Earlier this month, Tyler Robertson shot his first-ever sub-par round in tournament play. He accomplished the feat at the Rivershore Men's Amateur, Aug. 5-7 in Kamloops.
On his home course this past weekend, the 20-year-old Robertson - a two-handicapper - fired three consecutive rounds under par and claimed the most meaningful title of his young life. With scores of 68, 68 and 70 at the par-71 Prince George Golf and Curling Club, he won the Men's Simon Fraser Open by two strokes over local pro Reigan Brown.
"I won the Junior Simon Fraser when I was 18 and I always went into the Men's Simon wanting to win it and looking at all the guys who had won it in the past," Robertson said. "It's been a dream of mine since I was little so to finally do it, it's a dream come true."
Robertson was playing in his fourth Men's Simon and posted his previous-best result last year when he finished in the top 10.
Robertson said one of the keys to his victory this year was staying mentally strong. With his dad Stewart caddying for him, he was able to remain on an even keel even when faced with adversity.
"I had him there for me whenever I hit a bad shot or whenever I had a bad hole or something like that," Robertson said. "I always seemed to bounce back with a birdie very shortly afterwards."
Just as important, Robertson was deadly with his putter all weekend. In his view, he may have won the tournament on the 375-yard, par-4 seventh hole on Sunday. On the hole, he rolled in a 20-footer to save par, while Brown - in the final group with Robertson, Blair Scott and Will Gilbert - got unlucky when he almost holed out his approach shot but instead had his ball bounce wildly off the green and had to settle for a bogey.
"I felt bad (for Brown) because you just don't want to see that happen," Robertson said. "He bounced back with a birdie on the next hole, which was huge, but I think that putt (I made on No. 7) solidified that today was my day and it was going to be one that I'd remember forever probably."
Robertson credits golfing buddy Scott - who finished in third place, five strokes off the lead - for helping him sharpen his game this summer. Scott, an assistant pro at the PGGCC, gave Robertson a putting tip shortly after Robertson returned home from a year of school and golf at Victoria's Camosun College and that piece of advice has made a huge difference.
"Ever since, I've putted so much better than I ever have in my entire life," said Robertson, who first took up golf at the age of 13 when he got a junior membership at the PGGCC. "As soon as that came around, I knew that I could potentially shoot these scores."
On the par-5 18th hole on Sunday, Robertson lagged an eagle putt to the edge of the cup and was left with a tap-in for birdie and the two-shot victory.
"As soon as it went in, it was just excitement," Robertson said.
"To have Blair there, and then to have my dad, and my mom (Ellen) came out to hug me and congratulate me - to have all that was just joy."
Robertson is now looking forward to another year at Camosun, which will be his third. The golf team competes in tournaments on a regular basis and he'll be looking to continue his solid play.
"Coming off the win, my confidence is as high as ever," said Robertson, a D.P. Todd secondary school graduate who is a business administration/accounting student at Camosun. "I don't have very many expectations - I just expect myself to play the game that I'm supposed to play, hit the shots that I'm supposed to hit, and the results, those will come."
At the B.C. juvenile championships, which wrapped up last Friday in Nelson, P.G. golfers Natasha Kozlowski and Cody Bailey both recorded top-10 finishes.
Playing at Granite Pointe Golf Course, Kozlowski placed fifth among the girls with rounds of 81, 76 and 82. She finished 15 strokes back of winner Claire Lovan of Surrey. Bailey, meanwhile, tied for eighth place in the boys tournament with rounds of 78, 76 and 72. He was 17 strokes off the winning pace set by Jeevan Sihota of Victoria. Sihota, at seven under par, was 11 strokes clear of runner-up Finn Lawlor of North Vancouver.
