BC Match Play Team Championship Final
Northview Ridge Golf Course- Sunday, May 6th

Dear golfing friends,

After six long weeks of play and some fantastic golf witnessed, I am proud to announce Professional Dan Swanson (right) of Fraserview Golf Course and his Amateur partner Richard Kellington (left) of Guilford Golf Club as the winners of the 2007 BC Match Play Team Championship. Swanson and Kellington’s 6 & 4 win over Northview Professional Matt Palsenbarg and Seymour Creek Professional Ryan Williams was a fine display of what they did right beginning on the qualifying tournament on April 1st, which ranked them the 4th seed spot in the draw.

Swanson and Kellington started out this rainy day with a birdie on the third hole by Swanson to go 1 up. Some solid pars from both teams on holes 4 through 6 kept the match at 1 up until Palsenbarg blasted two great shots on the 580 yard par 5 to 15 feet. His putt was conceded after Swanson and Kellington knew the best they could do were pars. The teams halved the eight hole with birdies after two great drives from Swanson and Williams on this 350 yard 'risk-reward' hole, keeping the match at all squared.

The pivotal turning point in the match came on the next three holes. On the ninth, Swanson hit a fantastic 2-iron to 4 feet that was later conceded after Palsenbarg and Williams failed to convert their par putts. On the tenth hole Swanson again peppered the flag with his approach to about 3 feet. His putt was again conceded after Palsenbarg and Williams both found the water. It was Kellington's turn to shine on number eleven as his approach on the 145 yard par 3 landed within six feet from the hole. After two watery shots from Palsenbarg and Williams, Kellington’s putt was conceded. This left team Swanson and Kellington 3 up.

Birdies were exchanged on hole twelve by Williams and thirteen by Swanson, keeping the match at 3 up. Fourteen was halved with pars by Williams and Kellington and later some fine drives and short pitch shots on the 334 yard fifteenth hole led to birdies by Williams and Swanson again halving the hole.

The memorable downhill sixteenth was played very impressively by all four players, leaving the longest putt for birdie from 20 feet. After two misses from Kellington and Palsenbarg, Williams nailed his 18 footer to put added pressure on Swanson's shoulders. He responded calmly, knocking his 10 footer right in the heart for the half.

The long seventeen was halved with pars after Williams just narrowly missed his birdie chance from 15 feet while Kellington answered nicely from 6 feet for par.

Eighteen proved to be the challenging hole of the day that created another momentum shift in the match. With Kellington making a solid par 4 and Williams narrowly missing his 5 foot putt for par, the match ended at 4 up to Palsenbarg and Williams after the morning 18.

With a short rest for lunch and to warm-up, the afternoon portion of the tournament ensued with some great shot-making by all four players as well as some near misses for birdie from Palsenbarg and Williams from about 15 feet. After a clutch putt from 4 feet under the hole by Swanson, Swanson and Kellington found themselves 5 up. Hole two resulted in no change. Later with a couple of wayward drives from Palsenbarg and Williams, resulting twin bogeys left the door wide open for Swanson and Kellington who took full advantage shooting solid par 4s.

The match remained 6 up after both teams converted pars on the fourth and fifth. Later when the first three players missed their birdie attempts from 10-15 feet, Kellington dealt another blow with yet another team birdie to take the match to 7 up with 12 holes to go.

The swelling crowd of 40 fans was treated to some fantastic shot-making all day. One fine example came when Matt Palsenbarg smashed a drive and a 4-iron from 235 yards out to 1 foot and tapped in for eagle. This consolation eagle shifted the momentum briefly, taking the match back to 6 up.

On the next hole Swanson and Kellington came back with near eagle chip-ins, forcing Williams to make an 8 footer to half the hole. His putt just slipped by the hole’s edge, leaving Swanson and Kellington again 7 up.

Palsenbarg and Williams took the 27th hole with a team par after Swanson and Kellington made a couple of wayward tee-shots, taking the match back to 6 up with 9 holes to go.

For a brief moment it looked like the momentum had again shifted with Palsenbarg and Williams trying for a back nine charge. With a win on the 28th hole they again take the lead back down to 5 up. This surge was short-lived as Swanson and Kellington quickly made two pars to regain a 6 up lead with 7 holes to go.

