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University Place, Wash. – Chambers Bay, the 7,375 yard, par-71 golf course in University Place, Wash., will host many of the best amateur golfers in the world this week for the 54th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship. The championship, hosted by Washington Golf (WA Golf), will be played July 20-23, 2021.

This will be the second time Chambers Bay has hosted the championship, with it previously being held there in 2017.

Click here to visit the championship portal for tee times, player information, photos and to follow along with live scoring.

This year’s championship had been scheduled to be held at historic Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria, B.C., but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary to find a venue in the U.S.

BC's Adam Hadwin (L) And Roger Sloan Have Their Work Cut Out To Maintain PGA TOUR Status Next Year - File Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Nick Taylor isn’t sweating, but a couple of other British Columbians are definitely thinking about their futures as the clock ticks on the PGA TOUR’s regular season. 

Merritt’s Roger Sloan sits well outside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup points lists, while Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin is just barely inside the magic number following play this past week. Hadwin missed the cut at the Open Championship at Royal St. George’s and fell to 120th on the points list. He needs to finish inside the top 125 to retain his full exempt status for the 2021-22 season. 

Sloan tied for 31st at the Barbasol Championship -- the event held opposite the Open Championship -- but still fell two spots to 147th.

Victoria, BC's Ashton McCulloch Fired A final Round 67 To Win The 2021 B.C. Amateur By Two Shots - Image Credit BradZiemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf 

CAMPBELL RIVER -- Ashton McCulloch’s round had already gotten off to a nice start when he stepped up to the fifth tee in the final round of the B.C. Amateur Championship at Storey Creek Golf Club. It was about to get a whole lot better. 

The par 3 5th was playing 183 yards and McCulloch surveyed the wind before taking dead aim with his 6-iron. All he did then was knock the ball into the hole for an ace. The eagle had landed and it helped propel the 18-year-old to his victory in the 119th playing of the championship.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Kent Gilchrist covered just about everything in a sportswriting career that spanned more than 40 years, but he had a particular affinity for golf. Not just the game, but the people who played it. 

Gilchrist, known as Cookie to his countless friends, died at his New Westminster home Wednesday night after a lengthy illness. He was 72. Cookie was larger than life. He could light up a room and fill it with laughter. He seemed to know everyone.

Patrick Weeks Managed To Hang Onto His Lead Going Into The Final Round At The B.C. Amateur - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CAMPBELL RIVER -- Patrick Weeks has had considerable success closing real estate deals in recent years. He knows closing out the B.C. Amateur Championship figures to be more difficult. 

“Well, I have closed over a thousand real estate deals and I have only closed a couple of tournaments,” the 42-year-old Vancouver realtor said after Thursday’s third round.

“So it’s going to be a lot harder than what I do every day for a living. But also more fun.”

One Is A 13-time Winner Of The B.C. Amateur, That Would Be Doug Roxburgh On The Left, And Another Is A 13-Year Old Competing In His First B.C. Am, That Would Be Hunter Auramenko In The Orange Shirt On The Right With His Brother And Caddy, Zack - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CAMPBELL RIVER -- On the ninth green Wednesday afternoon at Storey Creek Golf Club, Hunter Auramenko and his older brother Zach both got down on their bellies a la Camilo Villegas to read a putt. Hunter and Zach were grinding to make the cut in the 119th playing of the B.C. Amateur Championship. 

Hunter, at age 13 the youngest player in the field, ended up missing by a single shot. But he is not going to let that spoil a special experience at the course he and his brother have grown up playing on.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CAMPBELL RIVER -- Matt Hamilton acknowledged his golfing pals at his home course might be a tad surprised when they see his name at the top of the B.C. Amateur Championship leaderboard. 

“I think people might be a little shocked to be honest,” Hamilton said with a laugh after carding a seven-under 65 at Storey Creek Golf Club. “I think my group was a little shocked as well.” 

