Barry Sharpe’s

CANADIANS ON TOUR

August 25, 2003

The devastating fires in British Columbia that have destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses, forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and burned valuable timber and parkland throughout various areas in the Okanagan from Kamloops to Kelowna to Penticton have also had an effect on the golfing industry. There is no official word on any golf courses or clubhouses that have been destroyed or damaged todate. In many areas business continues as usual.

However, if you are planning to visit the Okanagan or other areas in southern British Columbia and wish to confirm the status of golf courses or travel conditions or any restrictions BC Golf News presents the following sources of information:

BC Golf Courses - The British Columbia PGA

Ministry Road Reports – Ministry of Transportation

Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke will be spending more time in North America during the next three golf seasons, thanks to a dominating four-stroke victory Sunday in the World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational in Akron, Ohio. Clarke (right) registered a (65-70-66-67—268) 12-under par victory to become only the second player to win more than one WGC tournament --Tiger Woods has seven titles— and he collected $1.05 million, moving him up to No. 2 on the European money winning list. The victory also means the Ulsterman wins a three-year exemption on the US PGA TOUR. Jonathan Kaye started the final round one shot off the lead in second place and finished in second at (68-69-65-70—272) 8-under. Davis Love III was one shot further back and Tiger Woods, hot and cold on the Firestone course he had won on three years in a row until the NEC Invitational moved to Seattle last year, ended up T4th with Chris Riley at 6-under. Masters Champion Mike Weir of Bright’s Cove, ON was consistent, although not spectacular, finishing in a T23 at (71-72-69-69—281) 1-over, worth $48,000, which drops him to 5th on the money list at $4,556,938.

”This is by far my biggest moment in golf,” said Rodney Butcher after winning the season-ending Bay Mills Open Players’ Championship on the Canadian Tour. But for Oshawa’s Jon Mills, (right) who was five shots behind, finishing second has provided him with an even bigger moment in golf. Butcher, 33, from Tamapa, FL was playing in only his fourth Tour event of the season and for shooting (69-72-67-70—278) 10-under par he earned $37,600 and has gained exemption on the Canadian Tour through 2005. But for Mills, 24, his (71-74-68-70—283) 5-under par total was worth $22,560 and that was enough to propel him to the top of the Canadian Tour money list for the season with $55,321, the first Canadian since Mike Weir in 1997 to win the Canadian Order of Merit title.

“I figured I needed to win to even contend for first in earnings. It never even crossed my mind. To hear that Mike was the last Canadian to win, well, it’s great just to be mentioned in the same sentence as him. He’s a great player and a greater guy, so it’s quite the compliment.”

Mills, who won the MTS Classic in Winnipeg earlier this summer, will now join second leading money winner Rob Johnson ($54,164) of Terre Haute, IN as the two Canadian Tour members exempted into the second stage of PGA TOUR Qualifying School this fall. Mills will also lead a group of top six Canadian Tour players --Johnson, Derek Gillespie, Oshawa, ($47,844), Mark Johnson, Helendale, CA, Michael Harris, Troy, MI and Mario Tiziani, Chanhassen, MN-- who will tee it up in the Bell Canadian Open PGA TOUR stop in Hamilton, ON. Australia’s David McKenzie finished alone in third, two shots behind Mills and Brad Sutterfield of the US was another shot back in fourth. Langley, BC’s Doug McGuigan, a co-leader after three rounds, finished (69-72-71-75—287) T5th with three other players at 1-under par. Regina’s Lindsay Bernakevitch, the lone amateur to make the cut (73-71-71-74—289), T13th at 1-over.

Twenty Canadians where among the 66 players who made the cut, however, the one receiving the most hype coming into this final event on the Canadian Tour season was back home in Hawaii when the tournament ended. Teenage phenom Michelle Wei, (right) a 13-year-old, six footer who is just starting grade nine this week, impressed a number of the pros despite shooting (74-79—154) 9-over and called her invitation to the Canadian Tour a learning experience. “I have to accept the fact some days you play well, while others you just get punished for bad shots,” said Wie. “Those bogeys brought me down. They hurt a lot when I was playing, but you have to get over it. But it was a great experience; I had a fun time and was treated very well. I think I learned a lot this week.”

Final Canadian Tour Order of Merit standings The Canadian Professional Golf Tour

---

Do you recognize this player?

Do you know where & when this picture was taken?

HINT:

Why will he not defend his championship?

(Scroll down for the answer)

---

Starting from five shots behind the leaders, Kirk Triplett shot a final round of 9-under par to win the Reno-Tahoe Open with a total of (67-68-73-63—271) 17-under par, tying both the course and the tournament records enroute to a three shot victory. The win was Triplett’s second in 14 years on the PGA TOUR and the $540,000 winner’s cheque pushed his career winnings past the $10 million mark. A 20-foot birdie on the final hole allowed Triplett to tie the course record of 63 and finish ahead of third-round co-leader Tim Herron. Dennis Paulson and Rod Pamling T3rd one shot back at 13-under. Richard Zokol, White Rock, seemed to be in good shape until he lost his putting stroke in the final round and finished T46 at (72-71-69-75—287) 1-under par. In 11 tournaments this year Zokol has made only $19,155. Glen Hnatiuk, Selkirk, MB was cut and Dan Halldorson, formerly of Manitoba, withdrew after an opening day 80.

