John Gallacher Leads By 3 At BC Senior Championship At Swan-e-Set

John Gallacher Of Burnaby And The Vancouver Golf Club Holds A Three-Stroke Lead Heading Into The Final Round Of The British Columbia Golf Senior And Super Senior Championships At Swan-e-Set Bay Resort In Pitt Meadows - Image Credit Alfie Lau

by Alfie Lau

On a day when no under-par rounds were recorded during Round 2 of the British Columbia Golf Senior and Super Senior Championships at Swan-e-Set Bay Resort in Pitt Meadows, it was the even-par round of 72 that staked The Vancouver Golf Club’s John Gallacher to a three-stroke lead.

The Burnaby product sits at (-2) 142, three strokes clear of the group at (+1) 145 that includes two-time defending champion Doug Roxburgh, 2012 champion Sandy Harper and Summerland’s Len Filek.

The 54-hole championship runs until Thursday, with the final round set to begin at 7:30 a.m.

“I’m happy with where I am,” said Gallacher, who won the Senior’s title in 2007. “I play a lot of tournament golf , so it’s great to be three up going into the final round, but this is a course where you can give up three strokes very quickly.”

Gallacher got off to a strong start, making three birdies on the front nine and cruising along nicely until a double-bogey on 15 and a bogey on 17.

“I hit two bad drives and made double from the centre of the fairway on 15,” said Gallacher. “I three-putted 15 when I tried too hard to make the par putt. And then on 17, I made a good bogey, again after a bad drive.”

Gallacher said there will be no nerves for his final round on Thursday. “This is a course where you have to be patient. It will give up the odd birdie, but you have to take your pars when you get them and you have to putt well,” said Gallacher.

First-round co-leader, Summerland’s Len Filek, fell three strokes behind Gallacher, but isn’t fazed by the challenge ahead. “I started with a double and I couldn’t hit a fairway for most of the day,” said Filek, “but I grinded out a 75 and I’m still in this tournament. I told myself I had to grind and give myself an opportunity in this tournament and that’s what I’ve given myself.

Filek had a front nine to remember.

After sitting at (+3) after only four holes, he had to take a penalty on the fifth hole, yet still made a par 5. He then canned a 68-foot birdie putt on the sixth hole which he estimated had four feet of break. To top it off, he made another birdie at 8 before a 90-foot two-putt for par on 9 gave him a (+1) 37 on the front.

Three more bogeys and only one birdie on the back were all Filek could manage, but he’s happy he’s still within reach of Gallacher.

Also sitting at 145 is Sandy Harper of Nanaimo, the 2012 BC Senior Men’s Champion, who had a tough front-nine when he tripled the sixth and bogeyed the 9th. But back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12 got Harper back on track and his (+2) round of 74 has him at (+1) 145.

“It was a bit of struggle on the front, but I’m happy I made those two birdies,” said Harper. “Those were my only birdies of the day. I would have liked to make more, but that’s how it went.”

image credit alfie lau

Doug Roxburgh Will Have To Make Up Three Strokes On John Gallacher Of Burnaby If He Wants To Win His Third Consecutive British Columbia Golf Senior Championship

Two-time defending BC Senior Champion Doug Roxburgh shot an even-par round of 72 and also sits at (+1) 145. “I had a really fun day playing with these guys,” Roxburgh said of playing partners Gudmund Lindbjerg and Harper. “I haven’t been playing well this year so I’m happy with how I scored.”

Roxburgh has fond memories of Swan-e-Set, where he finished T6 in the 2012 BC Amateur. “I like the course,” said Roxburgh. “It’s a little more playable now and I’m glad I’m not at the back tees.”

As for his final round plans as he tries to win a third straight BC Senior Men’s title, Roxburgh will keep it simple. “I’ll go out and hit some greens and try to make some putts,” said Roxburgh.

The signature moment of Round 2 came on the 162-yard par-3 13th, where Swan-e-Set Bay Resort member Scott Hogg hit a perfect 6-iron to record his second-ever ace.

“This is my first provincial tournament and my goal beforehand was just to make the cut,” said Hogg. “It was a good shot and I think it will be one of the reasons I make the cut. It’s good to make the cut, and it was good to make a 1 on that hole.”

Playing partner Duncan Manson had a front-row seat for the ace. “I’d hit mine to kick-in range and then he (Scott) hit his shot straight at the pin,” said Manson. “It was a great shot that looked good right off the club.”

The cut to top 70 and ties was made on Wednesday evening, with 70 players carding a score of (+19) 163 or better. Golfers will tee off from both the 1st and 10th tees starting at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, with the final group of Gallacher, Harper and Roxburgh teeing off the first hole at 9:20 a.m.

SUPER SENIOR COMPETITION

In the Super Senior competition for players age 65 and older, Gudmund Lindbjerg’s two-day score of (+2) 146 has him 10 strokes ahead of David Finn of Nanoose Bay, who sits at (+12) 156.

BEST BALL COMPETITION

In the two-man Best Ball Competition, John Gallacher and Gudmund Lindbjerg sit at (-11) 133 and hold a commanding five-shot lead over the teams of Norm Bradley and Lance Lundy; and Trevor Bradley and Sandy Harper, who sit at (-6) 138.

ZONE TEAM COMPETITION

In the four-person Zone Team Competition, the Zone 4 Lower Mainland team of Paul Batchelor, Mark Spooner, John Gallacher and Gary Ritchie overcame a two-stroke deficit to win by two strokes over the Zone 2 Interior team. Zone 4 finished at (+20) 452, two strokes ahead of the (+22) 454 score posted by the Zone 2 team consisting of Norm Bradley, Jeff Omland, Russ Bentley and Len Filek.

For full results from Swan-e-set Bay in Pitt Meadows, please click here