Jared du Toit
OLIVER, British Columbia — Jared du Toit rained down four birdies in his last five holes at Fairview Mountain Thursday afternoon to take a commanding four-stroke lead into the final round of the BC Amateur Championship.
Du Toit's (-3) round of 69 was one of only four sub-par rounds for the day and was two better than the next best rounds of 71 carded by Ian Kim, Jaewook Lee and Kevin Carrigan. Du Toit sits at (-11) 205, with only four players under par for the tournament.
Second-round leader Stu Macdonald had an up-and-down day, with a lead as big as three strokes during the round and standing on the 14th tee box, he held a two-shot cushion over du Toit, who's bound for Arizona State University next month.
But that's when du Toit started his birdie barrage, which turned into a six-shot swing."The front nine was a lot of work and once I got more patient on the back, I started to make some putts," said du Toit.
After his birdies on 14 and 15 tied Macdonald, the Kimberley native saw Macdonald's bogey on the 16th give him the outright lead. Another birdie on 17 and du Toit could smell blood. After Macdonald hit his approach into the back bunker and could only make bogey, du Toit stroked in his 15-foot birdie putt.
"I had a plugged lie and didn't have any way of getting it close," said Macdonald. "All day, I left myself too many downhill putts and I didn't give myself chances."
Macdonald's third round (+2) 74 has him at (-7) 209 for the tournament. Du Toit knew the importance of the final putt. "I didn't know he was plugged when I hit my approach, but I knew a birdie would be big," said du Toit. "I wanted the lead to be as big as I could make it."
On a windy morning and afternoon, with intermittent showers, the big winner was the Fairview Mountain course, which played very tough, with only four players breaking par for the day.
Ian Kim played himself into the final group on Friday with a (-1) round of 71 which included four birdies and only three bogeys. Kim sits third, at (-2) 214, nine strokes behind du Toit.
Kim received an unexpected message which helped his third round. "Trevor (Yu) texted me last night and said he'd loop for me," said Kim. "It was a good thing he did because he helped out a lot, especially with club selection. The wind was tough and club selection was important."
Kim said the course played hard, but fair. "I had a lot of tough par saves," said Kim, who's bound for the University of Idaho this autumn.
Brayden Eriksen, of Pheasant Glen GR, played in the final group and shot a (+3) round of 75 and sits at (-1) 215, 10 strokes behind du Toit.
Victoria's Kevin Carrigan, out in the first group off the first tee, recorded a (-1) round of 71 that included 36 putts. His round ended with a 20-foot birdie putt on 18, his third birdie of the day against only two bogeys. "I'm very happy with the set-up today," said Carrigan. "The wind blew and kept changing."
The other player to shoot 71 was Jaewook Lee, who also had four birdies and only three bogeys.
The Bostock Trophy will be handed out on Friday afternoon after the final round of the 113th BC Amateur at Fairview Mountain. Spectators are encouraged to come out and cheer the best amateurs in the province.
ABOUT THE British Columbia Amateur
72 hole stroke play championship with a cut
after
36 holes. No gender or age restriction. Players must
qualify through their zone, be previously exempt or
play in the Supplemental Qualifier.
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