SUMMERLAND, B.C. (June 14, 2012) -- The Royal Colwood Golf Club member and second round leader, pieced together a resilient one-under par 71 final round, capped by a birdie on the final hole to win by two strokes on a day that saw poor weather in the morning and sunny, windy conditions in the afternoon.
Carrigan started the day on the 6,656 yard par-72 Summerland course with a bogey on the par 4 424-yard first hole before rebounding with a birdie on the difficult par 4 416-yard third hole, which played third toughest during round three. Two bogeys on holes seven and ten left Carrigan only one stroke ahead of a group of charging players that could seemingly sense a drop in momentum.
All of that changed on the par 5 478-yard 13th hole as Carrigan made an impressive eagle by sinking a eight-footer.
“I had been giving shots back on the front that I really shouldn’t have and I didn’t really hit a great tee shot to be honest,” stated Carrigan. “I was lucky enough to find my ball in the middle of the fairway, hit a great shot in and sink the easy putt.”
After pars on the next three holes, Carrigan felt the victory was within grasp when he nailed a tricky eight-foot par putt on the par 4 404-yard 17th hole, his fourth consecutive par since his eagle.
“I knew I had to make that putt,” said Carrigan. “My approach shot into the green left me dead on my first putt and the closest I could get was a 6-footer because the break was so exaggerated. I basically jammed that one the heart of the cup to save par. It was the best putt I hit all week.”
Coming up the closing par 5 522-yard 18th, all Carrigan needed to do was make a par. He did one better, getting up and down to cap the victory with a birdie four, 212 total (72-69-71).
“I am really happy with this win.,” smiled Carrigan.
Unbeknownst to Carrigan, two-time Men’s Mid-Amateur champion Bryan Toth (2005 & 2008) of Victoria had been firing on all cylinders to get himself one-shot back of the lead before that closing hole birdie by the champion. Toth ended the Championship with an impressive 214 total (74-70-70).
Finishing third in the overall Championship was Victoria’s Bryan Scott, a member of the 2011 Men’s Mid-Amateur Team BC, who almost holed out his approach shot on his final hole, leaving himself with a tap-in birdie for a two under-par 70, 217 total (76-71-70) and solo third.
In the Master-40 division, a playoff was needed to decide Courtenay’s Greg Koster as the eventual champion. Koster, who admittedly struggled on the day, birdied his final hole in regulation to shoot a +4, 219 total and get into a two-man playoff with Pitt Meadow’s resident Greg Bismeyer.
“Today was a real struggle. I never really got going enough to challenge for the overall Championship but I am glad I held it together to claim the Master-40,” said Koster.
When asked about his final-hole birdie, Koster laughed while detailing it.
“I thought I had blown myself out of the Championship really. I wanted to finish strong and to do that I needed a good iron shot into the green, which I didn’t hit. I was able to get up and down from the greenside bunker for birdie and I am glad I did to get into the playoff.”
Going into the playoff, both players headed back to the par 5 18th hole. Unfortunately, Bismeyer hit his first tee shot Out-of-Bounds and Koster got on the green in regulation. A two-putt par sealed the victory as Bismeyer was not able to hole-out for a par-save.
Finishing third in the Master-40 division was Kelowna’s Norm Bradley after a hard-fought five over-par 77 final round, 220 total.
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