James Lepp makes his PGA Tour Debut
Update, Saturday, August 5th
In his first PGA Tour Event as a professional, James Lepp from our own Ledgeview G&CC just missed the cut at the Buick Open by one stroke. James shot an opening round of even par 72 at the Warwick Hills G&CC in Grand Blanc, Michigan, then followed it up with a 2 under par 70 which left him in a tie for 80th place at 2 under. The cut line was 3 under par. Congratuations James on an excellent showing in your first pro event.


James Lepp will make his PGA Tour debut as a professional at this week's Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Lepp has been awarded a sponsor's exemption into the $4.8-million US event, where Vijay Singh will defend a title he has won the past two years and Tiger Woods returns to play for the first time since winning the British Open earlier this month at Royal Liverpool.

News of his Buick exemption, delivered by a Sun reporter on the weekend, came as a big surprise to the 22-year-old Abbotsford resident. "What?" he said when contacted Saturday afternoon on his cellphone. "Who told you that?"

Informed that his name was included in the Buick field posted on the PGA Tour's website, an excited Lepp said: "I'll call you right back. I have to call my agent."

Lepp is represented by IMG Canada, which was instrumental in securing his spot this week. Lepp has also been given an exemption into the $5-million Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston in early September. When he turned pro in early June, the Royal Canadian Golf Association gave him a sponsor's exemption into the Canadian Open, which follows the Deutsche Bank event.

"I'm definitely excited," Lepp said of the prospect of teeing it up later this week in Michigan. "I now have a stretch of some pretty big tournaments coming up."

Although he hasn't played much tournament golf in recent weeks, Lepp feels like his game is in good shape.

"I've been practising out at Northview quite a bit and my game feels awesome," he said.

The Buick will be only the third event for Lepp since turning pro. He finished tied for 15th at the Canadian Tour's Greater Vancouver Charity Classic at Hazelmere in Surrey in mid-June and missed the cut by one shot at the Canadian Tour's MTS Classic in Winnipeg in early July.

Lepp has played in four Canadian Opens as an amateur, so is not a complete stranger to the PGA Tour. But he knows this week will be different as he tees it up as a pro.

"I would imagine this will feel a little different," he said. "I'm going to try and get there early because I know it will help if I get some practice rounds in and get comfortable. I remember at my first Canadian Open I was there about a week early and played with all these guys and by the time I teed it up I was fine. It's been a while since I have played in a big event like that. I'm itching to get back in that atmosphere."

Mike Mattucci, tournament director of the Buick Open, said the tournament always tries to award one of its highly coveted sponsor's exemptions to a young player with solid amateur and collegiate golf credentials.

Lepp, of course, has both. He won the 2005 NCAA Championship while attending the University of Washington, and was stroke play medallist at last summer's U.S. Amateur.

by Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun
Monday, July 31, 2006

Canada's James Lepp makes pro debut at this weekend's Buick Open
The Canadian Press, Aug. 01 2006

(CP) - James Lepp knew he was in unfamiliar territory when he took a stroll to the practice green at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club and none of the nearby spectators were whispering his name.

The Abbotsford, B.C., golfer is making his PGA Tour debut as a professional at this week's Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich., and hasn't exactly drawn a lot of attention from fans eager to catch a glimpse of Tiger Woods. It's a far cry from Lepp's previous PGA Tour experiences at the past couple Canadian Opens, where he played as an amateur.

"In Canada, I'm more known," Lepp said Wednesday. "Here nobody really knows who I am, which is kind of good. Staying out of the limelight allows me to focus more on my game in an atmosphere that I'm not as comfortable with.

"At the Canadian Open, people know who you are and expect things from you. Here it's kind of a free spin of the wheel."

Lepp is considered one of the brightest young players this country has produced in years. The 22-year-old had a three-year reign as the top amateur player in Canada before turning pro almost two months ago.

Since then, it's been a bit of a waiting game. He played two Canadian Tour events before receiving a sponsor's exemption to play at the Buick this weekend.

He was starting to get anxious. "I knew already it was going to be unsure about whether I'd get an event," Lepp said. "It's been kind of a slow start. "I was a little worried about if I'd get any."

The suspense ended over the weekend when a reporter from Vancouver called him and told him he got into the Buick. Lepp didn't believe it at first, but was thrilled after confirming it was true. "It was a welcome surprise," he said with a laugh.

Lepp will tee off at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday in a group with Robert Garrigus and Will MacKenzie - two journeyman players who could tell him a thing or two about how tough it is to keep a regular spot on the world's top golf tour. At least Lepp has a chance to build some momentum. He's already confirmed a spot in the Deutsche Bank Championship over the Labour Day weekend and will also play the following week at the Canadian Open in Ancaster, Ont.

"I'm looking forward to getting to play a couple times (on the PGA Tour)," he said. "I'm definitely going to learn a lot just by being here and getting used to the atmosphere." He knows it's important to make the most of his chances.

Lepp can accept a maximum of seven sponsor's exemptions before the end of the year and knows that he'll need to play well to get that many. "It just opens more doors," Lepp said. "If I play well this week then it increases my chances to get in future weeks. "I think there's definitely a higher premium now to play well whereas college you could have a bad event and it wouldn't hurt you too much."

Not that he wants to put too much pressure on himself. Life as a pro hasn't felt much difference than that as an amateur so far, but Lepp can already feel it starting to change. For one, he's playing in a tournament with a $4.8-million US purse. His nerves are also being tested much earlier than usual.

It's the moment he's been spent a long time preparing for. "I'm getting butterflies already and it's not even the day of the tournament," said Lepp. "That's usually a good thing for me actually. If I get nervous it means I'm really into it and I expect good things to happen. "It doesn't feel that good inside, but I expect the good results."