CONTACT: Bob Thomas (604) 688-7711, Room 2601 (eves);
(604) 922-3311 (days)
Internet: http://www.pacificcoastamateur.com/
E-mail: BobTatFORE@aol.com
LEPP SETS COURSE RECORD, LEADS PACIFIC COAST
AMATEUR BY SIX SHOTS AFTER TWO ROUNDS
WEST
VANCOUVER, B.C., August 6 – When James Lepp woke up this morning and saw cloudy
skies over Capilano Golf & Country Club, he was ecstatic. “I play really well when it’s cloudy,” said
Lepp as he headed into the second round of the 37th Pacific Coast Amateur
Championship.
Does he ever!
The
19-year-old resident of Abbotsford, B.C. continued his torrid golf month with a
course-record 62, 8 under par over the venerable Stanley Thompson-designed
layout, and has a six-shot lead over fellow B.C. resident Craig Doell of
Victoria at the tournament’s midpoint.
Lepp is at
68-62 – 130, 10 under par for two rounds.
Doell backed up yesterday’s 69 with a 3-under-par 67 today and is at
136, 4 under par.
A trio of Californians -- Pac-10 champion John
Merrick of Long Beach (69 today), Western Amateur runner-up J.J. Jakovac of
Napa (69), and reigning Southern
California Amateur champion Roy Moon of North Hills (66) -- are in third place
at 137.
Lepp and Doell
powered the British Columbia Golf Association to an overwhelming victory in the
Morse Cup Team Competition. With the
best two of three scores counting each day, BCGA totaled 265, nine shots in
front of the Southern California GA and 10 shots in front of defending champion
Northern California GA.
Lepp -- who
won his second straight B.C. Amateur Championship last month and the Canadian
Tour’s Greater Vancouver Classic last Sunday -- had nine birdies and one bogey
on his round. Twice he birdied three
holes in a row and six of his birdies came as he shot 30 on the front
nine. Lepp is 41 under par for his last
10 rounds, covering two-and-one-half tournaments.
He broke the
course record of 64 first set by Don January and equaled by Ian Fleming and
Chris McDougall (who shot even-par 70 today). It was just Lepp’s third round on the course; he hadn’t played it
until Monday’s practice round.
Lepp explained
his affinity for cloudy weather after his record round. “Sometimes when it’s sunny, I can’t see the
clubface and the ball clearly, especially on my drives,” said Lepp. “When it’s cloudy, I feel really good about
my chances.”
However, Lepp
wasn’t totally impressed with his record-breaking round. “I didn’t really feel comfortable over the
ball all day,” said Lepp, “but I made a ton of putt, including two that were
ridiculous.”
One was a
63-footer for birdie on No. 6. “It was
a snake, up and down and all around,” Lepp said with a shake of his head. The other was a 45-footer with 20 feet of
break on No. 13. “That one was actually
a tougher putt than the one on No. 3,” said Lepp.
The birdie on
No. 13 kicked off Lepp’s second string of three consecutive birdies but he
wasn’t concerned with shooting a magical 59.
“I knew that I had finished the easier holes on this course,” he said
and he finished with three consecutive pars.
The
31-year-old Doell, the only mid-amateur among the leaders, had eight 4s on his
front nine today and birdied three of the four par-3 holes at Capilano. The 21-year-old Jakovac posted seven 3s on
his card, including six in seven holes, but bogied two of the last three holes
and finished at 1-under-par 69 today.
First-round
leader Elliott Wainwright of Hillsborough, CA, skied to a 76 today, while J.C.
Deacon of Ontario, who was in second place with a 67 yesterday, struggled to a
79 today.
The third
round begins tomorrow at 7:30 a.m.
Lepp, Doell and Jakovac are in the final pairing, which tees off at
noon. Spectators are welcome to attend
at no charge. The 72-hole tournament
concludes Friday.
Hole-by-hole
scorecards, third-round pairings and other tournament information may be found
at www.pacificcoastamateur.com.
RESULTS:
37th Pacific Coast Amateur
Championship
at Capilano
Golf & Country Club; West Vancouver, British Columbia
6,618 yards;
par 70
36-hole results:
130 -- James
Lepp, Abbotsford, BC, 68-62.
