The 2012 Petron Communications Charity Pro-Am golf tournament wrapped up at Lakepoint Golf & Country Club on Wednesday afternoon after two days of action on Charlie Lake.
Vancouver-based professional golfer Oliver Tubb finished first overall at minus-8 on Wednesday, after tying for first place with Abbotsford’s Luke Bogdan on Tuesday.
“I expected to contend, and I was optimistic that I had a good chance to win before I got here,” Tubb said on Wednesday. “I played [Tuesday] and I thought I was one of the players to beat today.”
Tubb, who has competed in the pro-am three years in a row, went home with a purse of $5,000.
“It’s a great atmosphere, lots of fun with amateur teams and it’s a really solid golf course,” he added. “I like to think I’m one of the stronger players around, and a good golf course benefits the stronger players so that’s attractive. There’s a little bit of money here, in terms of the pros which is more so than some of the others we’re used to.”
Tubb had pros Darren Griff (who finished in second) and Bryn Parry (third) hot on his heels on Wednesday, but shooting minus-5 on the final day sealed the deal to put him at minus-8, the score he figured he’d have to beat to win the tournament.
“I really like the golf course,” Tubb said. “It’s a course where if you hit the ball well then you can make some birdies. I played pretty well for two days and here we are, it’s been a good experience.”
“Ryan [Vaughan] and his staff make it really easy for us to come, so lots of props to the organizer.”
Vaughan and his team had been organizing the pro-am since February, working hard to bring in sponsors, pros and amateurs to make this charity tournament a success. This year’s chosen charity was the North Peace Ride for the Disabled which operates out of the North Peace Light Horse Arena.
“It’s a season’s work put into two days,” Vaughan said. “You see everything come into place in the last few weeks.”
“It’s a success. The charity’s going to walk away with a minimum of $2,500 and a lot of things are included in that, so they’re probably looking anywhere from $3,500 to $4,000. This is our first year with the ride, the last two years we had a different charity. People come to us and ask us to do it and we do, it’s good for the charity.”
Eighty amateur players competed in the event, which is less than normal due to a variety of events happening in the golf and local community, but those who did play got to golf for two days with a pro (four ams and one pro to a team) and have some fun while they’re at it.
“My personal favourite part is really seeing all of our amateur players and members out at Lakepoint come and enjoy themselves for two days,” Vaughan added. “It’s good to see a lot of these guys take two days off work and come play some golf.”
Vaughan said he wasn’t surprised Tubb won, but liked seeing Parry and Griff give him a run for his money. He was also impressed by a local pro.
“Our Warren Haugen shot 72, 73 and put himself right in the hunt, so it’s good to see a Lakepoint representative make a run for it,” he said.
After this year’s lower turnout, Vaughan is hoping that next year’s pro-am sees its regular numbers return to Lakepoint so that the golf club and members of the community can continue forming relationships with the pros.
“To see two days of golf and everyone laughing, having a good time ,is a success for me.”
