Jackson Rothwell Leads At The Halfway Mark Of The BC Amateur
2019 BC Amateur Winner Jackson Rothwell Has The Lead After Two Rounds In 2022 - BC Golf Photo
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Jackson Rothwell’s first two rounds at the 120th B.C. Amateur Championship at Christina Lake Golf Club yielded identical scores. But the 21-year-old Victoria resident will tell you his back-to-back 67s that have him in the lead at 10-under par could not have been more different.
“It was a little less exciting today, in a good way,” Rothwell said. “It was a little bit less stressful, for sure.”
Rothwell’s 67 in Wednesday’s second round included six birdies and just one bogey. In other words, it was pretty much smooth sailing.
On Tuesday, his 67 was a veritable roller-coaster that included a double-bogey, three bogeys, six birdies and two eagles. “I was feeling pretty tired after that first round,” Rothwell said with a chuckle.
“On Tuesday I had a couple bad swings and made some big numbers, but I also dunked it on the (par 4) 14th for eagle and that helped the scorecard out a little bit. It’s tough to complain about 67 and 67.”
Rothwell has a two-shot edge on Toni Li of Vancouver. Three players — Michael Crisologo of Richmond, Mike Valk of Medicine Hat, Alta., and Caleb Davies of Langley — are tied for third at seven-under. Rothwell is attempting to win his second B.C. Amateur title. When he captured the 2019 championship at Big Sky Golf Club in Pemberton, his winning total was 10-under par — exactly where he is now through two rounds at Christina Lake.
Rothwell knows 10-under likely won’t get it done this year and he’ll need to keep the pedal down the next two rounds. “It’s probably going to take better than that,” he said. “I’d be surprised if it wasn’t deep teens. Somebody could even get to 20, for sure. Hopefully, that’s me, but we’ll have to grind it out for another two days.”
At 6,700 yards from the tips, Christina Lake is not long by championship standards. And it’s playing much shorter than that due to the heat and firmness of the course. “It is playing quite short, so there are a lot of wedges in,” Rothwell said.
“It’s crazy firm and if you are hitting it straight you can get 50 or 60 yards of roll. But the greens have really firmed up and if you have anything longer than a wedge in you really have to think about it. And if you are in the rough at all there is a lot of thinking involved. The greens are pretty tricky, especially on the front nine. It’s a fun track, I am enjoying it.”
Rothwell is preparing for a big move in his collegiate golf career. After two years at Babson College, a NCAA Division III private business school in the Boston area, Rothwell is transferring to the University of San Francisco.
“It’s a different atmosphere, obviously, with being able to play all year round,” Rothwell said of the move to northern California. “And I felt like I was ready to make the leap to Division I.”
Li, who matched Rothwell’s 67 on Wednesday, is heading into his second year at Emory University in Atlanta. It’s a NCAA Division III school and Li helped Emory to a fifth-place finish at the national championship tourney this past spring. Crisologo, who plays his collegiate golf at Simon Fraser University, matched the 67s posted by Li and Rothwell to move into contention. He’s looking to win the championship his older brother Chris captured in 2018 at Rivershore Golf Links in Kamloops.
First-round leader Manu Gandhi of West Vancouver had to settle for an even-par 72 Wednesday that left him at six-under and four shots behind Rothwell. He had a rough finish to his round, double-bogeying the par 3 ninth hole, which was his 18th of the day. “I struggled coming in,” Gandhi said. “I kept leaving some putts in some weird spots and then hit one in the water on nine. It was just a poor swing.”
The field was cut to the low 70 and ties after Wednesday’s second round. The cut fell at four-over par. Thirteen-time winner Doug Roxburgh of Vancouver made his 52nd cut in 55 B.C. Amateur appearances. Roxburgh fired his second straight 72 Wednesday and sits at even-par.
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