James Lepp 8th At NCAA Championships
James Lepp may not have repeated Saturday as the NCAA champion for 2006 but he had the distinction of turning in the best score over four rounds for his University of Washington Huskies and he ended his historical collegiate career as the best Canadian for the second year in a row in the top tournament for U.S. College golfers.

The 22-year-old Lepp from our own Ledgeview G&CC in Abbotsford, BC, one of this country's most celebrated amateur players, entered the tournament in Sunriver, Oregon as the reigning NCAA medalist. His 3-under par 285 total came up nine shots shy of Oklahoma State's Jonathan Moore, but was good for 8th place in the tournament.

Powered by Moore's 12-under performance Oklahoma over-took Washington early in the day and withstood a strong challenge from Florida to claim its first NCAA men's golf championship since 2000 and its tenth in school history.

For the past three seasons James has been selected by the Royal Canadian Golf Association's Order of Merit process as the number one Canadian Male Amateur. Last year he established a new provincial record by winning his fourth consecutive British Columbia Amateur Champion.

Among his many other amateur accomplishments, James stunned the Canadian professional golf community in 2003 when, as a 19-year-old guest of the Canadian Pro Golf Tour, he won the Greater Vancouver Classic. The following season he finished second in Victoria at the Times Colonist Open.

Although it has not been formally announced, the Canadian Tour is likely to offer James a sponsor's exemption into the Greater Vancouver Charity Classic being played June 15-18 at South Surrey's Hazelmere Country Club. This might well serve as the first event in James new career as a professional, providing him an opportunity to put into practice the skills he acquired before graduating from University of Washington this year as a Business Major.

Well done James. We are all proud of you at Ledgeview.