Vancouver private equity investor Brian Begert of Yellow Point Capital recalls young Kevin Spooner's miraculous 58 at Capilano last week.

Kevin Spooner Capilano

Spooner via Facebook

Thanks to Mr. Begert for allowing us to share this inspiring account. 

I consider myself an avid sports follower and over the years have had the good fortune of attending both the summer and winter Olympics, Stanley Cup final games, the Super Bowl, Grey Cups and several PGA events. But I must admit none of these high profile sporting events took a front seat to witnessing first hand a 58 being shot at Capilano on July 18.

I had never met Kevin Spooner but casually knew his father Mark through some social events at Cap and had worked with his mom, Nancy as a teenager, teaching a summer camp inVancouver. I had heard Kevin was a very good player and as a USC grad I was aware that he played golf for one of USC’s PAC 12 rivals at University of Washington. As Kevin teed off on the first hole, his ball flight told me he indeed was a very good ball striker as his shot was deep and straight enough to allow him to hit a wedge into the first green. After putting his wedge to within 10 – 15 feet of the cup and holing out his eagle put, Kevin proceeded to go birdie, eagle, par, birdie, birdie to arrive at the seventh tee box seven under par. It was at this point I lost track of my own golf game and began thinking that one more birdie would leave Kevin eight under par for a “29” on the front side. Sure enough after burning the edge of hole seven and lipping out from 20 – 30 feet on hole eight, Kevin had a birdie chance at nine and converted with a tricky, slippery putt from around eight feet.

The back nine began with an eagle on ten and by hole 12, Kevin was now 11 under par and suddenly each member of our group knew something special was brewing but like a pitcher throwing a no hitter, no one uttered the number “59”. Then, something else special happened as Kevin’s dad Mark joined us on thirteen as he had some dinner obligations and had to bow out early. But as fate would have it, Mark became part of this most amazing round, if only for a single hole. By hole number 14, Kevin needed two birdies to hit the magic number and the short tricky par 3 became his first with a pin high approach shot and a 12 footer for birdie that disappeared into the cup. After parring 15, Kevin hit his tee shot on 16 to within ten feet and sunk the birdie putt, hitting the magic 13 under par needed for the “59”. A tee shot into the left bunker on 17 added some stress to the three tag alongs but a clean out from the bunker onto the green provided a sigh of relief for all. This left Kevin with a big breaking putt from around 30 feet which was his most difficult putt of the day – no problem, a perfect leave, 12 inches past the hole and a tap in par.

As we approached 18 there was a calm about Kevin despite some nervous anxiety amongst the rest of us. As we waited for the group in front to hit their second shots, Kevin began taking practice swings with his driver. We had only seen him use driver twice during the round, on hole 3 and 5 and they were the only two errant shots hit all afternoon. So as Kevin looked up he saw the blood rushing out of our faces with three white ghost like faces staring at him in disbelief. I’m sure we all shared the same thought – how many times do you have a chance to break 60 and how much better will the story be when talking to your grandkids about the day you shot “58” versus the day you shot “59”. Suddenly, almost as though our unease became contagious, Kevin grabbed the four iron out of his bag and put his tee shot down the middle – then a six iron down the middle and finally a wedge within 12 feet. The putt he hit on 18 was a putt that only someone of the greatest of self confidence could hit. There was no hint of a lag but rather a firm, crisp putt to the back of the hole for a resounding “58” – without a driver!

Although witnessing such a remarkable feat was a privilege, the aftermath of the round was even more heartening and even more special to someone with kids who have competed in sports all their lives - Kevin immediately went into the clubhouse to call his parents to let them know what had just occurred and to allow them to share in his moment of triumph. Kevin, on behalf of all of your group, thanks for sharing your (and our) thrill of a lifetime.