136 -- Craig
Doell, Victoria, BC, 69-67.
137 -- J.J.
Jakovac, Napa, CA, 68-69; Roy Moon, North Hills, CA, 71-66; John Merrick, Long
Beach, CA, 68-69.
138 -- David Oh, Cerritos, CA, 73-65; Mike Sica,
La Quinta, CA, 71-67; Rusty Kennedy, Phoenix, AZ, 68-70; Chris Botsford,
Pasadena, CA, 70-68; Lee Curry, Kemptville, ONT, 72-66; Brady Exber, Las Vegas,
NV, 68-70; Michael Putnam, Tacoma, WA, 69-69.
139 -- Peter
Tomasulo, Long Beach, CA, 70-69; Ben Hayes, Paradise Valley, AZ, 69-70; Michael
Wilson, Pacific Grove, CA, 72-67; Travis Johnson, Bellflower, CA, 70-69; Dan
Swanson, Surrey, BC, 68-71; Brock MacKenzie, Yakima, WA, 69-70; Luke Swilor,
Sandy, UT, 70-69; Ian Hagen, Reno, NV, 70-69; Parker McLachlin, Honolulu, HI,
70-69.
140 -- Alex
Prugh, Spokane, WA, 69-71.
141 -- Lindsay
Bernakevitch, Vancouver, 70-71; Jim Strickland, Scottsdale, AZ, 68-73; Jeff
Wilson, Fairfield, CA, 70-71; Marc Rhoades, McCall, ID, 70-71; Julien Trudeau,
Montreal, QB, 70-71.
142 -- Mike
Mezei, Lethbridge, ALB, 73-69; Chris MacDougall, Vancouver, BC, 72-70; Zack
Miller, San Rafael, CA, 72-70; Elliott Wainwright, Hillsborough, CA, 66-76;
John Ellis, San Jose, CA, 74-68; Chris Baryla, El Paso, TX, 68-74.
143 -- Ryan
Fery, Beaverton, OR, 73-70; George Zahringer, New York, NY, 74-69; Alex Stamey,
Mill Creek, WA, 72-71.
144 --
Chen-Chih Chiang, Taipei, ROC, 75-69; Greg Puga, Los Angeles, CA, 73-71; Reid
Hatley, Spokane, WA, 71-73; Seann Harlingten, Rancho Mirage, CA, 73-71; Dan
Potter, Hayden Lake, ID, 73-71; Erik Hanson, Kirkland, WA, 70-74.
145 -- Brian
Hughes, Portland, OR, 69-76; Frank Van Dornick, Camrose, ALB, 71-74; Ashdon
Woods, Lander, WY, 73-72; Jason Monteleone, Vancouver, BC, 71-74; Pete Stone,
Bountiful, UT, 71-74; Chris Maletis, Portland, OR, 72-73; Brien Davis, Las
Vegas, NV, 75-70.
146 -- Charlie
Beljan, Mesa, AZ, 71-75; Derek Tolan, Highlands Ranch, CO, 72-74; Spencer
Levin, Elk Grove, CA, 71-75; Corey Prugh, Spokane, WA, 73-73; Andrew Lovas,
White Rock, BC, 73-73; J.C. Deacon, Unionville, ONT, 67-79; Ryan Vallely,
Medicine Hat, ALB, 70-76.
147 -- James
Love, Calgary, ALB, 69-78; Brady Stockton, San Ramon, CA, 75-72; Steve Sheehan,
Reno, NV, 74-73; Everett Grimes, II, Nampa, ID, 73-74.
148 -- Nico
Bollini, Yorba Linda, 73-75; Tung-Hung Hsieh, Taipei, ROC, 73-75; John Pate,
Santa Barbara, CA, 73-75.
149 -- Patrick
Hanlon, Las Cruces, NM, 74-75; Kane Webber, Boulder, CO, 75-74; Rick DeWitt,
Arvada, CO, 77-72.
