Riley Fleming of Airdrie, Alta. did something Friday that hasn’t been accomplished since American Fred Couples in 1979 – win the B.C. Amateur Men’s Championship as an out-of-province golfer.
Playing on a special exemption, Fleming, who recently won the Alberta amateur crown, pulled a comeback victory to claim the 110th annual B.C. title at Swan-e-set Bay Resort and Country Club in Pitt Meadows. He fired a 3-under 69 in his final round to finish at 8-under (69-71-71-69-280), three strokes ahead of runner-up Brian Jung of Coquitlam (74-71-68-70-283).
“The greens crew did an outstanding job at getting this course ready after the rain it saw on Monday,” said Fleming.
“You don’t get courses this lush back home so it was an excellent venue to play at and I want to thank everyone from the club, volunteers and British Columbia Golf for putting on a great event.”
Pitt Meadows’ Kevin Kwon was third at 3-under (75-70-70-70), and Victoria’s Kevin Carrigan, the leader heading into the final round, finished fourth (67-71-72-76).
A pair of Vernon entries, Zach MacDougall and Bradlee Jones, finished a stroke apart. MacDougall fired a final round 5-over 77 to finish tied for 40th (79-76-75-77-307) at 19-over.
Jones matched his best round of the week with a 2-over 74 Friday, ending in a tie for 45th (82-74-78-74-308).
Fleming is ineligible to compete with Team B.C. in the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, so Jung, Kwon and Carrigan will represent the province at the Camelot G&CC and Club de golf Outaouais in Cumberland, Ont., August 7-10.
