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Iron man: Prince George’s Cody Bailey feeling on-par for university golf

The 18-year-old won the 55th Men’s Simon Fraser Open on his home course
Cody Bailey - 2019 Men's Simon Fraser Open champion
Cody Bailey poses with his Junior & Men's Simon Fraser Open trophies after claiming them both in 2019 on his home course at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club (via Facebook/Andie Masse)

Hard work paid off this weekend (Aug. 17-18) for a Prince George teenager after a tough three weeks of sub-par golf to his expectations.

Cody Bailey was feeling more prepared coming into the 2019 Men’s Simon Fraser Open having recovered from missing the cut at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship in New Brunswick just days before.

The 18-year-old went on to shoot a two-day tournament total of 132 (-10) at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club (PGGCC), scoring 66 both days to claim his first-ever Matt Briggs Memorial Trophy and beating his current instructor Blair Scott by five strokes, along with 92 other participants.

Bailey is also the reigning Junior Simon Fraser champion of the last three years and has always wanted to win that and the Men’s competition in the same year.

“I think there’s only ever been one other person to do that a long time ago,” Bailey told PrinceGeorgeMatters. “To go out and be tied with my coach Blair [Scott] after Day One with a five-under 66, and go out on the final day, shoot 29 on the back nine, and beat him by five, it feels pretty good.”

Scott scored an even-71 in the final round for a two-day total of 137 (-5), while Kevin Botham rounded out the top three with a 141 (-1) score by going 73 and 68 respectively.

Bailey credits his performance on the weekend to his fairway focus, claiming he’s been all over the place as of recently.

“The last three weeks I’ve had a two-way miss,” the PGGCC member and employee explained. “I didn’t know where the ball was going and now I’m kind of figuring out a lot more greens [...] got the ball rolling too so that was good. My driver has probably been the only good thing in my bag for the last three weeks. That’s a given, but definitely, my iron play and putting is coming back around.” 

The newly-restored iron-game is set to help him at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), where he’s committed to play this fall in picking, what he calls, his best option for player growth and being close to home.

“They gave me the best opportunity to move to the next level of golf,” said Bailey about the two-time national championship program. “I’ve talked with the coaches down there lots, I know a couple of the players on the team too. I think I can bring in a lot of low scores to the team and just get better. You never know where your game is going to go after joining a team, so hopefully, when I’m down there playing, my game just gets better and better.”

Bailey will be moving to Abbotsford this week where he’ll get settled in with his new team and looks forward to applying his experience on the Maple Leaf Junior Tour on the university stage.

“Some of the best experiences I’ve ever had on a golf course. The playing competitors, Golf Canada, the volunteers, and everyone else that was involved in that [national junior boys] tournament was top-notch and a good experience for me.”

Fellow PGGCC member and employee Natasha Kozlowski is joining UFV’s women’s golf team.