150 -- Tyler
Symons, Albuquerque, NM, 78-72; Cullen Brasfield, Reno, NV, 77-73; Jay
Poletiek, Portland, OR, 73-77; Gregg Lavoie, Pasco, CA, 72-78; Erik Nielsen,
Tucson, AZ, 77-73; Kurt Kowaluk, Liveley, ONT, 73-77.
151 --
Shih-Kai Lo, Taipei, ROC, 74-77; Ryan Moore, Puyallup, WA, 73-78; Aaron Curtis,
Twin Falls, ID, 76-75; Dale Goehring, Calgary, ALB, 76-75.
153 -- Jake
Grodzinsky, Cornville, AZ, 79-74; Shawn Wills, Broomfield, CO, 74-79; Iain
MacDonald, Fullerton, CA, 76-77; Matthew Ion Young, Burlington, ONT, 74-79.
154 -- David
Nelson, Reno, NV, 80-74.
155 -- Travis
Whisman, Reno, NV, 79-76.
156 -- Brad
Mombert, Bend, OR, 77-79; Carl Jensen, Salt Lake City, UT, 77-79.
159 -- Craig
Reasoner, Casper, WY, 75-84; Anton Salome, Socorro, NM, 77-82.
162 -- Niel
King, Gillette, WY, 76-86.
164 -- Dana
Wade, Las Vegas, NV, 85-79.
WD -- Mark
Thaxton, Tigard, OR, 76-WD.
Morse Cup Team Competition (best 2 of 3 scores each of first two
rounds count for team total)
Final 36-hole results:
265 -- British
Columbia , 136-129 (Craig Doell, 69-67; James Lepp, 68-62; Dan Swanson, 68-71).
274 --
Southern California, 139-135 (Nico Bollini, 73-75; John Merrick, 68-69; Roy
Moon, 71-66).
275 --
Northern California, 138-137 (John Ellis, 74-68 ; J.J. Jakovac, 68-69 ; Jeff
Wilson, 70-71).
279 -- Pacific
Northwest, 137-142 (Chris Baryla, 68-74; Chris Maletis, 72-73; Michael Putnam,
69-69).
282 -- Washington
State, 141-141 (Brock Mackenzie, 69-70; Ryan Moore, 73-71; Alex Stamey, 72-71).
283 -- Alberta,
140-143 (James Love, 69-78; Michael Mezei, 73-69; Frank Dominick, 71-74 ).
283 -- Public
Links of Southern California , 143-140 (Travis Johnson, 70-69; Ian MacDonald,
76-77; Greg Puga, 73-71).
283 --
Southern Nevada, 143-140 (Brien Davis, 75-70; Brady Exber, 68-70; Dana Wade,
85-79).
284 -- Utah,
141-143 (Carl Jensen, 77-79; Peter Stone, 71-74; Luke Swilor, 70-69).
288 -- Oregon,
142-146 (Ryan Fery, 73-70; Brian Hughes, 69-76; Brad Mombert, 77-79).
288 -- Idaho,
143-145 (Aaron Curtis, 76-75; Everett Grimes II, 73-74; Marc Rhoades, 70-71).
291 -- Golf
Association of Republic China, 147-144 (Chen-Chih Chang, 75-69 ; Tung-Hung
Hsieh, 73-75 ; Shih-Kai Lo, 74-77).
295 --
Arizona, 148-147 (Charlie Beljan, 71-75; Jake Grodzinsky, 79-74; Erik Nielsen,
77-73).
295 --
Colorado, 149-146 (Rick DeWitt, 77-72; Shawn Wills, 74-79; Kane Webber, 75-74).
297 --
Northern Nevada, 151-146 (Cullen Brasfield, 77-73; David Nelson, 80-74; Steve
Sheehan, 74-73).
298 -- Sun
Country, 151-147 (Patrick Hanlon, 76-75 ; Anton Salome, 75-82 ; Tyler Simmons,
78-72 ).
304 --
Wyoming, 148-156 (Niel King, 76-86; Craig Reasoner, 75-84; Ashdon Woods,
73-72).
NOTE:
The third
round is tomorrow (Thursday). The
tournament concludes on Friday.
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