Smithers Native Kaleb Gorbahn (L), Whose Father Dana Is Caddying For Him This Week, Is Tied For Third Place After Shooting A Six-Under 65 On Thursday - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

DUNCAN -- There’s a lot of red and white on the leaderboard at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship at Duncan Meadows Golf Club. And blue. The stars and stripes outnumber the Maple Leafs by a considerable margin through three rounds of the 114th playing of the Canadian Amateur.

Defending champion Zach Bauchou of Forest, Va., leads the way at 13-under par after shooting a four-under 67 in Thursday’s third round. Philip Knowles of Jacksonville, Fla., moved into second place thanks to a seven-under 64 that left him at 11-under.

The top Canadian -- and proud to be that -- is Kaleb Gorbahn of Smithers, who is in a three-way tie for third at eight-under par.

Oklahoma State University Senior Zach Baucho Has A Three-Shot Lead At The Halfway Mark Of The 2018 Canadian Men's Amateur - Image Credit Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

QUALICUM -- They are trying to catch a cowboy at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. Zach Bauchou is halfway to defending his title after a three-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round moved him to nine-under par. Bauchou, a Virginia native who is heading into his senior year with the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, has a three-shot lead on Julien Sale of Gatineau, Que.

After opening with a six-under 65 at Duncan Meadows, Bauchou moved 45 minutes north and played his second round at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort in Qualicum. The tight Pheasant Glen layout reminded him of his home track, Karsten Creek, at Oklahoma State. It seems like there is trouble everywhere at both courses.

The 114th Canadian Men's Amateur is underway on Vancouver Island at Duncan Meadows GC and Pheasant Glen GR. 

The championship was first held in 1895, making it one of the most storied sporting events in Canada and third oldest amateur championship in the world.

Duncan Meadows will play host to 252 players from nine countries over four stroke play rounds, while Pheasant Glen will co-host for the first two rounds prior to the 36-hole cut.

Defending Champion Zach Bauchou Has The First Round Lead In The 2018 Canadian Men's Amateur - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

DUNCAN, B.C. – Reigning champion Zach Bauchou fired a 65 in Monday’s opening round of the 114th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship at Duncan Meadows Golf Course to tie the course record and lead by two strokes.

The Forest, Va., native thrived in the sweltering B.C. weather, going 7-under through his first 10 holes thanks to two eagles—one that included a hole-out from the bunker on No. 17. Bauchou cooled off on his final eight holes, giving one back with a bogey on the par-3 7th.

Comox, B.C. Native Kolten Almgren Was The Medallist In The Canadian Amateur Qualifying Event Held Friday At Duncan Meadows GC - Image Courtesy UBC TBirds Golf Twitter

Courtesy Golf Canada

DUNCAN, B.C. – Canadians Kolten Almgren, Zach Ryujin, Mike Aizawa, Ethan Bennett and Brent Wilson earned exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship on Friday in the 18-hole qualifying event at Duncan Meadows Golf Course.

Almgren, a University of B.C. sophomore from Comox, B.C., posted the low score of the day with a 4-under par 68, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 12th hole.

Ryujin of North Vancouver, B.C., was next in line with a 3-under-par 69, good for sole possession of runner-up honours. Aizawa (Richmond, B.C.), Bennett (Stoney Creek, Ont.), and Wilson (Cobble Hill, B.C.) rounded out the top five that punched their tickets to the third-oldest amateur event in the world.

17-Year-Old Quebec Resident Celeste Dao, Shown Here With Golf Canada's Pat Thompson And One Of Canada's Finest, Erased A Three-Shot Deficit On The Back Nine To Beat 14-Year-Old Emily Zhu Of Ontario - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

In about a year’s time, Celeste Dao will become a University of Georgia Bulldog. On Friday, the 17-year-old from Notre-Dame Ile Perrot, Que., played like that Georgia namesake at Beach Grove Golf Club in the final round of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

Tenacious, resolute, stubborn, persistent. Dao was all those things and more as she dug down deep to rebound from a three-stroke deficit early on the back nine and win the title.

