A Williams Lake golfer and his teammate from Kamloops brought home second place late last month at the Spalding Cup in Salmon Arm — the longest-running two-man tournament in the province.
Morgan Day and Kamloops’ Ryan Coutu fired rounds of six-under-par 66 and three-under-par 69 to finish one stroke back of the winning team May 28-29 at the tournament.
“It was definitely one of, if not the best, ran tournaments I’ve played in,” Day said. “It was run in the same way a provincially-sanctioned event would be. Super organized, all the staff and workers with the tournament were awesome and informative, and everything was laid out really well.”
The best-ball tournament started in 1928 when the Salmon Arm Golf Club opened. Day and Coutu played through a field of 212 players (106 teams) from Salmon Arm, Kamloops, the Okanagan and the Lower Mainland for the second-place result.
Day, who is the assistant manager at the Williams Lake Golf and Tennis Club, said the pairing with Coutu came after they stumbled across the River City player out at men’s night in Williams Lake one Thursday evening.
“I met him last year,” Day said. “He comes up every Wednesday and Thursday [to Williams Lake] for work and we caught him one day playing men’s night and now it’s a weekly thing and he’s a regular part of our group. His partner wasn’t able to go so he asked me and we went and played together.”
For their efforts Day and Coutu brought home cash prizes won off skins and deuce pots, and $225 worth of gift cards each for the Salmon Arm Golf Club.
Today (Wednesday, June 22), Day will join Williams Lake Golf and Tennis Club Director of Golf Operations Tyler Brouilette for the PGA of BC Golfathon for ALS where golfers from across the province will be swinging for a cure.
Teeing off at roughly 5 a.m., Day and Brouilette will be playing as many holes of golf as possible in support of the event while raising funds online.
The Williams Lake Golf and Tennis Club is one of 37 golf courses from across B.C. participating in the 11th annual Golfathon for ALS.
“This will be my first time doing one,” Day said. “It’s just to bring awareness to the disease and hopefully raise some money.”
The pair are hoping to play roughly 10 rounds of golf throughout the day (180 holes).
“The members have been really supportive and backed the fundraiser in years past,” he said. “We have a former member who is dealing with ALS so there are quite a few members who are aware of the disease so they try to help support and fundraise with us along the way.”
ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that affects a person’s motor neurons that carry messages to the muscles resulting in weakness and wasting in arms, legs, mouth, throat and elsewhere. Typically, a person is immobilized within two to five years of the initial diagnosis and there is no known cause or cure yet.
Proceeds from the Golfathon for ALS go toward providing support services to ALS patients and their families, friends and caregivers.
To donate visit www.golfathonforals.com, click on ‘Support Your Golf Professional’ and scroll down to find the Williams Lake Golf and Tennis Club.