The 29-year-old Hamilton, who plays out of Crown Isle in Courtenay, rode a hot putter as he recorded nine birdies on the day.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The 119th B.C. Amateur Championship goes this week at Storey Creek Golf Club, the highly regarded Campbell River course that is playing host to the event for the second time. 

Brad Newman-Bennett remembers the first one very well, but has trouble coming to grips with the fact it was 22 years ago. Newman-Bennett rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to beat Surrey’s Dan Swanson by one shot and win the 1999 championship. “Made that putt to win it on the 18th hole,” Newman-Bennett said. “That was a good time. But it’s almost like half a lifetime ago. It’s nuts.

“I remember I was playing really, really well going into it. Whenever I have played tournament golf it seems like my first round is always my worst one and I just slowly get into the right mode. Momentum grew during the week and it kind of all came together. I made a couple of timely putts and at the end of the day I was the last man standing. It was awesome.”

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Steve Berry, a British Columbia Golf Hall of Fame member whose amateur golf career included victories at the 1981 B.C. Amateur and 1972 B.C. Junior Boys Championships, died recently at his Vancouver home.

Berry, who was 68, was a longtime member of Marine Drive Golf Club and contemporary of B.C. golf legend Doug Roxburgh. “We had some good battles,” Roxburgh said of his friend.

“We were good teammates together as well. I’ve known Steve for a long time. I am about a year and half older than Steve. He joined the club the day he was 12 and I joined when I was 13. We called him Little Stevie Berry, he was a small, little kid and then he shot up to 6-foot-3 or 6-4.” 

Berry was found deceased in his Vancouver apartment after family and friends became concerned they had not heard from him in a few days.

Courtesy Vancouver Parks Golf

The Langara Ladies Golf Club was originally formed in 1929 and the ladies played on what was known as Langara Golf Links, with a membership of 32 ladies.

On March 30, 1953 Langara Ladies Golf Club applied for membership in the Canadian Ladies’ Golf Union. In 1967 the Club collapsed but on November 13, 1970 a meeting was held at Langara Golf Course to announce the formation of the new Langara Ladies Golf Club. The new club launched in the Spring of 1971 with approximately 50 members and is still going strong.

Vancouver's Victoria Liu En Route To Taking Medallist Honours In The U.S. Women's Amateur Qualifier At Seymour GC In North Vancouver - Image Credit: Blair Shier/@blairshier

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

August was already shaping up to be a special month for Victoria Liu. Now it’s even better. The 18-year-old left-hander from Vancouver earned medalist honours at a U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship qualifier Tuesday at Seymour Golf & Country Club in North Vancouver.

She’ll be in the field at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y., where many of the world’s top amateur players will gather for the 121st playing of the championship Aug. 2-8. Liu, who plays out of Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club, is off to Princeton University later in August to begin her studies and play collegiate golf at the Ivy League school.

Medallist Jack Rothwell (Centre) Is Joined By Craig Doell (R) And James Swan (L) As U.S. Amateur Qualifiers - Image Credit: Jerome Goddard/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

A pair of Victoria Golf Club members made good use of their home-course advantage to earn spots in next month’s U.S. Amateur Championship. 

Jack Rothwell, the 2019 B.C. Amateur champion, and Craig Doell, for many years one of this province’s top amateurs, punched their tickets to what will be the 121st playing of the U.S. Amateur Aug. 9-15 at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.

Another Victoria resident, James Swan, claimed the third spot that was available for the 77 players who teed it up Monday.

viaSport is working with the Province of British Columbia and the amateur sport sector to support organizations to operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

All sport activities in B.C. must follow B.C.'s Restart plan Step 3 and the PHO Order on Gatherings and Events.

Step 3 of B.C.’s Restart plan is in effect as of July 1st.

B.C.’s Restart is the Province’s step-by-step plan to bring us back together. Please remember, the intention of the Restart is to slowly return to activities. Organizations are asked to turn the dimmer slowly when planning sport programming.

Surrey, BC's Lauren Kim - Image Credit Chuck Russell/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Surrey’s Lauren Kim completed a Colorado triple play of sorts by successfully qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. Kim and national junior girls teammate Michelle Liu of Vancouver were two of four qualifiers at a site in Westminster, Colo.

