JULY 9, 2019
INVERMERE, BC (PGA of British Columbia) – Kamloops Golf & Country Club’s Alec Hubert and Ian Henson hung on to win the 2019 G&G Golf Company & Callaway Golf PGA of BC Pro-Assistant Championship Tuesday at Copper Point Golf Club, capturing the event in their competition debut as a team.
The first-round leaders after a 7-under-par 64 in best-ball play Monday, Hubert and Henson fended off a number of challengers with a scramble-format 63 to reach 15-under for the tournament and earn a one-stroke victory over the Kelowna Golf & Country Club team of Rob Anderson and Jamie Stevens.
It was the first PGA of BC title for both Hubert and Henson, the Executive and Head Professionals at Kamloops, respectively.
“Since I moved to BC, it’s been a goal of mine to get my hands on a trophy, and an event like this where you have a partner and have some fun out there is one of the ones you really want to win,” said Hubert.
The winners will split the $2,500 top prize out of a purse of nearly $13,000.
The Pro-Assistant Championship is an annual favourite among PGA of BC members in which a Club Professional (Head, Executive or Head Teaching Professional) teams up with a colleague from their facility to compete against their peers over 36 holes. Thirty teams representing 28 PGA of BC facilities competed in this year’s tournament.
Hubert and Henson entered the day with a two-stroke lead and kept the momentum going early on by playing the front nine in 6-under. The pair cooled off a bit over the closing nine but Hubert rolled in a clutch birdie putt on the par-3 17th that put them on the winning total of 15-under.
“We still played good on the back – we actually hit the ball tremendously well – the ball just wouldn’t go in the hole, and that’s the way golf goes sometimes,” said Henson, noting the importance of the lead they took into Round 2.
“That cushion was huge.”
The 17th on the Point Course at Copper Point was special for the Kamloops duo both days, as Hubert made an ace on the same hole in the opening round that wound up being crucial to the final result.
“It’s always exciting to make an ace, but especially so when something’s on the line,” said Hubert. “That certainly was huge for us in winning.”
Runners-up Anderson and Stevens have formed a strong partnership in the Pro-Assistant many times before, so it was no surprise to see them in contention. However, their 11-under 60 on Tuesday left them just short of their first title as a team.
“We were very happy with the way we played. It was probably the best scramble round we’ve ever had,” said Anderson, a Pro-Assistant winner in 2010.”We usually do better in best-ball but kind of let a few go yesterday. This was good fun. There was one or two more we could have had today, but we’re not disappointed.”
The best round of the day belonged to Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club’s Ashley Zibrik and Tim Wilson, who posted a 59 to finish in a five-way tie for third place at 13-under.
“If I didn’t make the putt Tim made it, so we ham-and-egged it really well and had a ton of fun,” Zibrik said of her team’s round, which included 10 birdies and an eagle.
Also finishing T3 were defending champions James Presnail and Mark Kitts (Shadow Ridge Golf Club), 2017 winners Brian McDonald and Rob Tadey (Fairview Mountain Golf Club), 2014 champs Russ Latimer and Tyrel Griffith (Black Mountain Golf Club), and Dean Claggett and Ethan Danish (Two Eagles Golf Course & Academy).
The tournament also saw a hole-in-one for the second day in a row, as Steve Haggard from The Springs at Radium aced the par-3 2nd hole.
CLICK HERE to view final results.
Copper Point was nothing short of phenomenal as a tournament host this week as the PGA of BC hosted one of its active championships in the Kootenays region for the first time since 2000. The golf course was in tremendous shape despite wet conditions over the days leading into the event, while staff went above and beyond in accommodating competitors.
Hubert said winning at Copper Point also felt like “a bit of a homecoming” for him, having worked up the road at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort earlier in his career as a Golf Professional.
“This golf course always puts on a great show,” Hubert said of Copper Point. “You come out here on any day and the service is top notch, the golf course is in great shape.
“I just love this golf course. I’ve always enjoyed it and I think it brings out the best in me.”
The PGA of BC also thanks title sponsors G&G Golf Company and Callaway Golf for their continued support of the Pro-Assistant Championship.
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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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For more information or media inquiries, please contact:
Eric MacKenzie
Communications & Marketing Manager, PGA of BC
On-site contact number: 778-995-3331
eric@pgabc.org