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It took a playoff, but Kelowna’s Nik Federko finally won his first Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour event on Tuesday.
The Immaculata High School student defeated fellow 17-year-old Parker Wadsworth of Vernon on the second playoff hole on the challenging Predator Ridge Golf Resort course to capture the Watkins Ford tournament title.
“It’s about time,” said Federko, who finished the two-day event with a 159 total (79-80). “Four years and lots of seconds and thirds later, I was bound to win one.”
Kelowna’s Derek Graham, 19, a first-place finisher at the MJT stop in Kelowna (The Harvest Golf Club) last month, finished in a tie for third place (161—83-78) with former Kelowna Secondary School teammate, 17-year-old Marcus Apchin (79-82).
Other Central Okanagan golfers struggled at Predator.
Tiegan Taylor of the Kelowna Golf and Country Club finished in sixth place in the girls’ (15-19) competition with rounds of 83 and 79 for a 162 total. That was 12 strokes off the pace set by winner Sarah Lawrence of Duvall, Wash. (76-74—150). Rhiannon Jones of West Kelowna placed seventh with a 36-hole total of 165 (86-79) while Kelowna’s Lauren Rutherglen was another stroke back at 166 (79-87),
Kelowna’s Cole Wilson placed sixth among 25 golfers in the juvenile boys’ competition. The 15-year-old shot rounds of 72 and 80 for a 152 total, six strokes behind the winner, Jackson Jacob of Fort Langley.
Ortiz wins in Kamloops
Kelowna’s Brandon Ortiz overcame winds gusting up to 80km/h to shoot a 68 for a Sunshine Open victory at the Kamloops Golf and Country Club on Sunday.
Ortiz, a Kelowna Secondary School grad, carded a 31 on the front nine on the way to a three-stroke victory. He opened the 36-hole event on Saturday by shooting a 71 in temperatures nearing 40 C.
“Sunday’s play by Brandon was probably some of the best golf I’ve ever witnessed,” said Brice MacDermott, the club’s head pro and general manager, who also hails from Kelowna.
Richdale ‘on hand’ at CP Women’s Open
Another KSS grad, Samantha Richdale, tees off at 12:53 p.m. (PDT) today at the CP Women’s Open in Calgary, looking to be the first Canadian to win the even since Jocelyn Bourassa in 1973.
Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald previewed the event with an interview with Richdale, who was born in Calgary, but moved to Kelowna at an early age.
Richdale told the story of her hand being mangled by her roommate’s cat in February and how it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
The 32-year-old Richdale went on to win her first Symetra Tour win in six years in April (Florida’s Natural Charity Classic) and placed 14th at the Shoprite Classic in June for her best-ever finish on the LPGA tour.
Golf PGA of B.C.
Harvest Golf Club professional Finlay Young fired rounds of 74 and 68 to finish in a tie for fourth among 41 golfers at the Golf PGA of B.C. championship earlier this week in Colwood, B.C.
Finlay’s 142 total on the Royal Colwood Golf Club course was four strokes back of winner Gordy Scutt of the Olympic View Golf Club in Victoria, who carded rounds of 71 and 67 for a payout of $6,000. Finlay took home $1,875 for his efforts.
Kelowna Golf and Country Club professional Rob Anderson posted rounds of 75 and 70 to finish in a tie for 12th place. Anderson’s 145 total earned him $545.
The Okanagan Golf Club’s Clay Stothers shot a 74 on Monday and followed up with a 76 on Tuesday. His 150 total gave him a $215 payout.
Provincial bantam championship
Matt Hopley of Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club finished in a tie for ninth place among 50 young competitors at the B.C. bantam and novice championship tournament earlier this week.
Hopley carded rounds of 76 and 79 for a 155 total while Ilirian Zalli of Vancouver won the provincial event with a spectacular 137 (63-74) on the demanding nine-hole Bowen Island Golf Club course.
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