A local golfer has qualified and will compete in the B.C. Summer Games later this month in Nanaimo.
Jordan Field make the cut by finishing second recently at the Summer Games qualifier at Redstone in Rossland.
Field said he wasn’t too nervous going into the qualifier. He said he treated as any other tournament. “There weren’t that many kids trying out so it wasn’t too bad.”
Field is 16 years old and attends Grand Forks Secondary School (GFSS). He has been playing golf since was a young toddler but only recently has he gotten serious.
He started golfing competitively two years ago in Grade 8.
“I’ve been golfing in the junior circuit where you go in tournaments in several different courses,” he said.
This past week (July 1-4) he participated in the Birchbank CN Future Links Championship, which is the first tournament of the year for the junior circuit.
The highly competitive tournament features many of the top junior golfers in Western Canada.
Field, who works at the Christina Lake Golf Course as a cart washer, enjoys the quiet solitude of golf.
“It’s peaceful,” he said, “and I’m good at it so that helps.”
Field figures he hits the links about twice a week and practices once a week.
Field is known for his distance off the tees.
“I can hit the ball pretty far and my irons are pretty good,” he said. “Putting is also something I struggle with.”
Since there are no golf coaches at the Summer Games, Field has trained occasionally with Christine Lake head pro Noel Veitch.
Field was also the captain of the local GFSS golf team which finished second at the Kootenay qualifying tournament in April.
Although he figures the competition at the games will be very tough, Field is looking forward to the challenge.
“I think it’ll be fun,” he said. “I know a couple of kids that are going so I won’t be alone. I don’t expect to win it, there are a lot of really good golfers in there, but I hope to have some good rounds.”
B.C. Summer Games golf is being played at the Nanaimo Golf Club.
The games go from July 17 – 20 and include over 3,200 participants ranging in age from 11-18 years old playing 19 different sports.