Another birdie by Palsenbarg on the 12th brought the lead back to 5 up, but the steady play of Swanson and Kellington on the 31st and 32nd hole kept the match at 6 and 4.

At day’s end Palsenbarg and Williams each took home $875 for their runner-up finish while our 2007 BC Match Play Team Champions Dan Swanson took home $1,250 and his Amateur partner Richard Kellington received $1,000 in gift certificates to MarketPlace IGA.

Matt Palsenbarg, Fraser Mulholland, Ryan Williams

Our thanks go out to all the volunteers who helped co-ordinate our 2007 BC Match Play Championship – in particular to our reporters Vic Johnson and Daniel Hill. Special thanks go out to Northview Golf & Country Club and all of our hosting sites this year!

Sincerely,
Fraser Mulholland
President
Vancouver Golf Tour
(778) 866-GOLF
fraser@VancouverGolfTour.com
www.VancouverGolfTour.com

BC Match Play Semi-Finals Results - April 28th

Download Results/Draw

Semi-finals Match #1

Dan Swanson - Richard Kellington
win 3 & 1 over
Jarad Boddy - Scott Shepherd

The first semi-final match of the day with Boddy/Shepherd versus Swanson/Kellington was like watching a Dallas and Vancouver hockey game, both teams were grinding as hard as they could. Swanson and Kellington went up by one on the third hole, only to see J. Boddy chip it in on the fourth hole to tie it up. It stayed that way until the seventh hole when Dan Swanson birdied to go up by one again. On the next hole Scottie Shepherd birdied to tie it up again. They both parred the next hole and remained even after nine.

On the tenth hole both Boddy and Sheppard bogied to go one down. It stayed that way until the fifteenth when Dan S. birdied to put his team 2 up. On the sixteenth both teams birdied to halve the hole. On the next hole Dan S. rammed in a long putt from the fringe to close the deal and end it for his team, winning three and one.

Match Conducted and Reported by Vic Johnson

Semi-Finals Match #2

Matt Palsenbarg - Ryan Williams
win 5 & 3 over
Ryan Lidkea - Matt Makinson

The second semi-final match got under way with two birdies on the first hole, and the scoring started on the 2nd with Ryan Williams from the greenside bunker to 3' and sunk his putt for par putting them one up. An eagle on #3 from Williams puts their team 2 up after 3. The fourth hole is halved with pars and the 5th hole is conceded by Lidkea and Makinson because of lost balls - the match now 3 up. After another fine shot by Williams to within 2 feet of the pin, the putt was conceded and that made the match 4 up. Through the first 6 holes the team RW & MP hitting the fairways from the tee which would seem to have put a bit of outside pressure on Makinson and Lidkea early. On the 7th Lidkea makes a good up and down out of the greenside bunker and putt for a par for the win and the match went back to 3up for the opposition. Another great shot and putt by Williams on the par three 9th and the match was 4 up once again.

The back nine started with birdies on #10 by both teams for the half. On the par 3- 11th, a great putt from 35 feet put the pressure on Ryan Williams to half the hole from 7 feet - which he converted beautifully.

After reaching the 12th in 2, Lidkea's three putt and Williams' par pushed the match into a dormie state, 5 up with 5 to go. With holes running out, Makinson fired a wedge to 3 feet on the 14th and after making his birdie, kept his team alive albeit still 4 down with 4 to go. Another display of fine shot making by Ryan Lidkea on #15 with a driver and wedge to 6 feet and if capitalized could have sent the match into the last three holes, but after Palsenbarg's 40 footer from the front of the green found the cup, the match ended with Williams and Palsenbarg 5 up with 3 to play.

Match Conducted and Reported by Daniel Hill

BC Match Play Team Championship Final
Northview Ridge Golf Course
Sunday, May 6th
7:30am start - 36 hole match

Dan Swanson - Richard Kellington (4)
vs.
Ryan Williams - Matt Palsenbarg (6)

BC Match Play Quarter Finals

Marine Drive- Saturday, April 21st

Ryan Williams - Matt Palsenbarg (6) vs. Kurt Cassidy - Doug Chivers (30)

An early birdie by Ryan Williams on #1 after driving the par 4 342 yard hole to 12 feet put the message out - Here we are! Team Cassidy and Chivers replied with a birdie on #2 to square the match and the rest of the front nine was halved with pars, both teams missing their share of birdie putts, but in particular Cassidy. A couple of great par savers by Williams and Palsenbarg kept them in the match heading into the back nine.

