BC Golf News and Canadians On Tour

CANADIAN PRO TOUR
Scoring an eagle on the opening hole of the final round when you’re already the leader can often be just the boost of confidence needed to take you all the way. For Derek Gillespie of Oshawa, Ontario that’s exactly how it worked out as the 24-year-old coasted to his second victory on the Canadian Tour Saturday, winning the Corona Ixtapa Classic at Palma Real GC in Mexico Saturday, May 16. Gillespie started with a two shot advantage and “felt at ease after the eagle, and just sort of cruised my way in,” posting a tournament-record (66-67-67-65—265) 23-under par for an eight shot win worth $24,000. Now into his third season on the Canadian Tour, Gillespie’s first pro victory came May 5, 2002 when he captured the Myrtle Beach Barefoot Championship by three strokes.

Finishing second and winning $14,400 was Jim Salinetti while fellow Floridian Clint Jensen was another shot back T3rd with Brad Sutterfield of Utah, Chris Wall of Texas and Mexico’s Pablo del Olmo, the defending champion. Paul Davenport of New Zealand, a resident of Victoria, BC, T7th with four others and won $4,500. Another Oshawa native, Jon Mills finished (71-68-69-70—278) 13 shots back T19th and won $1,975 while Brian DeCorso of Guelph, ON T22 ((70-71-68-70—279) with first round leader David Hearn of Brantford, ON (65-71-71-72—279) to collect $1,688. Other Canadian money winners in Mexico included Adam Speirs, Winnipeg, MN (T33, 282, $1,106); Craig Matthew, Montreal, QC (T37, 283, $900) Cory Jones, Toronto, ON and Scotty Kral, Victoria, BC (T44, 284, $711; Dean Kennedy, Vancouver, BC (48, 285, $652); Stuart Anderson, Ft. McMurray, Brian McCann, Mississauga, ON, Gordy Scutt, Victoria, BC and Brennan Webb, Bracebridge, ON (T49, 286, $600) and Walt Keating, Thunder Bay, ON (54, 287, $540).

With this victory in his fourth event of the season Gillespie now leads the Official Order of Merit list with $32,760, nearly $5,800 more than Michigan’s Michael Harris. Few players on Tour are more consistant than Gillespie is right now. He’s made the cut in 18 consecutive tournaments, his past six rounds have been in the 60’s, he leads the Tour with 68 birdies and his current stroke average is an impressive 69.38. Gillespie is the seventh Canadian born player to win one of the 10 tournaments captured by Canadians on the Canadian Tour since 1998, joining Ray Stewart of Abbotsford, BC (2 in 1999) and Rob McMillan, Thunder Bay, ON (2000-2002) as the only multiple winners.

The Canadian Tour will now take a month off but when action returns June 26-29 for the Northern Ontario Open at Sault Ste. Marie CC there will be some new faces trying their luck on this international developmental tour. From May 26-30 The Dunes at Kamloops Dunes Golf Course - Championship golf course ... will host the Tour’s annual Spring Qualifying School with approximately 80 players seeking playing privileges for the remaining seven or more tournaments on the 2003 Canadian Tour calendar.

PGA TOUR
Vijay Singh came into the EDS Byron Nelson Championship a week ago as the focus of a would-be controversy but it was his ability to focus on winning a golf tournament that won him his 2nd tournament of the season and $1 million. And despite his personal viewpoint over whether Annika Sorenstam should be playing against men in this week’s Bank of America Colonial Singh showed his critics and fans alike no other man or woman was his equal on the 7,017-yard TPC Four Seasons Resort or the 6,846-yard Cottonwood Valley course. Singh scorched both courses with a (65-65-69-66—265) 15-under par total that was two shots better than new Hall of Fame member Nick Price and three ahead of Robert Alllenby. Then Singh announced he would not be playing later this week at Colonial. "It has nothing to do with the controversy," Singh said. "I've played in four straight tournaments, and I need a break." This was the Fijian’s 13th career victory. Glen Hnatiuk, Selkirk, MB T65 with a (71-69-72-71) 283 total and earned $11,536 ($185,111-121)

CHAMPIONS TOUR
Jay Sigel, who has struggled through 11 events on the Champions Tour this season because of an aching back, found the National Golf Club of Kansas City to his liking and with a timely 9-foot birdie putt on the final hole scored a (72-68-65—205) 7-under par one shot victory over Mike McCullough and won the Bayer Advantage Celebrity Pro-Am, a new event on the Tour this year. In order to collect his $240,000 prize, which more than doubled his earnings for the season, Sigel set a new course record his final round.

