Gary Pike Hopes He Can Help End B.C.’s Lamey Cup Drought
British Columbia's Gary Pike - Image Courtesy PNGA
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Gary Pike made his PNGA Lamey Cup debut last year and is delighted he will be back for a second opportunity to play in the annual Ryder Cup-style competition featuring teams from the British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Idaho golf associations.
“It was a blast,” says Pike, a Victoria resident who won the B.C Mid-Master Championship last spring. “You are representing British Columbia and it’s a pretty cool experience. The event was very well run and meeting other players there was fun. It was a real privilege to play.”
This year’s event is being played May 8-9 at Seattle Golf Club and features 12-member teams (eight men and four women) from each of the four associations. It’s a match play competition with four-ball and foursomes matches played on Day 1 and 12 singles matches contested on Day 2.
Pike, a former pro who was reinstated as an amateur about five years ago, fared well in his Lamey Cup debut. He and partner John Robertson of Courtenay spilt their two team matches and Pike won his singles match. Each Lamey Cup team is comprised of four Mid-Amateur men (age 25 and older), two Mid-Master men (age 40 and older), two Senior men (age 55 and older), two Mid-Amateur women (age 25 and older) and two Senior women (age 50 and over).
Joining Pike on this year’s B.C. team are Mike Aizawa of Richmond, Nathan Ward of Summerland, Alex Cartwright of Victoria, Nasheel Kassam of Vancouver, Brooks Lancaster of Kaleden, Mark Dupuy of Victoria, Neil MacLeod of Burnaby, Emery Bardock of Chilliwack, Nonie Marler of Vancouver, Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay and Jackie Little of Procter.
Pike will be paired with Lancaster for his two team matches. “I have been texting back and forth with Alex, Nathan and Brooks, who will be my partner,” Pike says. “We hung out at the Canadian Mid-Amateur last year which was out east. Brooks keeps saying we have to bring the Cup back to Canada.”
The competition was named the PNGA Cup for its first 13 years and renamed in honour of Dr. Jack Lamey, a former president of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association, shortly before his death in 2019.
B.C. has won the Lamey Cup on three occasions, but has not hoisted it since 2014. Oregon won last year’s Lamey Cup at Blue Lakes Country Club in Twin Falls, Idaho. Oregon has taken home the Lamey Cup eight times, Washington has won it four times and Idaho’s lone win came in 2017. “I have heard that Seattle Golf Club is unbelievable,” Pike says. “I think we have a good enough team this year to be competitive. I’d like to say we have a chance to bring the cup home.”
Team B.C. has a couple of seasoned Lamey Cup veterans in Stouffer and Little, who are both members of the PNGA Hall of Fame. Each has played the Lamey Cup on multiple occasions. “It’s just fun,” says Stouffer. “It’s usually my first tournament of the year. It’s great to get together with all of the other associations and I really like match play.”
CHIP SHOTS: Michael Cook, a longtime rules official and a member of the board of directors of British Columbia Golf, will serve as B.C.’s non-playing captain at the Lamey Cup. . .Established in 1900, Seattle Golf Club is located in Shoreline, Wash. Arnold Palmer described it as ,“One of the most outstanding courses in the Northwest, if not the nation.”