Don Pooley gained some confidence after scoring an eagle during his final round and went on to post a three-stroke victory in the Allianze championship in West Des Moines, Iowa. It was Pooley’s second win on the Champions Tour. His (66-67-67—200) 13-under par total earned him $225,000. Bruce Lietzke and Jim Thorpe tied for second. Dave Barr of Kelowna may have had other things on his mind when he started this tournament. He opened with a 4-over par 75, came back to post a 3-under 68 and after knocking a 4-iron 195 yards for a hole-in-one at the fifth hole Sunday still finished 1-over for the round and 2-over 215 for the tournament, earning $2,700 for his T58.

Candie Kung managed to hold off the threat of a charge by Se Ri Pak and collected $180,000 for winning the Wacholvia LPGA Classic by two shots. Kung finished (71-67-66-70—274) 14-under par while winning her second LPGA tournament. Pak closed 4-under in her final round and tied with Meg Mallon at 12 under for the tournament. Both earned $94, 323. Carin Koch posted an 11-under 277 while reigning BMO Canadian Open champion Beth Daniel claimed 5th place and $49,384 shooting 279. Finishing (68-71-72-73—285) 3-under par in a T14 earned Dawn Coe-Jones $16,142 while Angela Buzminski was 1-under ($8,859) and A.J. Eathorne made a comeback to get to 5-over par and earn $2,813.

NATIONWIDE TOUR
Jeff Klauk, with his wife Shanna as his caddy, held off a legion of final round charges and recorded his first Nationwide Tour victory at the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open presented by Cox Communications. “This is what I’ve worked so hard for all my life. Getting my first win is awesome. Knowing that you can do it changes everything,” said Klauk (right), as he collected his largest professional cheque for $85,000 for shooting (66-69-64-66—265) 19-under par and vaulting from 118 to 26 on the Nationwide Tour money list. He’ll also be fully exempt for this tour in 2004. Klauk finished as the runner-up in this tournament last year but this season has had only one top 25 finish. Now he’s within reach of the top-20 players who will earn PGA TOUR cards at seasons end. Canadian Rob McMillan missed the cut. This week the Nationwide Tour visits Calgary for the inaugural Alberta Calgary Classic, the 21st of 30 events on the schedule.

The first Australian in 100 years to win the U.S. Amateur golf title is a 19-year-old who can’t wait to get home to sleep in his own bed. Nick Flanagan, from Eleebana in New South Wales, defeated 18-year-old Casey Wittenburg of Memphis, Tenn., shooting a par on the first extra hole of their 36-hole match play final at Oakmount Country Club in Oakmount, PA.

"I can't believe what's just happened," said a dazed Flanagan on the 10th green. "I can't wait to get home and see everyone. When I get home I'll be able to sleep in my own bed. I think I'll sleep for a week."

Sunday’s championship was the youngest final, and first teenage duel, since the format went solely back to match play in 1973. Flannigan is also the first foreign-born player in 32 years to win the Havemeyer Trophy. From the field of 312 players who qualified when stroke play began last Monday there were nine Canadians entered, although Vernon’s Chris Baryla opted out, playing instead in last Sunday’s Canadian Amateur in Vancouver where he finished 2nd. Ron Harvey Jr. (74-75—149) was tops among Canadians who failed to make the top 64., tying for 80th. The others were Peter Laws (117), Brad Pemberton (161), Tyler Pitt (178), Adam Balls (234), Chris Holmes (244), J.C. Deacon (255) and Matthew Johnston (300).

Canadian Tour veteran Philip Jonas, a South African who has called Canada home for the past 13 years, sank a 30-foot birdie putt with three holes to play to capture the American Express BC PGA Championship at Quilchena Golf & Country Club in Richmond, BC Wednesday (August 20). A teaching professional at Vancouver’s McLeery Golf Course, Jonas finished at (67-73-68—208) 8-under par and one shot ahead of the BC PGA’s newest member, Shingo Akizuki (68-70-71--209) of Richmond’s Mayfair Lakes Golf Club and two shots better than Jeff Buder of Vancouver’s Fraserview GC and Steven MacPherson of Seymour G&CC in North Vancouver.