Again, pars on 10 and 11 were good enough to half the holes. The number 12 hole saw one of the longest tee-shots it has ever witnessed in its existence when Ryan Williams launched one off the tee all the way to the 160 yard marker on this 500 yard par 5 - ALL AIR! Needless to say, he had to rely on his partner to make the birdie in order to half the hole and stay square in the match. Two solid shots by Cassidy on the par 5 13th led to a near eagle, but still a win on the hole after Palsenbarg and Williams failed to convert their birdies.

Again a swing of the pendulum when poor tee-shots from both Williams and Palsenbarg on 14 led to scrambly pars which left the door wide open for Cassidy to take the match in their hands. His 8 foot uphill putt however couldn't find the hole and this again kept Williams and Palsenbarg's chances alive. Two solid shots on 15 and a great putt from 12 feet from Palsenbarg and the match was again all square.

This didn't stop Cassidy from making another statement on 16 after he capitalized on his great iron shot in to 8 feet - the match was again one up in their favor. Some scrambly pars on 17 by both teams and the match went down to 18 with the amateur team one up - Dormie. A well played 3 wood from Cassidy and a mid iron to 30 feet and it looked for sure like Williams or Palsenbarg needed to make birdie to extend the match. Williams managed the first part of this with two great shots into 12 feet. After Cassidy left his 30 footer a good 3 feet short, Williams stepped up and JUST missed his birdie. Cassidy's sidehill 3 footer to win wouldn't go in the side door and all of a sudden the door was opened.

A booming drive from Williams to within 15 yards of the green and a pitch to 6 feet put him in great position. Cassidy's pitch shot from 80 yards got up to the hole, but spun back to 20 feet, and after his miss it was all up to Williams to seal the match with his putt which he did. End result - Williams - Palsenbarg on the 19th hole over Cassidy - Chivers.

Reported by Fraser Mulholland

Vancouver Golf Club - Saturday, April 21st

Ryan Lidkea and Matt Makinson (2) vs. Cory Draper and Mike Haraguchi (7).

Three birdies , all within 6' , in the first 6 holes by Ryan Lidkea put his team into a commanding 2 up position .

Then , on the par 3 7th Matt Makinson drained a downhill right to left breaker to win the hole and go 3up . On the 10th , Cory Draper had

the first eagle putt of the day from 18' but settled for a 2' birdie to half the hole after Lidkea also made his birdie . Makinson came through again on

the 12th , from 9' , to go 4 up . Haraguchi had the only birdie at 13 where Ryan and Matt were also within 8' , shaving the

lead back to 3up with 5 to go . After a great second shot to 4' at the 14th , Draper's birdie brought the match back to 'Lidkea/Makinson 2up with 4 to play' .

But the momentum again swayed back in Lidkea and Makinson's favor at the 15th , when Matt sunk a critical downhill right to left breaking putt from at least 15' . A clutch putt that put the match back to 3 up !

Pars for both teams at 16 sealed the win 3 and 2 for Lidkea / Makinson . They will meet Williams/Palsenbarg in the Semi-Finals at Capilano on Saturday, April 28th. Tee-times start at 11:48 am.

Reported by George Sterling

Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club - Sunday, April 22nd

Jarod Boddy - Scott Shepherd (1) vs. Andrew Smeeth - Chris Wood (9)

On a beautiful sunny day on one of the most picturesque golf courses in the city, the team of Shepherd and Boddy got a great start to the day with a birdie on #1, taking a 1 up lead on the match. After some steady pars by both teams on the next three holes, the match remained at all square after four holes. Two great birdies by Boddy and Wood and another couple of pars on 6 again left the match at even. The momentum swung in team Boddy/Shepherd's favor with a solo birdie from 6 feet for Boddy after two great shots to get to the par 5 7th hole. A team bogey on #8 however put the match back to 1 up, and after both teams parred #9, that's how the match finished on the front nine.

