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Together, they have so many trophies and titles that they鈥檇 probably have trouble finding room on their mantles, but the one treasured honour Kevin Carrigan and Craig Doell are still in search of is the elusive sa国际传媒 Men鈥檚 Amateur golf championship.
Both will be in the field beginning Tuesday at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort at Qualicum Beach, and they will be among the favourites from the Island over the four-day competition.
Defending champion Jared Dutoit will not be among the golfers at the 114th edition of the prestigious championship.
鈥淚鈥檝e never been in that top spot,鈥� said Doell, of Victoria Golf Club, who is competing in his 21st sa国际传媒 Am, having finished third on two occasions and in the top 10 on about half his appearances.
鈥淭he two best chances I had were in 1996 at Shaughnessy, when Doug Roxburgh came storming on the back nine with about 4-under to win it.
鈥淚n 2004, I was battling it out with Lindsay [Bernakevitch, now the head pro at Victoria Golf Club] at Vernon Golf Club and James Lepp. Lepp did the same thing, throwing down about 4-under on the back, and beat Lindsay and I.鈥�
But Doell, 44, knows he still has a chance. 鈥淚f I can play like I can, I think I can be as good as anyone out there,鈥� he said, although he will be seeing the course for the first time in a practice round on Monday. 鈥淥bviously, there are a ton of good players across the province. There are probably 10 or 20 guys who have a good chance of winning.鈥�
Carrigan, 30, is among that group, having tied for second in 2011, finished fourth in 2012, third in 2013, and tied for seventh with Dutoit in 2014 before slipping to 17th last year, having battled a neck injury, which still hampers his game. 鈥淚鈥檝e led it, I believe, three separate years and have just never been able to close it out,鈥� said Carrigan, of Royal Colwood, who knows how tough it is to claim one.
鈥淚 would argue sa国际传媒 is the strongest province in the country, consistently. We鈥檙e not the centre of Golf sa国际传媒, so we don鈥檛 get the credit that they get back East.
鈥淏ut I鈥檝e seen guys play in the B.C Amateur who have won on the PGA Tour and relatively recently, too.鈥�
Last year, Carrigan and Doell both started with rounds of 75 at Fairview Mountain Golf Course, which set them both back.
鈥淎t the sa国际传媒 Amateur, if you want to contend, you need to be around par, at worst, on any one round and, hopefully, have a few under par,鈥� said Doell, who finished ninth in 2015.
Pheasant Glen, a par-72 which can play more than 6,900 yards from the tips, hosted the 2006 sa国际传媒 Men鈥檚 Mid-Amateur, the 2007 Women鈥檚 sa国际传媒 Amateur and the 2008 Men鈥檚 Canadian Mid-Amateur. It will be a solid test, especially off the tee.
Zone 5 champion Dylan Bell of Royal Colwood is also in the field along with several more Islanders, including talented junior clubmate Keaton Gudz, who finished sixth last year after a final round 5-under 67 left him 12 shots back of Dutoit, who won by seven.
Recently crowned sa国际传媒 Junior champion Tristan Mandur of Arbutus Ridge will also tee it up along with several University of Victoria Vikes, including Andrew Funk, Michael Griffin and Jake Hamilton.
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CHIP SHOTS: Roxburgh, who has won the sa国际传媒 Amateur 13 times, will play his 50th at Pheasant Glen. 鈥� The sa国际传媒 Junior Girls Championship also begins Tuesday at Big Sky Golf Course in Pemberton. Among the Island contingent are sisters Akari and Mirai Hayashi, and Alexa Matthews of Uplands; Shirin Anjarwalla and Kasira Muanyam of Nanaimo; Megan Ratcliffe and Kayli Melissa of Pheasant Glen; and Abigail Rigsby of Crown Isle.
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