After a disappointing opening round of 75, Pitt Meadows’ own Kevin Kwon clawed his way back near the top of the leaderboard at the 110th B.C. Amateur Golf Championship, hosted at Kwon’s home course of Swan-e-set Bay Resort and Country Club.
Kwon fired off consecutive rounds of 70 during the second and third rounds of the tournament to head into Friday’s fourth and final round five strokes off the lead.
Kwon tees off Friday with a share of fourth place at the tournament on his home turf at Swan-e-set, a course that favours accuracy off the tee rather than power.
A member of the Team Canada Development Squad member, Kwon has quietly crept up the leader board from 27th place after the first round, to eighth after Wednesday’s round to fourth heading into Friday’s final round.
Kwon hit five birdies during the third round on Thursday, however, a trio of bogeys on the back nine likely cost him a shot at the lead.
Kwon finished third at the 2012 B.C. Junior Boys’ Championship earlier this month at the Sunshine Coast Golf and Country Club in Osoyoos, and was named the Pacific Northwest Golf Association’s 2011 junior boys’ player of the year.
That year he won the Canadian Junior Boys’ Championship by 11 shots and won the Canadian Junior Boys’ Juvenile Championship as well.
The Kwon has to catch on Friday is Victoria’s Kevin Carrigan, who captured the 2012 B.C. Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship earlier in the year. After Thursday’s third round, Carrigan holds a one-stroke lead heading into the final day of play on Friday.
Carrigan has led the tournament from the outset, firing an opening round 67 on Tuesday, followed by rounds of 71 and 72.
Sitting in third place at three-under-par is Coquitlam’s Brian Jung, a member of the nearby Pitt Meadows Golf Club.
Like Kwon, Jung also spent Wednesday and Thursday recovering from an unfortunate opening round. However, after rounds of 71 and 68, Jung is just three strokes behind Carrigan going into the final round of play.
More than 150 golfers are taking part in the 72-hole competition this year. The top three competitors from the B.C. Amateur Championship will represent British Columbia at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, Aug. 7-10, in Cumberland, Ontario.
Final round action at the 110th B.C. Amateur Golf Championship continues Friday at Swan-e-set Bay Resort and Country Club. Groups tee off beginning at 7:30 a.m., with the leaders getting started at 9:15 a.m. Spectators are welcomed and encouraged to attend the event. Entrance is free of charge.