With apologies to Bill and Ted, but it was Ashton McCulloch鈥檚 Excellent Island Adventure that continued at Storey Creek in Campbell River.
McCulloch hails from Kingston, Ont. But have Langford address, will travel. Maybe all the way to the PGA Tour.
McCulloch is one of the nation鈥檚 rising young stars, based at the Golf sa国际传媒 national training centre on Bear Mountain, and won the 119th sa国际传媒 Amateur men鈥檚 golf championship at Storey Creek on Friday.
In doing so, McCulloch joined 1979 champion and future PGA star Fred Couples of Seattle as among the few non-British Columbians to have won this province鈥檚 top amateur title.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a nice journey on the Island the past five months and I definitely gained a lot of confidence being centralized with the national team on Bear Mountain,鈥� said McCulloch, headed to play as a freshman in the NCAA Big Ten for the Michigan State Spartans in September.
鈥淚 really improved my game by pushing myself against a lot of great young players from across the country on Bear Mountain,鈥� added McCulloch, who turns 19 next week.
Like every young golfer who appears on the cusp, McCulloch has an ultimate destination.
鈥淢y goal to make the PGA Tour but I know how hard that is to achieve,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know I have to keep improving.鈥�
McCulloch went into the fourth and final round tied for fifth place at four-under 212, four strokes behind third-round leader Patrick Weeks of Vancouver. But a five-under 67 in the final round, combined with Weeks鈥� one-over 73, gave McCulloch a two-stroke victory at nine-under 279 to Weeks鈥� seven-under 281.
鈥淚 knew I had to play well in the final round and go at most of the pins, especially early, and I did that with a hot start at five-under after eight holes,鈥� said McCulloch.
McCulloch will have his name engraved on the Bostock Trophy to join 13-time champion Doug Roxburgh, four-time champion James Lepp, two-time champion A.V. Macan, Couples in 1979 and Island players Bryan Toth in 2006, Gord Scutt in 2000, Darren Griff in 1994, Ed Beauchemin in 1984, Steve Berry in 1981 and Sandy Harper in 1980.
Technically, since McCulloch entered the tournament with a Langford address, Island golfers have now won the sa国际传媒 Amateur five of the past six years.
Tristan Mandur of Mill Bay, a Duncan Meadows member out of the NCAA Pac-12 University of Utah Utes, won the 118th edition last year in Kelowna. Jackson Rothwell of Victoria Club was the champion at 18 in 2019 at Big Sky in Pemberton and Jake DuVall of Uplands won in 2017 at Morgan Creek in Surrey. Nolan Thoroughgood of Royal Colwood, who plays in the Pac-12 for the Oregon State Beavers, won as a 15-year-old in 2016 at Pheasant Glen in Qualicum Beach.
Gavyn Knight of Parksville was third this year at six-under 282. It has been quite a month for the emerging 18-year-old Islander, who recently won the 2021 sa国际传媒 Junior championship on his home Morningstar course. A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam was fourth at four-under 284 while John Robertson and Matt Hamilton, both of Courtenay, tied for fifth at three-under 285. The other Islander in the top 10 was Brent Wilson of Cobble Hill, tied for seventh, at one-under 287.
Mandur entered this year鈥檚 tournament attempting to become the first back-to-back winner since former NCAA-champion Lepp of Abbotsford won four consecutive sa国际传媒 Amateurs between 2002 and 2005. Mandur tied for 18th with a four-over 292. Among other former champions from the Island, Thoroughgood and Rothwell tied for 54th at 14-over 302. Roxburgh, 69, is still going strong and tied for 45th at 12-over 300.
Storey Creek hosted the men鈥檚 sa国际传媒 Amateur for the second time and first since 1999. This is the second consecutive year a club from the Island community has staged a sa国际传媒 Amateur, with the Campbell River Golf and Country Club hosting the provincial women鈥檚 event in 2020.