The tenth hole started out just as the front nine did, this time with Scott Shepherd making a fantastic second shot to 5 feet on the 453 par 4 10th hole, making the match again 2 up. Both teams made birdies on #11, again and on #12, both teams had great chances for birdie, but both Smeeth and Shepherd failed to capitalize and the match remained at 2up. ON #13, a costly 3 putt bogey from Smeeth and a great up and down for par from Boddy put the match at 3 up with five to go.

The short par 4 #14 was where the momentum tipped once again in Shepher/Boddy's favor. Looking like they were going to surrender the hole with Shepherd out of the hole and Boddy buried in the greenside bunker in two, Boddy holed out miraculously for birdie and again they won the hole. Dormie, four up with four to go. The 15th hole was halved with two birdies by Boddy and Wood, but that was all she wrote - Jarod Boddy - Scott Shepherd win 4 & 3 over Andrew Smeeth - Chris Wood.

Reported by Fraser Mulholland

Morgan Creek Golf Club - Sunday - Sunday, April 22nd

Dan Swanson - Richard Kellington (4) vs. Dave Zibrik - Jay Balloch (21)

The weather was perfect and the match went well. In the first nine Dan Swanson was clearly on top of a game that included an eagle on the par five second hole, and birdies on the seventh and ninth holes. Richard Kellington sunk a short birdie putt on the sixth hole for a four up lead after eight over Dave Zibrik and Jay Balloch ( a familiar start ). Both teams birdied the ninth.
After both teams parred the tenth, Jay birdied the eleventh and his partner Dave Zibrik birdied the twelfth to cut the lead to two up with six to play. The thirteenth hole proved to be pivotal when Richard Kellington hit his tee shot OB. It was a par 5 and the three remaining players were on in regulation with both Dave and Jay inside Dan with makeable birdie putts. Dan then drained his long putt forcing Jay to make a downhill ten footer just to half the hole and remain two down. On the fourteenth hole, a 160 yard par three, Dan hit it stiff and sank his birdie putt to regain a three hole advantage. Both teams parred the next two holes and the match ended with with Swanson/Kellington winning 3 and 2 .
Just too much Dan Swanson for Dave Zibrik, who was fighting a bulky putter and Jay Balloch who was struggling with a bit of a hook off the tee today. Good golf, only one hole was won with a par.

Reported by Vic Johnson

BC Match Play 2nd Round in Review:

After some hard-fought matches, the 2007 BC Match Play heads into next weekend's quarter finals with with six teams ranked in the top 10 seeds from qualifying. Only two teams, namely Kurt Cassidy and Gord Chivers (30) and Jay Balloch - Dave Zibrik (21) fall outside of the top 10. The Cinderella amateur team of Cassidy and Chivers had no trouble with their match over the professional duo of Oliver Tubb and Steve Cullen, winning the battle 5 & 4. A poor start to putting in the eyes of Tubb cost them the momentum of the match. Balloch and Zibrik had their hands full in their 2nd round match against 5th seed team Fraser Mulholland and Sergej Dronov, battling back from being 4 down after 8 holes to win on the 18th hole at King's Links Golf Club. A key eagle on #14 by Zibrik and timely birdies on 17 and 18 by Balloch finished off the comeback of the match play tournament thus far. The other match contested at King's Links was won by 4th seed team Dan Swanson and Richard Kellington by a score of 2 & 1 over the 20th seed team of Dave and Scott Kraemer.

In other 2nd Round Matches, a chip-in for eagle on #18 at Mayfair Lakes by Scott Shepherd ended the hopes of Dan Warburton and Aaron Hale. The number one seeding of Shepherd and Jarad Boddy won the match 2 up on the 18th hole. Second seed team of Matt Makinson and Ryan Lidkea had their hands full as well as they battled 18th seed team of Dean Godel and Frank Cousins down to the wire, winning 1 up on the 18th at Mayfair as well.

The two matches conducted at Beach Grove Golf Club were won quite handly by both the 7th seeded team of Mike Haraguchi and Cory Draper - 4 & 3 over 10th seed team Jeremy Paradis and Mark Pitts and by the 6th seed team Matt Palsenbarg and Ryan Williams by a score of 4 & 2 over 22nd seed team Jay Michaluk and Kyle Moody

The team who seems to be handling their matches with the most of ease after two rounds is the 9th seeding team of Andrew Smeeth and Chris Wood. After a very easy time of their first round match, winning 6 & 5, Smeeth and Wood had little trouble finishing off their opponents Morgan Good and Carson Chambers 4 & 3 at Pitt Meadows Golf Club.

