Wyatt Brook Goes Wire-to-Wire To Win B.C. Men's Mid-Amateur
Edward Bellrose Takes Mid-Master Title In Golden, B.C.
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
GOLDEN, B.C. (July 18, 2024) - He is only 25, so there could be many more highlights to come, but chances are Wyatt Brook will always remember July 2024 as some of the best days of his golfing life.
“Considering I had one top 10 in a British Columbia Golf event before in my life, this has been a pretty special two weeks,” Brook said after winning the B.C. Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Golden Golf Club.
That win followed Brook’s third-place finish last week at the B.C. Amateur Championship at Ledgeview Golf Club in Abbotsford.
His competitive golf calendar this summer has suddenly become quite busy as the Heffley Creek resident will now represent British Columbia in two inter-provincial team competitions at both the Canadian Men’s Amateur and Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur championships.
Brook went wire-to-wire in Golden. After opening the 54-hole event with rounds of 69 and 68, he had a six-shot lead heading into the final round. Brook didn’t want any drama in his final round and knew that pars would be his friend. Without any of those dreaded “others’ on his scorecard, Brook also knew he would be tough to catch.
For the most part, Brook got his wish, although a couple of late bogeys combined with a late run by Vancouver’s Andy Robb made things interesting. Brook ended up winning by two shots with a three-round total of five-under. “I probably putted the best I have in my entire life until the last three holes,” said Brook, a longtime member at Rivershore Golf Links in Kamloops.
He missed two five-footers for par on the 16th and 17th holes and then lipped out a four-foot putt for birdie on the 18th green. After checking the scoreboard on his phone after the 11th hole and seeing he was still up by five, Brook didn’t look again until he was on the 18th hole. Robb was playing in the group in front of him.
“He kind of tore it up on the back nine and I was definitely looking coming up 18,” Brook said. “When I saw him make birdie, I was like, okay, a double (bogey) for a playoff. I really wanted to make my four-footer for birdie on the final hole. I pretty much lipped out three straight on the last three holes.”
But before that, Brook’s putter was his friend. “I can probably count 10 or 15 par putts from 10ish feet that I made this week,” he said. “That definitely helps the old scorecard.”
B.C Men's Mid-Master Champion Edward Bellrose - BC Golf photo
While Brook was closing with a two-over 74, Robb was posting a tournament-best five-under 67 that included four birdies on the back nine. Robb lost by two shots, which was the penalty he called himself on the first hole of the first round when he realized he had inadvertently left the slope button on his range-finder turned on.
“It was one of most honourable things I have ever heard anybody do in golf,” Brook said. “He literally pulls out his Bushnell on the first hole of the tournament and has his slope on by accident. I was hoping to make that last putt so it would be a no-doubter, but that’s golf.”
Golden Golf Club drew rave reviews from the players. “This was a fabulous golf course,” said Brook, who works as a finance coordinator for the Bonaparte First Nation. “I can’t believe what good shape it was in.”
Stephen Connor of Chilliwack finished third at one-under par. Brook, Robb and Connor will represent British Columbia in the inter-provincial team competition at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, which goes Aug. 20-23 at Carleton Golf & Yacht Club in Manotick, Ont.
B.C's Provincial Canadian Mid-Am Team : L-R: Andy Robb, Wyatt Brook & Stephen Connor
The Mid-Amateur competition was open to players aged 25 and under. A Mid-Master Championship open to players 40 and over was also held at Golden. Edward Bellrose of Campbell River won with a 54-hole total of two-over par.
Bellrose, 43, birdied two of his final four holes to shoot a one-under 71 and beat Rob Powell of Dawson Creek by two shots. Brent Wilson of Cobble Hill and Neil MacLeod of Burnaby tied for third at five-over par. “This feels great,” said Bellrose, who plays out of Storey Creek Golf Club. “This is the first championship I have ever won. I have never even won a local event, so this is great. I am super happy.”
A two-man better-ball competition was also held during the Golden tourney. The team of Andy Robb of Vancouver and Matthew Calveti of North Vancouver won with a score of 16-under par.
Click HERE for complete final scoring.