Whistler’s own Brett Kelly, a card-carrying member of Nicklaus North Golf Club, won the silver medal at the recent B.C. Summer Games in Kamloops for his age category – leading the Zone 5 Lower Mainland, Sea to Sky team to the overall gold.
The Dunes at Kamloops is on the long side, measuring at 7,131 yards, and is a par 72.
Kelly posted two below par rounds with his seven handicap, a 67 and a 68, to finish with the second lowest overall tally out of 55 starters.
"I was putting really well at this tournament," said Kelly. "On the first three holes of the second round I made putts of 12, 15 and 10 feet. In the second round, on the 13 th hole, which was a par 3, I almost made a hole in one."
It’s usually the opposite for Kelly, who typically drives and shoots the long ball well but is by his estimation a "horrible" putter.
Kelly also didn’t have much confidence heading into the B.C. Games.
"I was actually playing really badly leading up to it for some reason, but when I got there I just played really solidly and didn’t make any big mistakes," he said.
"The team was really good, everyone got along really well, and when you have a good team you play better."
This was Kelly’s first B.C. Summer Games appearance. He’d like to go back for 2008 but there’s a chance his handicap will be too low to qualify. In the meantime he’s looking at a couple of tournaments in September.
Kelly also plays hockey in the winter, and mountain bikes during the summer, but still manages to get out and play about four rounds a week.
Kelly was not the only Whistler athlete to take part in the B.C. Games. Ida Emina and Joshua MacNeil played singles tennis at the Games. Both qualified for the medal round, but did not make the podium.
