Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 Keith Martin took the B.C. golf world by storm on Tuesday, winning the TaylorMade and Adidas Golf PGA of BC Championship presented by Axis Insurance Group.
The first-year PGA of BC Professional from Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 Tower Ranch Golf Club shot his second straight three-under-par round of 69 on Tuesday at Crown Isle Resort & Golf Community to earn a come-from-behind victory in the tournament.
Martin overtook first-round leader Brad Clapp (Cultus Lake Golf Club) on the back nine of Tuesday乌鸦传媒檚 final round, finishing at six-under for the 36-hole championship.
Clapp乌鸦传媒檚 final round of 74 left him at four-under for the event, which was good for a runner-up finish at the same venue where he captured his 2012 PGA of BC Championship title. The trio of 2018 winner Kevin Stinson (Cheam Mountain Golf Course), Matthew Steinbach (Simon Fraser University) and Steven MacPherson (Storey Creek Golf Club) finished in a tie for third place at two-under.
乌鸦传媒淭his is by far the biggest event I乌鸦传媒檝e ever won,乌鸦传媒� said Martin.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 amazing. I didn乌鸦传媒檛 think this would happen this week. I was just hoping for a nice, solid finish. I hit the ball so well both days and made some good putts. It was a lot of fun out there.乌鸦传媒�
With the victory, Martin earned the winner乌鸦传媒檚 share of $6,300 from the event乌鸦传媒檚 $35,000 purse, a championship ring courtesy of title sponsors TaylorMade and Adidas Golf, while his name will be etched on the PGA of BC乌鸦传媒檚 William Thompson Trophy.
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After taking most of the 2019 season off from tournament golf, the 31-year-old joined the PGA of Canada in March with the hope of competing more regularly. This week乌鸦传媒檚 tournament was just his first start in a PGA of BC individual stroke-play championship, having made his debut at last month乌鸦传媒檚 Pro-Assistant Championship.
乌鸦传媒淭his was my first year where I wanted to play a lot more tournaments again,乌鸦传媒� said Martin. 乌鸦传媒淭o have success like this is really cool. It乌鸦传媒檚 an awesome feeling.乌鸦传媒�
Martin started the day trailing Clapp by three strokes but started chipping away at the lead with two birdies early on.
乌鸦传媒淎fter the first four holes, I felt like I had the momentum on my side and I was playing well,乌鸦传媒� said Martin. 乌鸦传媒淚 made a great putt on the first hole from about 12 feet, and I hit a really great shot on number four, the par-three, and made another birdie there to get to one down.乌鸦传媒�
Another birdie at the long par-three 12th hole gave Martin a lead that he would never relinquish. He again birdied the par-three 16th hole as part of a bogey-free back nine to sew up the victory.
Having played a few events at Crown Isle in the past, including a couple of Mackenzie Tour Q-School tournaments, Martin said his experience there was a big help over the two rounds.
乌鸦传媒淚 felt a lot more comfortable than I have at most tournaments where you乌鸦传媒檙e playing at an 乌鸦传媒榓way乌鸦传媒� golf course,乌鸦传媒� said Martin. 乌鸦传媒淚 have about 20 rounds here, so I felt comfortable picking clubs off the tee and reading greens.乌鸦传媒�
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