Nick Taylor named to B.C. Willingdon Cup team

RICHMOND, BC - George Faithfull, president of the British Columbia Golf Association (BCGA), announced today that Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. has been named to the B.C. Willingdon Cup team.

Taylor, the world’s top ranked amateur in the R&A amateur rankings, has been having a stellar year. At the University of Washington, he won a school record four tournaments and became just the fourth Husky to be named a first-team all-American. He topped it all off by making his second appearance at the 109th US Open and emerging as the low amateur after scoring a 65 in the second round. The 65 featured seven birdies and tied for second-lowest round of the Open. Last week, Taylor captured the title at the 2009 Sahalee Players Championship.

“British Columbia has never had a golfer ranked number one in the world,” says Faithfull. “We recognize that it’s in Nick’s best interest that he continues to play in events that ensure he maintains that ranking over the course of the summer. Regrettably, this means he needed to accept the exemption into the U.S. Public Links that runs the same week as the B.C. Amateur”

Traditionally, the BCGA has picked the Willingdon Cup team based on the top four finishers at the B.C. Amateur. However, the BCGA by-laws do not specify that the team must be picked in this fashion and the BCGA player development committee had already been evaluating the criteria for Willingdon Cup team selection.

“Clearly B.C. needs to be represented by its best player,” says Faithfull. “Nick has demonstrated that he has a true appreciation of the traditions and history of the game and a true appreciation of the significance of the Willingdon Cup competition. It would be a shame if the outstanding amateur career he is having did not include an appearance on the B.C. Willingdon Cup team.”

The Willingdon Cup is an annual amateur golf team competition among Canada's provinces.

The Governor General of Canada, Lord Willingdon, donated the cup to the Royal Canadian Golf Association in 1927, for annual rivalry among men's amateur teams from the provinces of Canada. It has been played annually ever since, except for 1940-1945, when it was cancelled because of World War II. Each province selects a four-man team of its best players, and competition is held over two rounds, in conjunction with the Canadian Amateur Championship, usually in August. Until 1974, all four scores each day counted, and since that year, the best three of four count, towards the team total. This year's Willingdon Cup competition is August 10 - 11, 2009 at Club de golf Le Blainvillier in Blainville, Quebec.

The B.C. Amateur Championship is one of 13 provincial championships conducted annually by the BCGA. A full listing of players, the leaderboard , starting times and post-round results can be found on the BCGA website at www.bcga.org.