Quebec Native Celeste Dao Has A One-Shot Lead Heading Into The Final Round Of The Canadian Junior Girls Championship At Beach Grove Golf Club In Tsawwassen - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Play golf, see the world. That kind of describes what has been a whirlwind 2018 for Celeste Dao. The 17-year-old from Notre-Dame Ile Perrot, Que., who has the lead heading into Friday’s final round of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship at Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen, has used her passport almost as much as her pitching wedge in what has been a busy year.

So far this year, she has visited Argentina, where she finished tied for eighth in the South American Amateur Championship, Mexico, where she won the Mexican Junior Girls Championship, and Japan, where she finished fifth at the Toyota Junior World Cup.

Lauren Kim, A Surrey Resident Who Just Finished Grade 7, Opened The Canadian Junior Girls Championship Tournament With A 3-under Par 69 - Image Courtesy Sarah Magyar/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Lauren Kim apparently hasn’t learned about respecting her elders. The 12-year-old has the audacity to be leading the Canadian Junior Girls Championship at Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen. 

And you know what, the Surrey resident thinks she can win. “Yeah, I'm going to try,” she said after posting a three-under par 69 that gave her a two-shot lead. “I feel confident after doing well today.”

The 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship is underway at Tsawwassen's Beach Grove Golf Course. Below is an excerpt from a tournament preview done by Brad Ziemer.

By Brad Ziemer/British Columbia Golf

TSAWWASSEN, B.C. -- British Columbia has a little streak going at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship, one its players hope to extend at Beach Grove Golf Club.

The last three Canadian Junior Girls Championships have been won by B.C. players. Susan Xiao of Surrey won it last year, Naomi Ko of Victoria was the 2016 champion and Michelle Kim of Surreycaptured the title in 2015.

Doing well at Beach Grove starts with keeping the ball in play off the tee. The course is tight in spots and missing fairways makes it difficult to hit the course’s small greens in regulation. “What the players will have to do especially well is position the ball off the tee,” says longtime Beach Grove Head Professional Brent Derrheim. “You can’t be overly aggressive, you need to be patient. And also putting. If you make the putts, you are going to score well.”

Richmond's Chris Crisologo Carried On His Solid Summer By Taking The Gary Cowan Award As The Low Amateur At The RBC Canadian Open - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Chris Crisologo’s first RBC Canadian Open started and finished with a birdie. The 70 holes in between weren’t bad, either. The 22-year-old Richmond resident and reigning B.C. Amateur champion rolled in a 20-foot putt for birdie on the par 5 18th hole Sunday to finish his first PGA TOUR event tied for 45th place at nine-under par.

Crisologo closed with a three-under par 69 Sunday at Glen Abbey Golf Course after opening with rounds of 68, 69 and 73. “It was quite the experience,” Crisologo told reporters after his final round.

Back In 2007 Canadian Amateur Champion Nick Taylor Posed Beside The Board With The Final Result At Riverside GC In Saskatoon - Image Courtesy Riverside/CanGolfer

By Brad Ziemer

At the time, it was the biggest win of Nick Taylor’s life, a victory he credits with providing the confidence and inner belief that ultimately helped propel him to the PGA TOUR. Taylor won the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship in 2007 and he’ll never forget the crazy final day he endured en route to the title. It lasted nearly 10 hours and 38 holes.

Taylor would be the first to tell you it should have been over much sooner than that.

Tiffany Kong Of Vancouver Has Earned A Spot In The CP Canadian Women's Open As The Low Canadian In This Year's Canadian Women's Amateur At Marine Drive - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

This time, Tiffany Kong figures it will be a little more of a fair fight. The 17-year-old Vancouver resident finished as the low Canadian at the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship on Friday at Marine Drive Golf Club.

That accomplishment brings with it a nice little perk -- an exemption into the LPGA Tour’s CP Women’s Open, which goes Aug. 23-26 at Wascana Country Club in Regina. It will be an encore performance of sorts for Kong, who as a 14-year-old successfully Monday qualified into the 2015 CP Women’s Open at Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam.

The 2018 Canadian Women's Amateur Champion Yealimi Noh From Concord, California - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

No matter what she accomplishes in what certainly seems to be an extremely promising future as a golfer, Yealimi Noh will likely never forget the month of July, 2018.

