JULY 8, 2019
INVERMERE, BC (PGA of British Columbia) –- A hole-in-one helped the Kamloops Golf & Country Club team of Alec Hubert and Ian Henson to the first-round lead Monday in the G&G Golf Company & Callaway Golf PGA of BC Pro-Assistant Championship at Copper Point Golf Club.
Hubert aced the par-3 17th early in his day on the Point Course and added another eagle for his team, combining with Henson for a 7-under-par 64 in the opening round of best-ball play. They’ll take a two-shot lead into Tuesday’s final round, which will be contested under a scramble format.
“We’re pumped,” said Hubert. “We got off to a shaky start and obviously the ace kind of kick-started us and got us going. We managed to string together some birdies and threw another eagle in there.”
Two teams that are past Pro-Assistant champions share second place at 5-under: 2017 winners Brian McDonald and Rob Tadey of Fairview Mountain Golf Club, and 2014 winners Russ Latimer and Tyrel Griffith from Black Mountain Golf Club.
The Kamloops duo started their day on the 14th hole and a double-bogey out of the gate had them at 2-over when Hubert stepped up to hit his tee shot on the 150-yard 17th. His 9-iron to a front-right pin landed four feet past the hole and spun back into the cup for the ace, his first in competition and fifth overall.
“He played fantastic and I was along for the ride,” said Henson. “I got to watch a pretty great round of golf and an ace – it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Hubert credited his partner for playing steadily all day, noting that Henson’s consistency allowed him to play his own ball more aggressively.
“Ian hit 280-yard 3-woods down the middle … which kind of freed me up,” said Hubert. “He made some great putts that were certainly ones we had to have.”
Hubert and Henson are new to their roles as the Executive and Head Professionals, respectively, at Kamloops Golf & Country Club, making this their first opportunity to compete as a team in the Pro-Assistant Championship.
“We get along well and (Alec’s) a great player, so it was easy,” Henson said of them quickly finding team chemistry.
Hubert and Henson will have to fend off a number of talented squads Tuesday when play switches to scramble, and not just the Black Mountain and Fairview Mountain teams at 5-under.
Twelve teams broke par in Monday’s best-ball play, including Dean Claggett and Ethan Danish (Two Eagles Golf Course & Academy) at 4-under. The GolfTEC South Surrey duo of Matthew Bartholomew and Jonathan MacKenzie posted a 3-under 68, as did the Kelowna Golf & Country Club team of Rob Anderson – winner of this event in 2010 – and Jamie Stevens. The defending champs from Shadow Ridge Golf Club, James Presnail and Mark Kitts, are at 2-under.
McDonald and Tadey have become perennial favourites in the Pro-Assistant Championship – they’re gunning for their third consecutive top-three finish together – and like the position they’ve put themselves in for the final round.
“Rob played really well today and I didn’t play very good, so I figure if we can both play well tomorrow we’re in good shape,” said McDonald.
The Fairview Mountain crew will play off the first tee Tuesday alongside Hubert and Henson, and Tadey said being paired with the group they’re chasing should help them out.
“You know where you’re at and kind of try to make it a match-play event,” said Tadey. “We’ll see how it goes.”
Latimer he and Black Mountain partner Griffith didn’t have their best stuff Monday, so they’re also happy to be in the mix with 18 holes left to play.
“We didn’t make any bad mistakes and kept ourselves in it, and hit some solid shots coming down the stretch,” said Latimer. “We’re here to have fun and that’s probably what’s going to lead to better things tomorrow.”
Play resumes Tuesday with a 9 a.m. MT shotgun start. Click here to view Round 1 scoring and Round 2 hole assignments.
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ABOUT G&G GOLF COMPANY
Since 1991, G&G Golf Company has provided custom logo accessories to golf facilities as a large part of its product mix. G&G Golf has an international sales force with representation covering over 1,500 accounts across North America. Backing up the sales team is a staff of 17 full-time employees based out of its Langley headquarters. Their products and services include a wide array of soft goods, hard goods, accessories and licensed merchandise, to name a few. For more information, visit www.gandg.ca.
ABOUT CALLAWAY GOLF
Through an unwavering commitment to innovation, Callaway Golf Company (NYSE:ELY) creates products designed to make every golfer a better golfer. Callaway Golf Company manufactures and sells golf clubs and golf balls, and sells bags, accessories and apparel in the golf and lifestyle categories, under the Callaway Golf®, Odyssey® and OGIO® brands worldwide. For more information please visit www.callawaygolf.ca and www.OGIO.com.
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eric@pgabc.org