James Lepp is Now A Pro
Signs With IMG
BC's James Lepp is about to make his professional golfing debute one week from today playing in the Greater Vancouver Charity Classic at Hazelmere Golf Club in Surrey.

Just four days after playing his last amateur tournament---a Top 10 finish in the NCAA Division 1 Championship---Lepp has signed a management contract to be represented by International Management Group (IMG) Canada to handle what promises to be an exciting professional career.

"This is obviously an exciting day for me and it makes it even better that I am able to play in front of family and friends in my professional debut at the Greater Vancouver Charity Classic," said Lepp. "I look forward to working hard, earning my stripes as a pro, and one day representing Canada on the PGA Tour."

IMG has already confirmed that Lepp will receive an exemption from the RCGA to play in the 2006 Canadian Open in September at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

"We're excited for James, but also for Canadian golf," said Dan Cimoroni, Vice President, IMG Golf. "His many accomplishments as an amateur speak for themselves and we know that he is bound for stardom as a pro."Cimoroni noted that Lepp's intention is to play the maximum number of PGA Tour exemptions allowed in 2006, seven, and that IMG is currently working to secure as many exemptions for him through the PGA Tour as possible.

The 22-year old Lepp made history in 2005, becoming the first Canadian, and the first player from the University of Washington, to win the NCAA Division I golf Championship after shooting a course-record, 7-under 63 in the final round at Caves Valley Golf Club.

His impressive amateur career includes two Canadian Junior Champions and a record breaking four consecutive B.C. Amateur titles (2002-2005). In 2003, Lepp also helped the BCGA win the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship for the first time in the tournament's history while he won the individual title by 10-strokes. His 72-hole score of 263 beat the old record by seven strokes and included a round of 62 that bettered the Capilano Country Club course record by two strokes.

Lepp also was selected Canada's top Amateur Male Golfer in each of the past three years by the Royal Canadian Golf Association.

BC Golf News, June 08, 2006

By DAN KINVIG
Abbotsford News
Jun 10 2006
Run down the list of James Lepp's myriad accomplishments as an amateur - four consecutive B.C. Amateur wins, three straight RCGA Order of Merit titles, and an NCAA championship among them - and it's easy to see why the Abbotsford-born golfer feels he's ready for new challenges.

The 22-year-old, who closed the book on his NCAA career last week, announced Thursday that he'll make his professional debut next week at the Canadian Tour's Greater Vancouver Charity Classic. The event runs at Hazelmere Country Club in South Surrey, June 15-18.

"It was a very easy decision," Lepp said of turning pro. "There wasn't much thought involved. I've played a lot of amateur golf, and there's no reason to continue to stay. "It's pretty exciting for me, to be honest, to take my game to the next level."

Professional tournaments are nothing new to Lepp, who has played on the Canadian Tour and the PGA Tour several times before. Lepp even won Vancouver's Canadian Tour stop in 2003 by a whopping five strokes - but he couldn't accept the winner's cheque, because he wanted to retain his amateur status. So next week's event marks the first chance for Lepp to cash in on his talents, and he's relishing that prospect.

"It gives me another motivational factor, that's for sure," he said.

Charting the course for Lepp in his pro career will be IMG, the sports/entertainment/media conglomerate that counts the likes of supermodel Cindy Crawford, tennis star Maria Sharapova and hockey phenom Sidney Crosby among its long list of star clients. IMG also represents Canadian PGA Tour golfers Stephen Ames, Jon Mills and Mike Weir - the 2003 Masters champ with whom Lepp is frequently compared.

Lepp said that the selection of IMG was "a no-brainer." "It was by far my best option," he said. "They are definitely an accomplished company, and they have the best connections in Canada."

Lepp hopes to play the maximum number of PGA Tour exemptions allowed in 2006 - seven - and the RCGA has already offered him a spot in the 2006 Canadian Open in September at Hamilton Golf and Country Club. "I'm going to try to get as many exemptions as I can on the PGA Tour this summer, and probably go to Q-school in the fall," Lepp said.

Ray Stewart will also play in the Greater Vancouver Charity Classic, and the eight-year PGA Tour veteran said he's looking forward to watching fellow Abbotsford native Lepp continue to develop. "It's great that he's turning pro," Stewart said. "It's a long and winding road, so I wish him nothing but the best. He's a nice young man."

Stewart said that the biggest challenges of the pro game are adjusting to the gruelling travel and the tougher level of competition. "You're going from being a big fish in the smaller pond to a little fish in the big pond," he said. "It's just a matter of patience, and trying to get the job done."