The English are invading the greens.
Rupert resident and English-born Keith Lambourne won the inaugural Masters Pro Am at the Prince Rupert Golf Course two weekends ago after jumping on the right golf professional’s wagon.
The event matched participants with a pro playing in the Masters. Lambourne drew fellow Englishman Danny Willett, who after front-runner Jordan Spieth imploded, was able to shoot 72 on Saturday and 67 on Sunday, with a bogey-free final round to win the Masters. Lambourne appreciated the work done to get the greens in such great shape.
“We have never seen it as good as this at this time of year. It’s been a long time since it’s been this good, period. And also thank you to the new pro Dave Belling, whose idea this tournament was, and whose contribution to the club in general, has been awesome since he’s been here. There are events coming up for younger golfers in the beginning of May. He’s putting a lot of new programs in, which is awesome to see,” Lambourne said.
The player’s and pro’s scores were then added together over two days of play (Saturday and Sunday), adding up to a final score. Keith shot, gross 93, which is a net 75 on Saturday as he plays off an 18 handicap, and then shaved 10 strokes as his Sunday game rounded into form when the pressure was on, with a gross 83 and net 65.
Golf can be much a harder game to play when you are playing with something on the line and every stroke matters. That’s why it’s impressive to see Lambourne drop 10 strokes off his score from Saturday to Sunday. On the first day Keith recorded two 8’s on the back nine holes, which if were avoided, would have resulted in a lopsided victory.
“I was playing with some good golfers. I played with Brian Holkestad ... Doug Kydd came second. Make it a big, big point [in the newspaper] that Doug Kydd was second, ‘cuz I won and Doug was second,” Lambourne said.