2008 HUB
INTERNATIONAL
Chilliwack Open Tournament
Review:
“SMEETH TAKES CHARGE IN FINAL ROUND OF
HUB INTERNATIONAL”
After setting a tournament course record 63 on day one, it looked like Point
Roberts Head Professional Kyle German was in full command of his game and
virtually unstoppable. German not only went bogey free in round one making 8
birdies, but came into this event with a 66 and 65 under his belt from his last
two previous events at University GC and Richmond CC. Looking at how solid
German has been playing in these last three rounds (21 under par), it appeared
that his three shot lead over McCleery’s James Harper would be enough of a
cushion to win the Chilliwack Open trophy.
However, after 9 holes of a very windy second round, German came back to the
field with two double bogeys, shooting a 3 over par score of 40. This brought
the field right back into the tournament and it wasn’t too long before the
chasers took advantage of this. Both Professional Andrew Smeeth of Ledgeview and
Bryn Parry of the Nationwide Tour made their moves by shooting 3-under par and
4-under respectively. At the turn, it was Smeeth who now held the lead at -6
with both German and Parry at -5 and one shot behind. A quick birdie on the 10th
by German pulled him back to even, however ahead in the second last group of the
day, Parry eagled the 11th par 5 to move ahead of Smeeth by one at -7. Bogeys at
12 by Parry and German and a birdie by Smeeth opened up Smeeth’s lead again, but
soon after a bogey himself on the 13th, he found himself back in a tie for the
lead with Parry at -6. German’s back-to-back bogeys at 12 and 13 pushed him back
to -4 and two shots behind the leaders. The turning point of the 2008 HUB
INTERNATIONAL Chilliwack Open came on the challenging par 3 - 14th and drivable
15th where Smeeth clutched up and made two impressive birdies to get him to -8
on the day. With neither Parry nor German making birdies on these two holes,
Smeeth now held a two shot lead over Parry with three to go. A remarkable
up-and-down on the 16th hole for par kept Smeeth’s lead at 2-up with two holes
to go.
The two finishing holes at Chilliwack Golf & CC make any tournament very
dramatic: the 17th hole, a tough par 3, usually into a one or two club cross
wind and the 18th, a 425 yard par 4, which requires both length and accuracy off
the tee in order to leave an open iron shot to the green. With German struggling
in the final group, it was essentially Smeeth and Parry battling head-to-head on
these last two holes. After Smeeth sent his 6-iron shot to the front center of
the green, the pressure was now on Parry to deliver a similar shot to keep in
the tournament. When Parry’s iron shot sailed about 2 yards too far in the air
and took a hard hop off the back of the green, Smeeth went further into the
driver seat. Once Parry failed to convert his up-and-down and Smeeth tapped in
for par, it was Smeeth at -8 and Parry at -5. At 18 Smeeth delivered another
fine drive down the middle and solid iron to the front of the green, capped the
tournament. With a solid two-putt from 40 feet Andrew Smeeth was crowned the
2008 HUB INTERNATIONAL Chilliwack Open Winner, claiming himself first place and
a cheque for $2,000. Runner-up honours went to Nationwide Tour’s Bryn Parry with
a fine score of 67 on the day and -5 for the tournament, collecting himself a
cheque for $1,600. Kyle German and James Harper shared 3rd place honours with
very respectable 36 hole totals of -3. Canadian Tour rookie Jeremy Paradis
claimed solo 5th place with a total of -2.
In the Amateur side of the Chilliwack Open, local boy Danny Hebert of the
Chilliwack Golf & CC proved too much for all other challengers, posting very
decent scores of 74, 72 winning OVERALL AMATEUR HONOURS. Runner-up honours also
went to one of Chilliwack GC’s own Keith Dick. Overall Net winner in the Open
was Daniel Caton of Chilliwack Golf & CC.
Thanks go out to the dozens of volunteers (from both Chilliwack and the VGT
scoring crew) and committee members that were on hand during this weekend’s
event that made the 2008 HUB INTERNATIONAL Chilliwack Open a resounding success.
A special thanks also goes out to the Superintendent and Greens crew for making
the playing conditions possibly the best ever at Chilliwack Golf & Country Club!
VGT would like to pay a special thank-you to the Title Sponsor of the 2008
Chilliwack Open - HUB INTERNATIONAL. Formerly Barton Insurance, HUB
INTERNATIONAL has been supporting the Chilliwack Open for many years and through
their sponsorship, once again provided all the players with fabulous tee-gifts.
HUB’S sponsorship as well as that from the many Silver and Gold Sponsors allowed
for a fabulous amateur prize table and a total Pro purse of $10,000. We look
forward to a continued relationship with the Chilliwack Open in years to come
VGT’s next stop is this coming weekend at the 2008 GOLDEN EAR’S OPEN at Pitt
Meadows Golf Club.
VGT ORDER OF MERIT UPDATE:
With his win, Smeeth vaults himself event up the VGT Order of Merit with a YEAR
TO DATE EARNINGS of $5,796, some $2,200 shy of VGT’s OOM Leader Bryn Parry with
$8,011. Guilford GC’s Dan Swanson holds down 2nd Place in the OOM with $6,808
after his t6th finish and $600. VGT’s OOM Winner for 2008 will be granted the
illustrious prize of a paid entry to the 2008 PGA Tour Qualifying School.
Sincerely,
Fraser Mulholland
Commissioner
Vancouver Golf Tour
