Coquitlam's Kevin Vigna put on an impressive show on the weekend at Portland's Riverside Golf and Country Club to earn medalist honours and put Team BC atop the leaderboard at the 45thHogan Cup Team Matches.
"The first round was kind of sloppy, I made a bad double and other than that kind of scraped it around," Vigna said. "Today I just came out, made a couple of birdies and tried to post a low number. I played solid all day other than hitting it into the water on eight."
Vigna finished at 3 under par (74-67-141) on his second trip to the Hogan Cup, having been on the 2011 Team BC.
"Obviously, seeing the course an extra couple of times helps you, I found it easier the second time around," Vigna said. "It was a little bit shorter, I've gained a little bit of distance from two years ago."
Vigna's final round got off to a slow start with pars on the first four holes before he made eagle on the 517-yard par-5 5thhole on his way to a 35 on the front. However, he got hot on the back, making birdies on holes 10, 11, 12 and 15 with no bogies on his way to a 4-under-par 32 on the final nine.
In the team competition, Team BC won for the first time since 2009 led by the strong play of Vigna and consistent two-day performances by teammates Jooho Lee of Coquitlam, and Diego San Pedro and Chris Crisologo of Richmond.
Team BC finished at 3 over par with a total score of 435, improving upon their day one score of an 8-over-par 224 with a 5-under-par 211 on the final round.
"They were firing at all the pins and making some puts so that was pretty exciting," said team captain Todd Spring. "It was a great experience at the Hogan Cup - it's nice to bring the trophy back home to Canada."
The Hogan Cup 36-hole team matches - held annually at Riverside Golf and Country Club in Portland, Ore. - pit the best junior golfers from the western United States and Canada against each other in a team format with the three lowest scores each day determining the team total.
Kim wins open
A par on the second playoff hole on Monday sent SooBin Kim to victory at the Safeway Amateur Open and earned her a spot alongside some of the world's best golfers later this month.
Kim, who graduated from Coquitlam's Gleneagle Secondary, was competing in Portland, Ore. and her victory qualified her for the Safeway Classic Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. The event is also in Portland and will feature members of the LPGA.
Kim, who enters her junior season with the University of Washington golf team, shot a final round 3-under 68 to force a playoff with Taylor Babcock.
"I'm really happy I came here to Portland all the way from Vancouver and played so well," she said. "I birdied 16 and 17 which helped me finish strong. I was sinking lots of putts today."
Last season, Kim was selected a first-team all-Pac 12 and she is currently ranked 14th in the Golfweek college rankings.