Although having to endure a cold win and pelting rain, Dave Barr must have been wondering where his game had disappeared to, especially his putting stroke, when he found himself 9-over par after only 12 holes during the first round. A birdie at 18 helped regain some composure for a better second day and in round three he let out the shaft, lost some fairway accuracy but hit more greens and carded a bogey-free 5-under to go from 57th to T36 with a (81-71-67—218) 2-over par total that earned him $8,700 ($428,167–15th).

NATIONWIDE TOUR
Playing in conditions he’s familiar with back in New Zealand, constant rain and chilly winds, may have helped Michael Long win the Virginia Beach Open by two shots, his first victory on the NationWide Tour. "You get to play in a good bit of rain back in New Zealand," said Long, who finished (72-65-70-70—277) 11-under par. "The last time I played in conditions this cold and wet was at the Greg Norman Holden Classic in 1996 when I finished third. So I have done okay in windy, wet conditions." Long can warm up and dry off while looking at his winners cheque for $81,000.

EUROPEAN TOUR
It took a 12-foot putt for par to get Irishman Padrig Harrington into a playoff but only a four-footer for birdie on the first extra hole to capture the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open in Hamburg, Germany and take over top spot on the European Tour International Order of Merit money list. Harrington gave up his 2-shot lead going into the final round by three-putting the first hole of the day, but hung on to finish tied at (65-66-70-68—267) 19-under par with Thomas Bjorn, who had earlier shot a closing round 63. Retief Goosen was one stroke back for 3rd. Tiger Woods, going for his 3rd consecutive Deutsche Bank-SAP title, finished at 10-under 278 for a share of 29th place.

At the AIB Irish Seniors Open Noel Ratcliffe of Australian came close to loosing it all when he lost his ball on the second last hole but managed to finish at (69-69-73—211) 5-under par, one stroke ahead of club pro Martin Gray of Scotland and registered his 7th career Senior title. Canada’s John Irwin T28th at 6-over while Bill Hardwick T49th at 12-over.

Sweden’s Martin Erlandsson went wire-to-wire for his first win on the Challenge Tour, claiming the Izki Challenge de Espana with a 15-under par (64-68-70-71—273) 3-shot victory worth Euro 22,500.

JAPAN PGA TOUR
Shingo Katayama captured the Japan PGA Championship with a 17-under par one shot victory over S.K. Ho at Maiho Golf Club in Ibaragi and earned 110,000,000 yen.

BC PGA
The Redwoods Golf Course in Langley is in the record books as the first club to capture the inaugural TaylorMade BC PGA Tournament of Champions. Head Professional Doug Morgan and Men’s Club Champion 18-year-old Patrik Ericson posted a combined best-ball score of 9-under par 63 and defeated more than 50 teams from throughout BC to take this prestigeouos first title by a three shot margin. Playing at Swan-e-set Bay Resort in Pitt Meadows, The Redwoods team finished ahead of a pair of Kelowna club teams, pro Rob Anderson and club champion Don Murdoch from the Harvest Club and Head pro Greg Pidlaski and amateur teammate Gord McGarva from Kelowna Golf & Country Club.

IN THE PRO SHOP . . . . Without question most club professionals yearn to get out on the course and compete. It’s an urge inside that doesn’t go away. Case in point, Martin Gray, the club professional at Ladybank Golf Club in Fife, who went into the final round of the Irish Seniors T6th, five back of the leader. He made the turn in four under par before faltering slightly with bogeys on 15 and 18 but said later: "It's a shame about the late bogeys but, in these conditions, if you had given me a 70 before I went out, I would have grabbed it with both hands. When I came here, my goal was to win as much money as I could but, after spending five weeks working behind the counter in my club shop, I have got to admit this exceeds my expectations." Gray finished T2nd, a shot behind the winner and returns to Scotland with a cheque for $39,315 Cdn.

MARK McCORMACK (1930-2003) Mark McCormack, one of the most powerful men in all of sport, died in New York May 15, four months after a heart attack left the 72-year-old in a coma. What began in 1960 with a handshake with Arnold Palmer was the creation of Cleveland-based International Management Group, a pioneer company that made the management of athletes’ careers and their commercial marketability a billion dollar business. A lawyer with a passion for golf, McCormack transformed his company into a sports and entertainment complex of businesses known simply as IMG with 80 offices in 32 countries employing nearly 3,000 people. IMG’s client list includes such names as Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Annika Sorenstam, numerous world-renowned actors and musicians as well as names and trademarks such as the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the Nobel Foundation, Kennedy Space Centre and Smithsonian Institution. McCormack even handled special projects for global leaders such as Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev and the pope. At one point IMG also represented Jim Nelford early in his golfing career and later Wayne Gretsky. In May 1990, Sports Illustrated described McCormack as “the most powerful man in sports.” A private burial will be in Chicago and a memorial service in New York May 21.