Liu won the qualifier by shooting a four-under 68. Kim fired a two-under 70 and finished in a three-way tie for second. Four spots were available at the Colorado site. Earlier, the 15-year-old Kim had topped the field at a U.S. Junior Girls qualifier in Colorado and won the American Junior Golf Association’s Hale Irwin Colorado Junior by 12 shots.

Gavyn Knight Is The 2021 BC Junior Boys Champion Winning At His Home Course, Morningstar GC - image credit Duncan O'Brien/fairwayvision.com

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PARKSVILLE -- In the hundreds of rounds that Gavyn Knight has played over the years at Morningstar Golf Club, he has learned where to hit the ball and, perhaps more importantly, where not to hit it. He used all that local knowledge to his advantage and won the biggest tournament of his life Friday, the B.C. Junior Boys Championship. 

“I had no big numbers,” Knight said. “I kept myself in the tournament the whole week.” Avoiding those big numbers really was the difference. There’s lots of trouble to get into at Morningstar and Knight did a better job than the rest of the field in avoiding those mini-disasters. He had nothing worse than a bogey in his final round of one-under 71 that left him one-under for the tournament.

Jennifer Gu Has A Right To Smile Now That She Is The BC Junior Girls Champion - image credit Duncan O'Brien/fairwayvision.com

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PARKSVILLE -- Jennifer Gu played 'catch me if you can' all week with the rest of the field at the B.C. Junior Girls Championship. It turns out no one could.

The 18-year-old from West Vancouver went wire-to-wire to win the championship at Morningstar Golf Club as she bounced back from a tough runner-up finish at the recent B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship in Summerland. 

“I lost last week and I had a lot of people telling me to go win,” Gu said after her round. “So I am happy with myself, I am happy I met those expectations. The pressure was definitely good. I used it and played solid.”

The provincial skills challenge is being held July 27th at Northview Golf & Country Club in Surrey. Registration begins at 7:30 am and the challenge runs from 8:45am – 11:00am. The field is limited to 32 kids.

For kids to play they have to pre-register through British Columbia Golf's Participation Manager, Tyler McKay by July 23rd using the form found HERE

Gavyn Knight and Jennifer Gu Are Chasing The BC Junior Boys and Junior Girls Titles at Morningstar GC - image credit Duncan O'Brien/fairwayvision.com

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PARKSVILLE -- Gavyn Knight swung his first golf club on the driving range at Morningstar Golf Club when he was three or four years old. 

He’s worked at the course the past couple of summers, washing power carts, picking the range and doing pretty much anything else that needs to be done. He’s also logged innumerable rounds of golf at Morningstar.

“Uncountable” he says with a smile. “A lot. High hundreds.” He’ll play another one today as the leader heading into the final round of the B.C. Junior Boys Championship.

COVID-19 Resources for the British Columbia Golf Industry

Please click here for the most recent comprehensive provincial update, as provided December 30th, 2022

Please Click HERE to see AGA-BC Covid-19 resources page

AGA-BC Best Practices Manual For BC Golf Operations Amidst COVID-19
(These were still in effect and current as of February 1, 2022)

Please click HERE to view Allied Golf Association (AGA) Best Practices Manual For BC Golf Courses.

PGA of Canada Class A Professional Kylie Frederick - image courtesy PGA of Canada

By Shelby Dechant (reprinted with permission from the PGA of Canada)

“I am an athlete, but I am also gay. At the end of the day if I’m not talking about that part of me, I am doing a disservice,” says PGA of Canada Class “A” Professional Kylie Frederick.

Frederick says that this has been her mindset during the most recent years of her 19-year golf career.

Frederick started golfing at seven years old with her family on Vancouver Island. Her dad would take her out to the course, which helped her find her passion for the game. At 13-years old, all of Frederick’s attention was put towards becoming a golf professional.

At this young age, Frederick had not yet come out as gay. She was a golfer and that was that.