Jonas entered the final round two shots back of second-round leader Akizuki, who just recently succeeded in passing his playing ability test, a prerequisite for becoming a BC PGA member. Following his birdie at his 15th hole, Jonas finished with three pars then waited, hoping for a chance at a playoff. That opportunity came when Akizuki, who won the Quillchena Men’s Club Championship in 1991 at the age of 17, blocked his final tee shot on his closing hole and found the right-side water hazard. Following a drop, Akizuki's approach shot landed on the green and rolled off into a bunker. His chip out of the sand for par missed by inches and rolled well beyond the cup and his six-foot put for bogey to force a playoff was wide coming back. Jonas’ winner’s cheque for $6,000 nearly matches the $7,893 he’s won playing in four events on the Canadian Tour this season. Akizuki received $3,750 from the American Express purse of $30,000. A field of 90 professionals participated in this championship, which dates back to 1970. (see Photo Collage)

BC PGA Results

BC PGA NOTES: . . . . it’s been a tough year for Akizuki trying to win a golf tournament. Playing as an unaffiliated professional, he entered the 2003 Remax BC Match Play championship as one of the defending champions (Dan Norton had been his 2002 teammate) and with new partner Davidson Matyczuk again made it to the final. However, when it came time to play for the championship, Matyczuk was unable to get time off work so Akizuki was forced to compete alone against a team using a best-ball format and he kept the 36-hole match alive before loosing 3 & 2 . . . . a close friend of the BC PGA will be remembered on Wednesday at Quillchena Golf & Country Club during a special Memorial service for Craig Forsyth. Forsyth Memorial . . . . Immediately after signing his score card, knowing he would finish no worse than second, Jonas advised executive director Stephen Carroll he would donate 5% of his tournament winnings toward a trust fund the BC PGA is establishing for the Forsyth Children. Players and spectators donated about $1,000 and the BC PGA has pledged to match that amount . . . . Murray Poje and his Western Canada Junior Golf Tour will be expanding again in 2004 through the combined efforts of fellow tour pros Dean Spriddle in Manitoba and Ashley Chinner in Ontario. Meetings slated for October could be good news for Canada’s flourishing junior golf population. Meanwhile, Poje is planning to return ‘down under’ to take advantage of a partial qualifying exemption into the Australian Open and Australian PGA Championships, thanks to a top 10 finish this past spring in a PGA event in New Zealand.

The 17th edition of the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship tees off at Royal Regina Golf Club August 26 and for the first time in four years there will be a new champion. Graham Cooke of Hudson, QC, who has won this national championship for men 40 years and older a total of seven times, including the past three years, is not competing this year. That opens the door for a number of top players from Canada and the United States, including Calgary’s David Shultz, the 1999 Mid-Amateur champion, this year’s Canadian Club Champion Garth Collings of Winnipeg and two-time Mid-Amateur runner-up Mel Murray of Fredericton, NB. The field is open to a maximum of 156 players, including up to 20 foreign entrants. The stroke play portion will be contested over 54 holes. During the first two rounds the Inter-Provincial Team competition will be contested with Alberta coming in as the defending champion. The host Saskatchewan team will be looking to claim their first R. Bruce Forbes trophy since winning the inaugural award in 1992. The first round of match play begins Friday with 32 players, the quarter and semifinal matches go Saturday and the championship at Royal Regina will be determined Sunday.

ONE YEAR AGO THIS WEEK
He won a golf tournament he would never get to defend.
Gene Sauers broke a 13-year winless drought when he won the Air Canada Championship at Northview Golf and Country Club on Sunday, September 1, 2002. Shortly after tournament organizers confirmed that the seven year history of the PGA TOUR in Greater Vancouver had come to an end, no new sponsor had been found to replace the departing airline. The PGA TOUR then announced that a new event, Deutsche Bank Championship, would be played at the Tournament Players Club of Boston, Norton, MA the week of August 25 to Monday, September 1, 2003 for a purse of $5,000,000 USD.

BUT ONLY ONE MAGNUM PER ROUND
David Robinson created quite a stir at his home course just a couple of weeks ago when the 62-year-old member at Burhill Golf Club in Walton-on-Thames, England is said to have achieved a rare---a very rare two holes-in-one during the same round of golf. Out for the day with his good buddy Eric Barton on the New Course, it is reported that, “playing with his eleven-wood, David achieved a Hole-in-One on the par 3 4th hole – a total of 165 yards from the yellow tees.” Managing to keep emotions in check, Robinson and Barton continued on until reaching “the tricky par 3 18th across the River Mole towards the splendid Georgian Mansion House” where upon Robinson played his trusty seven wood and “the ball rolled straight into the hole.” How tricky is that? Seems the 18th hole at Burhill is sponsored by Lanson Champagne, which has pledged that anyone achieving a Hole-in-One at the 18th will receive a Magnum of Champagne. Burhill’s general manager David Cook (holding the magnum) said Robinson’s “achievement will also be displayed in the Captain's Bar where a Methuselah with silver collar will be engraved with his name." But only one Magnum was awarded for the double aces.

UP COMING TOURNAMENTS

August 25-28 CLGA – 33rd Canadian Senior, Galt Country Club, Cambridge, ON

August 26-27 BCGA – BC Bantam, Eaglequest at Coyote Creek, Surrey, BC

August 27-31 RCGA – Canadian Mid-Amateur, Royal Regina GC, Regina, SA

August 28-31 PGA TOUR

• Deutsche Bank championship, TPC of Boston
• Champions Tour – JELD-WELD Tradition, Portland, OR
• LPGA Tour – State Farm Classic, Springfield, Ill
• Nationwide Tour – Alberta Calgary Classic, Links of GlenEagles, Cochrane, AB