Quarter-final matches get underway next weekend at Shaughnessy, Morgan Creek, Marine Drive and Vancouver Golf Club.

Congratulations to all the teams who made it to the second round and who were eliminated and good luck to all teams remaining in the draw. Teams that made it to the second round did make it to the prize table and cheques and gift certificates will be mailed out to you shortly.

Sincerely,

Fraser Mulholland
President
Vancouver Golf Tour

2007 BC Match Play Qualifying Scores

Please find below the results of the Qualifying Weekend for the 62nd Edition of the BC Match Play Team Championship. The first round gets underway next Sunday, April 8th at Royalwood Golf Course in Chilliwack. The draw for the round of 32 will be posted here on Wednesday. Congratulations to the 32 qualifiers, especially our low qualifiers from each site:

Low Qualifiers:
Meadow Gardens: Scott Shepherd / Jarad Boddy – 62
McCleery: Ryan Lidkea / Matt Makinson – 64
Ledgeview: Ryan Williams / Matt Palsenbarg – 65

Special thanks to our Qualifying Round Presenting Sponsors:
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Times and the Vancouver Courier.

Good luck to all those who qualified!

Regards,
Fraser Mulholland
Commissioner
Vancouver Golf Tour

Meadow Gardens Golf Club
Pitt Meadows, BC
Par 72, 6597 yards
(top 10 teams advance to 1st Round)
PRESENTED BY

1st Scott Shepherd / Jarad Boddy – 62
2nd Dan Swanson / Richard Kellington – 67
3rd Jamie Campbell / Stu Clements – 71*
4th Yves Bisson / Stu Dunaway – 71*
5th Randy Garrecht / Adam Tulk – 71*
6th Dan Warburton / Aaron Hale – 72
7th Jay Michaluk / Kyle Moody – 73
8th Jesse Moussa / Randy Lewsey – 74*
9th Scott Matheson / Mark Tonello – 74*
10th Bryan Bessant / Wade Davies – 74*

Failed to Qualify:
Kevin Toal / Roger Ford – 76
Pete Stump / Wade Crocket – 80
*Count-back on ties determined by RCGA retrogression.

McCleery Golf Course
Vancouver, BC
Par 71, 6361 yards
(top 11 teams advance to 1st Round)
PRESENTED BY

1st Ryan Lidkea / Matt Makinson – 64
2nd Dale Wolfe / Kris Yardley - 65
3rd Sergej Dronov/ Fraser Mulholland – 66
4th Cory Draper / Mike Haraguchi – 67
5th Morgan Good / Carson Chambers – 68
6th Oliver Tubb / Steve Cullen – 70
7th Ben Smirnov / Mark Forrest – 71
8th Pat Dunn / Bert McCormick – 72
9th Lance MacGregor / Robert MacGregor – 73 *
10th Kurt Cassidy / Doug Chivers – 73 *
11th Pete Skinner / Colin Bykowski – 73*

Failed to Qualify:
Neil Bidewell / Jeremiah Johnson – 79
James Convey / Brian Thomas – 82
*Count-back on ties determined by RCGA retrogression

Ledgeview Golf Course
Abbotsford, BC
Par 70, 6131 yards
(top 11 teams advance to 1st Round)
PRESENTED BY

1st Matt Palsenbarg / Ryan Williams – 65
2nd Chris Wood / Andrew Smeeth – 67
3rd Jeremy Paradis / Mark Kitts – 68
4th Mitchell Lock / Jeff Wright – 69
5th Dean Godel / Frank Cousins – 70*
6th Kent Gibson / Brian Wells – 70*
7th Dave Kraemer / Scott Kraemer – 70*
8th Jay Balloch / Dave Zibrik – 70*
9th Jesse Watt / Jeff Debou – 71*
10th Bill Wilms / Joe Zerdin – 71*
11th Bryan Neale / Dave Smith – 74**

Failed to Qualify:
Bob King / Steve Roberts
Casey Wells / Brad Morrelly
Mark Anderson / Jim Shaw
Daniel Webbe / Mike Bertrand
* Ties broken by RCGA retrogression
** Won final spot in play-off