Hole-Out For Eagle Helps Propel Steve Savage To B.C. Senior Men’s Championship
By: Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
REVELSTOKE, B.C. (July 25, 2024) - Befitting a golf course that was once a horse-racing track, Steve Savage made his move at the clubhouse turn.
Savage holed out for eagle from 118 yards on the par 5 ninth hole at Revelstoke Golf Club and rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt on the long par 5 10th hole to break away from the pack and take control of the B.C. Senior Men’s Championship.
The 62-year-old Vancouver Golf Club member then hung on down the stretch to win by a nose — make that one shot.
“Nine was obviously a surprise,” Savage said. “I had a good number and I just hit it and was surprised to see it go in. I hadn’t done that in a long time. I felt really comfortable over that putt on 10 and just saw the line. A couple of three-putts on the back nine made it a little tougher on myself than it needed to be.”
Savage, a Surrey resident, matched the low score of the week with his two-under 70 in the final round. He finished the 54-hole event at two-over par, one shot better than Tommy Ross of Coldstream. “For me this is huge,” Savage said. “You are playing against your peers and this is like my major. I won’t go to the Canadian Senior, it’s too much time away from home. So this is my major. It’s really important.”
Savage said the fact he was playing in a comfortable threesome in the final group with two-time B.C. Senior champion John Gallacher of Burnaby — a fellow Vancouver Golf Club member — and former Canadian Senior champion David Schultz of Calgary helped keep him calm. “It was a great final group,” Savage said. “Johnny and I play together twice a week and Dave is an absolute classy guy. I always refer to Dave as the Doug Roxburgh of Alberta.”
Savage said the key to his success at Revelstoke was quite simple. “I kept it in play,” he said. “I didn’t drive the ball really well this week, not as well as I normally do. Normally, I am a little more confident with my driver. So I just steered it around and luckily it wasn’t a super-long golf course and you could do that. I played with some guys who can just bomb it. You just have to ignore it when they are hitting it 50 yards by you.”
Revelstoke Golf Club, the site of a horse-racing track in the early 1900s, is celebrating its 100th anniversary as a golf course this year. The course drew plenty of praise from the 156-player field. It provided a stern test and was in terrific condition. “It reminds me a little of Marine Drive,” Savage said. “It’s the longest short course you will play. It’s only about 6,300 yards, but it plays longer than that with trees in the middle of the fairway and stuff like that.”
Tournament Director, Jerome Goddard, also was very impressed with the venue and its support system, saying, “We would like to recognize Tourism Revelstoke (https://seerevelstoke.com/) for their support of this Championship and for facilitating a memorable experience for our players.”
The 57-year-old Ross was making his debut at the B.C. Senior, which is open to players aged 55 and older. He matched Savage’s two-under 70 in the final round. “It has been 25 years since I played in a BCGA event,” Ross said. “I came out because I have won their (Revelstoke) Open here a couple of times, so this course is kind of set up for me. It’s kind of my home away from home.”
Ross, who plays out of Vernon Golf & Country Club, felt like he could have easily shot something in the 60s in his final round. “Today I drove the ball much better and my putter didn’t cooperate. I probably had 16 looks today and just didn’t make much. I feel like I under-achieved to shoot 70. I didn’t putt bad, it’s just that outside 10 feet it’s hard to hole putts here.”
The 73-year-old Gallacher started the day with a one-shot lead. He closed with a two-over 74 that left him solo third at four-over par. He did win his second Super Senior Championship for players aged 65 and older. He edged Schultz by one shot in that competition with the turning point coming on the par 3 17th hole, where Gallacher made his par while Schultz bogeyed after his tee ball found the front greenside bunker. “It was good, I was happy with the way I played,” Gallacher said.
“I have no complaints with what I did. I would have liked to have putted better, like everyone else. We had a good championship here. I think it was a good test and we got a good champion. Steve’s play was exceptional. I play a lot of golf with Steve. Every week we play two or three times and he takes my money. That’s the way it usually works and this is nothing different. He played really well, hit shots like he usually does. I’m not surprised he holed that shot on nine. He hits it at the flag all day long.”
The top five in the Senior competition was rounded out by Schultz, who was solo fourth at five-over, and Neil McLeod of Burnaby and Mike Mannion of Victoria, who tied for fifth at six-over.
With Savage and Ross choosing not to play the Canadian Senior Championship, which goes Sept. 12-15 in Saugeen Shores, Ont., Gallacher, Mannion and McLeod will represent British Columbia in the inter-provincial team competition.
A 54-hole better-ball competition was also held at Revelstoke. The Victoria duo of Mike Mannion and Mark Dupuy won by four shots with a score of 15-under par.
Click HERE for complete final scoring.
CHIP SHOTS: The tournament’s 36-hole Zone competition was won by the Zone 4 team of Michael Kennedy of North Vancouver, Steve Savage of Surrey and Neil McLeod of Burnaby with a score of 10-over par. . . The 2025 B.C. Senior Men’s Championship is scheduled to be played at Pitt Meadows Golf Club.