Being 鈥楥oop鈥� brings out the best in Cooper Humphreys.

The 91大黄鸭-Vernon golfer is savouring the two gold medals he won at the Canada Summer Games in Niagara, Ont.

Playing at the par-72 Legends on the Niagara Golf Course, Humphreys finished the 72-hole individual men鈥檚 tournament at 11-under-par.

鈥淚 love competition, I love the pressure,鈥� said Humphreys to Team B.C.鈥檚 media coordinators after winning gold. 鈥淚鈥檝e tried experimenting different ways, being too serious, not too serious. I鈥檝e found just being 鈥楥oop鈥� is when I鈥檓 best.鈥�

Humphreys defeated Guillaume Paquette of Quebec by one stroke after shooting a final round 2-under 70. He opened the tournament with a 1-over-par 73, then stormed back into the field by shooting 5-under 67 in the second and third rounds.

鈥淚 did a couple of things,鈥� said Humphreys when asked what changes he made in his second day of competition. 鈥淢y short game was not great yesterday, so I changed how I set up, how I lined up the ball on the green, and I even changed my putter. I wanted to be more aggressive this round and it paid off with those birdies. Basically, I just tried to be more 鈥楥oop鈥�.鈥�

Humphreys added to his medal haul with a second gold in the team event, featuring men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 combined results. B.C. was a whopping 28 strokes ahead of Quebec.

Elsewhere from the Games:

鈥� Coldstream鈥檚 Darcy Rhodes won gold as a coach with B.C.鈥檚 men鈥檚 box lacrosse team. B.C. overcame a 6-4 third-period deficit to beat Ontario 7-6 in the final.

The win capped off an emotional week for Team B.C. that saw them rally behind teammate Ben Pawluk of Victoria, who was unable to attend the Games due to a cancer diagnosis. The team hung Pawluk鈥檚 jerseys behind their bench for strength throughout the Games and opponents lined up to sign them before each game.

鈥� Vernon鈥檚 Braden Kersey won bronze for Team B.C. in the cycling road race, finishing in a time of 2 hours 45 minutes and 20 seconds.

鈥� In women鈥檚 volleyball, Vernon鈥檚 Madison Gardner and Coldstream鈥檚 Olivia Tymkiw helped B.C. capture bronze, beating Saskatchewan 3-0, 25-21, 25-21, 25-23.

On the men鈥檚 side, Vernon鈥檚 Liam Remple and Team B.C. finished fifth with a 3-2 victory over Manitoba, 27-29, 25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 15-11.

鈥� Vernon鈥檚 Raynen Campbell and the B.C. men鈥檚 fastpitch softball team finished sixth overall. Vernon鈥檚 Laura Webster was an apprentice coach with the squad.

roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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