Kevin Carrigan opened up his title defence at the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship by firing a 8-under 63 on Tuesday at Blackhawk Golf Club.
The Victoria native carded three eagles and a closing nine 29 to set a new competitive course record at Blackhawk, after opening the day with an unplayable on the par-4 10th. Carrigan quickly rebounded with a birdie on the par-5 11th and rolled in his first eagle of the day on the par-5 15th hole.
“I took an unplayable on my first hole, didn’t seem like much of a round until I guess I made the second eagle, 3-under to 5-under I was hitting it well,” Carrigan said.
As the reigning Canadian Mid-Amateur champion, Carrigan lit up Blackhawk’s par-5’s playing them in 7-under par with three eagles on a windy afternoon.
“If you’re hitting it good, it doesn’t feel windy,” he continued. “I mis-clubbed a couple of times but never got myself into trouble, I didn’t really miss many shots.”
California’s David Bartman, trails Carrigan by four strokes after an opening round 4-under 67. Bartman’s round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 4th hole and leaves him three strokes ahead of Raymond Oh of Richmond, Ont., in the race for the Mid-Master (40+) title.
“I just kept it in play and took advantage of the par-5’s,” Bartman said. “If I did miss a green, my short game was solid.”
Michael Rutgers of Windsor, Ont., sits in solo third after a 3-under 68, while Calgary’s Dustin Yeager opened with a 2-under 69 to grab a share of fourth place. Chris Moore of Vancouver and Oh currently sit in a tie for fifth at 1-under.
Saskatchewan’s Kris Carley recorded the shot of the day after holing a 255-yard hybrid on the par-5 7th hole for an albatross. The albatross was his second of the season and third double-eagle of his career.
In the Inter-Provincial team competition, Team Ontario’s Tyler McDannold of Brooklin, Ont., Michael Rutgers of Windsor, Ont., and Darren Shaw of Stoney Creek, Ont., combined to card a even-par 142 opening round. The squad currently leads by four strokes over Nova Scotia’s Trevor Chow of Hammonds Plains, N.S., Glenn Robinson of Middle Sackville, N.S., and Greg Black of Halifax, N.S., heading into the final round of Inter-Provincial competition.