterday. I just need some putts to drop.”
Emory Bardock of Chilliwack is third at 14-over, two shots behind Stouffer and five back of Papatolis. The Mid-Amateur division is for players aged 25 and over. Papatolis and Stouffer are also one-two in the Mid-Master division which is for players aged 40 and over.
Image Courtesy PNGA
Mike Aizawa Leads The Mid-Amateur Men's Division After Two Rounds
On the men’s side, Richmond’s Mike Aizawa fired a four-under 68 to grab the overall Mid-Am lead at four-under par. Aizawa had six birdies and two bogeys in his round. “The course was a lot more gettable today,” Aizawa said. “It was set up a little shorter and it felt like the pins were a little friendlier.”
Aizawa said it also helped to be paired with Summerland’s Nathan Ward, who fired a tournament-low six-under 66 on Thursday. “We were just kind of feeding off each other,” Aizawa said. Aizawa has a one-shot lead on Vancouver’s Andrew Robb, who shot a three-under 69 on Thursday.
Robb bounced back from a lacklustre front nine to shoot 31 on the back side. He played the last 12 holes six-under par. “I didn’t start very quickly,” Robb said. “But I just plugged away and kept with it and finally started to make some putts.” Ward and Victoria’s Alex Cartwright are tied for third at two-under par.
Victoria’s Gary Pike leads the Men’s Mid-Master division. Pike, who shot a 74 Wednesday, sits at two-over par through 36 holes. That’s three shots better than Walter Kraakman of Mission.
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CHIP SHOTS: Langley’s Ryan Saran aced the 127-yard par 3 seventh hole. . .The men’s leaders will tee off at 2:30 p.m. Thursday. The final women’s group goes at 2 p.m.