It’s been eight years since John Gallacher first won the British Columbia Golf senior championship and that drought came to an end Thursday, when he beat Doug Roxburgh by four strokes for his second senior’s title
“It’s a great feeling to win this again,” said Gallacher, who carded a final round (+2) 74 to finish at even par 216 for the tournament. “It’s great to be in contention and then to win it, it means I was consistent and it’s good to be consistent.”
Gallacher was rarely in trouble during his final round, making par on 14 of his first 15 holes – his lone blemish was a bogey at six – before a gorgeous approach on the par-3 16 led to a five-foot birdie putt that all but salted away the victory.
When Roxburgh hit his tee shot into the right woods on 17, en route to a triple, all that was left for Gallacher was the celebratory walk up the 18th fairway.
“Winning in 2007 was pretty special and this one is special, too,” said Gallacher, who’s off to the British Senior Amateur at Royal County Down on a Friday night flight. “I played well and it’s a good result for me.”
The Burnaby product had a share of or was solo leader during all three days of the tournament. After opening with a (-2) 70 that had him tied for first after the first round with Summerland’s Len Filek, the Vancouver Golf Club member shot an even-par 72 during Round 2 to enter the final round with a three-stroke cushion over Filek, Roxburgh and 2012 champion Sandy Harper.
Roxburgh fell four shots behind Gallacher after a bogey on the third, but he got that back with a birdie on the sixth.
Gallacher bogeyed the sixth for a two-shot swing, but would hold onto that margin for the next nine holes before pulling away on the final three holes. Roxburgh finished alone in second at (+4) 220.
“John played really well today,” said Roxburgh, who was trying to win a third consecutive B.C. senior men’s title. “He’s a deserving champion and I congratulate him on his win.”
Filek fell out of contention with bogeys on four of his first five holes, while Harper also lost sight of Gallacher with bogeys on his opening two holes.
Harper finished tied for third at (+5) 221 after his final round 76, but salvaged the day with a birdie on the first playoff hole to get the third and final provincial spot at the Canadian senior’s in Medicine Hat, Alta. in September. Harper hit his approach to a foot of the cup on the playoff hole.
Lindbjerg had a steady front nine, making bogey at six and birdie at seven to stay within three of Gallacher as they rounded the turn for the back nine. But three more bogeys on the back nine doomed Lindbjerg to a third-place finish at (+5) 221.
“John strikes the ball so well and I’m very happy for him,” said Lindbjerg, who also won the Best Ball competition with Gallacher as his partner. “I made some very bad mistakes and I didn’t play well enough to win. I am happy to win the Super Senior title again.”
SUPER SENIOR COMPETITION
In the Super Senior competition for players age 65 and older, Gudmund Lindbjerg’s (+5) score of 221 was 14 strokes better than Duncan Manson of West Vancouver and Bill Wilms of Delta, who finished at (+19) 235.
BEST BALL COMPETITION
In the two-man Best Ball Competition, John Gallacher and Gudmund Lindbjerg won the title by six strokes, as their (-13) total of 203 bettered two teams, Norm Bradley and Lance Lundy; and Doug Roxburgh and Steve Berry, who finished at (-7) 209.
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.
NATIONALS – QUOTAS – B.C. TEAM
British Columbia Golf has a total of 27 quotas to the Canadian senior men's championship to be contested at Desert Blume Golf & Country Club in Medicine Hat, beginning Sept. 1. The top three finishers, John Gallacher, Doug Roxburgh and Sandy Harper, comprise the B.C. team for this championship. Quotas will be provided to the Top 16 and ties from the B.C. senior and Super Senior at Swan-e-Set, provided they meet eligibility requirements. Players who shot (+16) 232 or better finished in the top 16 at Swan-e-Set.
2016 CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2016 British Columbia Golf Senior and Super Senior’s Championship will head to the Interior and Shuswap Estates Golf Course next summer.
For full results from Pitt Meadows, please click here
http://bcga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/bcga15/event/bcga1512/contest/8/leaderboard.htm
