By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

ABBOTSFORD (July 12, 2024) - There is a certain symmetry to Cooper Humphreys becoming the first player to successfully defend his B.C. Amateur Championship in nearly 20 years and doing it at Ledgeview Golf Course.

The renowned Abbotsford layout has produced an impressive list of fine players, including the likes of Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, Ray Stewart and James Lepp. It was Lepp who last repeated as B.C. Amateur champion when he won his last of four straight B.C. Ams in 2005.

Humphreys most definitely has some Lepp in him. Like Lepp in his heyday, the 19-year-old Vernon resident can make the game look easy.

He won the 122nd playing of the B.C. Amateur Championship at Ledgeview by six shots with a four-day total of 13-under par. If that sounds familiar, it’s because he also won last year’s B.C. Am at Morningstar in Parksville by six shots.

 If there was any question about who the best male amateur golfer in British Columbia is, Humphreys has answered it rather emphatically.

Leading by one heading into the final round, Humphreys  closed with a final round of four-under 66 to win going away. He was delighted to repeat as champion, which he said was his goal immediately after winning last year. “It feels so good to repeat,” he said. “When I won it last year that’s the first thing I thought of. I can’t wait to come back.”

Once Humphreys was made aware of Lepp’s streak of four in row, he smiled and said he’d like to try and match or even better that magical run. “I guess I have to do that, right,” he said with what is an ever-present smile. “Maybe win five in a row and then hopefully turn pro.”

Humphreys is more than a wonderfully talented golfer. He also plays the game the right way. He’s always got that smile on his face and he shakes off his rare bad shots with a shrug and moves on. You won’t see him slamming clubs into the ground or muttering obscenities. You can tell he really loves the game.

“That’s something I have worked on,” Humphreys said. “When I was younger, I didn’t have the best attitude. My dad has helped me with that. I just noticed that whenever I got negative I started to play bad. So why get negative. It doesn’t help. 

“I am a pretty easy-going, smiley guy, a little bit out there. I’m not saying I’m not smart, but I’m not dumb. I’m just kind of in between and I just stay that way on the course. There’s not a lot of thinking, I just stay happy. It’s good for golf. The more thinking I do, the worse it gets. So when I feel a shot I just try to hit it.”

Humphreys and Vancouver’s James Fahy were actually tied at nine-under par when both birdied the par 5 fourth hole. But things turned when Humphreys birdied the fifth and sixth holes — both par 4s — and Fahy bogeyed them. Suddenly, Humphreys was four-up and he went five-up at the turn with another birdie on the par 5 ninth hole. 

The back nine was basically a race to see who would claim the final two spots on British Columbia’s Willingdon Cup team at next month’s Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.

Fahy finished second at seven-under, while Wyatt Brook of Heffley Creek was third at six-under. Humphreys left Ledgeview with a better understanding of why the course, which is only 6,200 yards from the tips,  has produced so many great players.

“I like how you have to play real golf, you have to plot your way around the course,” he said of Ledgeview. “It’s not bomb and gouge. You have to hit good tee shots or the trees come into play rather quickly. I learned that the hard way this week. I like it. You have to be dialled in on every part of your game.”

Fahy scripted a nice story of his own this week at Ledgeview. The 32-year-old is an associate investment adviser at Wood Gundy in Vancouver and a longtime Marine Drive Golf Club member. More than a decade ago he played collegiate golf at Gonzaga University in Spokane.

He hadn’t played much tournament golf in recent years, but shook off the rust and played well the entire week. Fahy, who closed with a one-over 71, said he will walk away from the week with fond memories.

“It’s a pretty surreal moment for me to do this at the age that I am,” he said. “This is the first time in eight years I have played a four-day event. For me to do what I did, I am just happy with the way I grinded it out. I was looking at some big, big numbers but I held my own. I’m going to hold my head up high.”

Like everyone else, Fahy was mightily impressed after playing the final two rounds with Humphreys. 

“Cooper is an exceptional talent,” he said. “I haven’t seen someone golf the ball like that in a very long time. His ability to control his game, control his golf ball, is impressive. He will make errors as everyone does, but he’s just very calm and collected, doesn’t get too fiery, doesn’t get offside. He is always on schedule.”

Brook closed with a one-under 69 and acknowledged he was thinking about that final spot on the Willingdon Cup team.

“All day long,” said the 25-year-old, who works as a finance coordinator for the Bonaparte First Nation in Cache Creek. “I knew first was out of reach after Cooper went birdie-birdie-birdie so the fact I am getting a medal, I couldn’t be more ecstatic about it.”

The Canadian Men’s Amateur goes Aug. 5-8 at Riverside Country Club in Saskatoon. Fahy said as a Marine Drive member it is a big deal for him to represent British Columbia. “It’s pretty cool,” he said. “At Marine Drive we have a series of boards in the clubhouse. It would have been cool to have BC Am champion next to my name, but to be on the Willingdon Cup team is pretty cool.”

Maxim McKenzie of Chilliwack and Dylan Bercan of Vancouver tied for fourth at four-under par. The 16-year-old McKenzie is the son of Ledgeview head pro Luke McKenzie. His final round two-under 68 was highlighted by an eagle on the par 4 15th hole, where he holed a seven-iron from 166 yards.

CHIP SHOTS: A two-man better-ball competition was won by Humphreys and partner Bailey Bjornson of Surrey with a score of 27-under. A 36-hole zone competition concluded after the second round. The Zone 4 team of Dylan Bercan Tyson Turchanski and  Adam Karim, all of Vancouver, won with a score of even-par.. .Next year’s 123rd playing of the B.C. Amateur Championship is scheduled to be played at Bootleg Gap Golf Course in Kimberley. 

Click HERE for complete final scoring.