Cooper Humphreys Makes It Look Easy With Six-shot Win At B.C. Amateur Championship
Cooper Humphreys Holds The Bostock Trophy After His BC Amateur Victory - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
July 14, 2023 - (PARKSVILLE, BC) - One of the first real clues that Cooper Humphreys might turn into a special player came at the 2019 B.C. Amateur Championship at Big Sky Golf Club in Pemberton when he was just 14 years old.
Humphreys shocked everyone that week when he tied for third. You kind of knew at that point that this was a kid worth watching. He hasn’t disappointed.
Two years after that Big Sky debut, the Vernon resident won the Canadian Juvenile Boys’ Championship for players aged 16 and under. In 2022, he helped the Canadian boys’ team win gold at the Toyota Junior World Cup in Japan and that year also won a gold medal at the Canada Summer Games.
And now his trophy collection has grown once again after Humphreys won the 121st playing of the B.C. Amateur Championship at Morningstar Golf Club. Humphreys put on a ball-striking clinic, winning by six shots, with a 72-hole total of 14-under par.
He closed with a stress-free four-under 68 and never allowed anyone to get close and put any kind of pressure on him. “I had no idea how much I won by,” Humphreys said. “I was just out there playing golf and seeing what happens. This win means a lot. I have always wanted to win this championship. I came close a while ago, so it feels really good to win now.”
Humphreys rebounded nicely after a slow start to the tournament when he opened with a one-over 73. He said remaining patient and knowing the birdies would come were keys to his impressive finish. He closed the tournament with rounds of 67, 66 and 68.
Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf
Cooper Humphreys Gets His Final Round Under Way In The 121st BC Amateur At Morningstar GC In Parksville
“I just realized there are three more days and I don’t want to sound cocky, but I knew if I just stayed patient I was good enough to make some birdies,” he said. “Just realizing that helped me stay patient.”
The fact his dad Scott was also competing at Morningstar made the win extra special. After he completed his round, Scott joined the gallery following his son. “That was cool because he beat me in the first round last year, so I had to beat him this year,” Cooper said.
If there was any doubt how things would end, it was erased early in the final round. Playing partners Dustin Franko of Delta and Denby Carswell of Burnaby both had rough starts to their rounds. After starting the day with a three-shot lead, Humphreys had extended that margin to six shots at the turn.
The real race was for the final two spots on the Willingdon Cup team that will represent British Columbia in the inter-provincial team competition at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, which goes Aug. 7-10 at The Pulpit Club in Caledon, Ont.
Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf
Beach Grove GC Member Jace Minni Finished 2nd And Earned A Spot On BC's Willingdon Cup Team At The Canadian Amateur
Delta’s Jace Minni, whose six-under 66 was the low round of the final round, finished second at eight-under par. The third spot on the Willingdon Cup team went to Delta’s John Morrow, who finished third at four-under par after an even-par 72.
“My dad (Scott Minni) made the Willingdon Cup team when he was about 18, I think, so just to follow in his footsteps feels really good,” said Minni, who is heading into his senior year at Gonzaga University in Spokane. “I know he’s really proud of me and my mother, too. She has been there the whole way, as well, along with my sister.”
Minni was delighted to see fellow Beach Grove Golf Club product Morrow make the team. “Two Beach Grove guys on the team,” he said. “That’s really cool.” Morrow acknowledged thinking about the Willingdon Cup spot as he played his final holes. “Two guys from Beach Grove is special,” said Morrow, who plays his collegiate golf at Seattle University. “I have been playing with Jace since we were 12 or 13 years old.”
On paper, B.C. will be sending an exceptionally strong team to the Willingdon Cup competition. “That’s a really good team,” Humphreys said. “It will mean so much to play on a B.C. team. I love B.C. so much and team stuff is always so much fun.”
Humphreys is a member of Golf Canada’s national junior team and is heading to Oregon State University to play his collegiate golf. But he’s taking a ‘gap year’ first before heading south. “I’m just going to golf for a year,” he said.
Delta’s Russell Howlett, another Beach Grove product, finished fourth at three-under par, while Junsu Im of Langley was fifth at two-under par. The only other players finishing under par were Brock Holland of Victoria and Gavyn Knight of Lantzville, who tied for sixth at one-under.
Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf
BC's Inter-Provincial Willingdon Cup Team From L-R: John Morrow, Cooper Humphreys & Jace Minni
The course was set-up considerably longer —at about 6,900 yards — for the final round. It played tough, but the players took advantage of one hole. The par 3 8th, which was playing about 126 yards, surrendered three holes-in-one on the final day. Comox resident Chris Hazeldine, who was playing in the first group of the day, got the first one.
About three hours later, Holland recorded his ace. North Vancouver’s Hudson LaFayette then quickly followed with a hole-in-one of his own.
A two-man better-ball competition was won by the team of Carswell and Stewart Walker of Whistler. They finished tied with the team of Humphreys and Knight at 27-under, but Carswell and Stewart won it with a better back-nine score in the final round.
A 36-hole Zone competition held during the first two rounds was won by the Zone 5 team of Kevin Carrigan, Alex Cartwright and Holland, all of Victoria. Their score of six-over par was three shots better than the Zone 4 team of Franko, Mackenzie Bickell of Richmond and Dylan Bercan of Vancouver.
Click HERE for complete final scoring.
CHIPS SHOTS: B.C. Sports Hall of Fame broadcaster Bernie Pascall, now a Parksville resident, dropped by to serve as master of ceremonies for the trophy presentations. . .The 2024 B.C. Amateur Championship will be played at Ledgeview Golf Club in Abbotsford.