Canadians Miss Cut at the British Amateur Championship
Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:17:49
Over the first two rounds of stroke play, golfers faced winds of 35-40 mph while battling a Royal Porthcawl course with long roughs and narrow fairways. Following second round action, the field was cut to the low 64 golfers for match play. The final match takes place June 8.
The five-member Canadian contingent included Matt Ion Young of Burlington, ON, Lee Curry of Ottawa, ON, Michael Hospodar of Brantford, ON, Dan Swanson of Surrey, BC and Doug Roxburgh of Vancouver, BC. Swanson led the Canadian charge but was narrowly edged out of match play contention by one stroke. After the second round, Roxburgh acknowledged the Canadian struggles but was quick to praise the calibre of golf at the championship.
"This is a wonderful tournament," said Roxburgh, who also serves as Director of Player Development for the RCGA. "We definitely had some trouble adjusting to the course and the playing conditions, which were extremely difficult for what we're used to. This is one of the top amateur tournaments in the world and the quality of golf here was extremely high."
Canadian results from the first two rounds are as follows:
Dan Swanson 76-74-150
Lee Curry 82-72-154
Matthew Ion Young 79-76-155
Michael Hospodar 81-77-158
Doug Roxburgh 83-78-161
The players were selected on the basis of national rankings, competitive results and observation by Canadian National Team coaches. Sending players to event ties in with the Player Development Program's mandate to provide international experience for Canada's best amateur golfers at top golf courses against the highest calibre fields.
For a full listing of results from the British Amateur Championship, please visit the Royal and Ancient website at www.randa.org.
The RCGA, the governing body of men's amateur golf in Canada, determines national policies and standards relating to the game on behalf of more than 300,000 of its members. In addition to conducting Canada's six national amateur championships, the RCGA also conducts three professional tournaments: the Bell Canadian Open, The AT&T Canada Senior Open and the Bank of Montreal Canadian Women's Open. Information about all RCGA events and programs can be found on the Internet at www.rcga.org.
