Keenan Hopson says he doesn't remember much about winning the men's Simon Fraser Open in 1998.
He was only 14 at the time.
Sixteen years later, Hopson is back on the course again with a chance to defend his title but this time knowing fully what to expect.
"I remember it was cold and wet and windy, tough conditions on the last day and I remember on hole 17 my second shot going over the water and one of my friends came up time and said, 'You're in the lead,'" said Hopson, recalling the first time he won the city's oldest and most prestigious golf tournament.
"The ball ended up 10 or 15 feet away [from the pin] but it was a scary shot with a pitching wedge over water. I was in the final group but I wasn't expecting to win and I finished my round and it just happened that guys behind me shot worse than I did."
He won in '98 by one stroke and repeated as champion last year with a two-shot win over Joe Gill of Vancouver. For years, Hopson was a contender on the national junior tour after his first Simon Fraser Open win and he played in the Canadian men's amateur championship. But hockey took over his life as he approached his late teens and he had to put the golf clubs away and focus on preparing himself as a B.C. Hockey League forward with the Prince George Spruce Kings.
He capped his junior career in 2004 with a 100-point season with the Kings and went on to NCAA stardom with for the Maine Black Bears on a full-ride four-year scholarship. Playing on a line with his brother John, the Black Bears advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four national championship in 2006, losing out to Wisconsin in the semifinal round.
Hopson played one season of pro hockey in France for Rapaces de Gap in 2008-09 and suffered a badly-broken foot which still bothers him. He suited up for one rec league game in Prince George with his brother's team but decided it wasn't worth prolonging the agony.
Hopson, 30, now works as a real estate appraiser for BC Assessment and as the father of 21-month-old son, Sam, that limits the time he has to spend around the golf course.
"I haven't been in competitive golf for a number of years and I'm trying to get back into it again," said Hopson. "After I finished hockey I wasn't really doing anything and I've always enjoyed golf. I can stay competitive without joining a league or anything. I can do it on my own time.
"I see people who play in the rec hockey league and they're losing teeth or they go to work with a black eye and I'm over that kind of thing. Ever since I came back from France I haven't put my skates on."
Hopson tees off this morning at 8:17 a.m., grouped with Mike Hirak and Kevin Pederson, a four-time men's Simon Fraser champion. Pederson, Will Gilbert, Mike Legg, Trevor Metcalf and Shaun Lees, who tied the course record with a 62 on Wednesday, are the most likely contenders for the title, along with Hopson.
He's hoping his brother John will eventually get back into competitive golf. John was a top-10 finisher several times in the Simon Fraser Open. The Hopson brothers teamed up with Lees and Jeff Krisko to win the Kal-Tire Texas Scramble tournament in May at PGGCC, and were fourth in the Ironman tournament a month ago at Aberdeen Glen.
"In a lot of ways, John is a lot better than I am," said Keenan. "He's kind of fearless and his driver is one of the best I've ever seen. I don't know if he doesn't like golf as much as I do but he has a lot of ability that you could say is wasted because he doesn't get into it more."
Hopson, who first joined the PGGCC at age 10, was unable to defend his men's open title in 1999 but won the Junior Simon Fraser Open in 2000 after several years of coming close. Blair Scott, 16, who won this year's junior Simon Fraser, is vying for his shot at becoming the only other golfer to hold both PGGCC titles. Scott is grouped this morning with Gary Long and James Pedersen, starting at 8:38 a.m.
"I know Shaun [Lees] opened up the men's Simon to juniors with a low enough handicap and I hope [Scott] does well," said Hopson. "That would be pretty cool to see some more juniors coming up.
"The greens are in good shape right now. I think there will be some low scores."
Seventy-eight golfers are competing in the three-round tournament, which wraps up Monday.