All the recently turned 17-year-old from Concord, Calif. did was win three big amateur events. July started with a win at the Girls Junior PGA Championship in Lexington, Ky. Last week, she followed that up with a win at the U.S. Junior Girls Championship in Pebble Beach, Calif.

Her encore performance came Friday at Marine Drive Golf Club, where Noh won the 105th playing of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship.

In an informative and inspirational video, the golf course superintendents of Ontario explain what tremendous benefits we derive from golf course properties both for our physical and mental well-being and as a caring and safe environment for several species of plants and animals.

It's An All-American Leaderboard At Vancouver's Marine Drive In The Canadian Women's Amateur With Texas Native Dylan Kim Out Front By One After 3 Rounds - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

There is no prize money in amateur golf, where you play simply for the championship.  However, there is a nice little perk that will go to Friday’s winner of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver -- an exemption into the LPGA Tour’s CP Women’s Open in Regina next month.

Dylan Kim, the 21-year-old Texan who has the lead, had no idea. “Well, I just learned about that right now,” Kim said with a laugh in a post-round interview Thursday. “I did not know that. . . That would be cool.”

Vancouver's 17-Year Old Tiffany Kong Is The Top Canadian At The Halfway Mark Of The Canadian Women's Amateur Being Held At Marine Drive GC - BC Golf Image

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

This was supposed to be nothing more than a week of practice for Tiffany Kong, who instead finds herself in the thick of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Marine Drive Golf Club.  The 17-year-old Vancouver resident came to Marine Drive hoping to prepare for next week’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship at Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen.

But thanks to a hot putter and some solid ball-striking, Kong has rattled off 11 birdies through two rounds of the Women’s Amateur and is just two shots out of the lead.

Westminster, Colorado's Jennifer Kupcho, The Defending Canadian Women's Amateur Champion Has A Two-Shot Lead After Round One - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

Vancouver’s Tiffany Kong And Naomi Ko Of Victoria The Low Canadians After First Round Of Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Jennifer Kupcho’s round started with a bogey after she shanked her wedge approach shot from the middle of the fairway. Things got a little better after that. Actually, much better.

The 21-year-old from Westminster, Colo., began defence of her Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship title with a record-setting seven-under 64 Tuesday at Marine Drive Golf Club.
“I actually shanked my approach shot on my first hole and made bogey,” a smiling Kupcho said after her round. “I just missed the putt for par. I birdied the next hole and it kind of went well from there.”

That is something of an understatement.

After that opening bogey on the par 4 10th hole -- her first of the day -- Kupcho went birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, par, par, birdie to shoot a six-under 29 on her front nine.

British Columbia's Top Junior Girls Will Trying To Make It Four In A Row At The 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship At Beach Grove GC Next Week. Surrey's Susan Xiao (Inset) Was The 2017 Champion - Images Courtesy Beach Grove/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer/British Columbia Golf

TSAWWASSEN, B.C. -- British Columbia has a little streak going at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship, one its players hope to extend at Beach Grove Golf Club.

The last three Canadian Junior Girls Championships have been won by B.C. players. Susan Xiao of Surrey won it last year, Naomi Ko of Victoria was the 2016 champion and Michelle Kim of Surrey captured the title in 2015. 

“This is home turf and the B.C. girls have to represent and do well and have some fun out here,” says Vancouver’s Tiffany Kong, one of a large number of strong B.C. players who will compete in this year’s championship, which goes July 31-Aug. 3 at Beach Grove.

Defending Champions Quebec Have Returned The Willingdon Cup (Right) Which Appeared Slightly Worse For Wear At A News Conference Hosted By Course Owner Ming Hui - Image Credit Bryan Outram / Courtesy BC Golf

Vancouver Island's Duncan Meadows Golf Course Will Challenge Canada's Best Amateurs Plus Players From 13 Other Countries Around The World In The 114th Canadian Men's Amateur Championship

By Jeff Sutherland/Inside Golf

Following on hosting a number of both provincial and national championships, the course located in the Cowichan Valley 50 km north of Victoria has recently undergone tweaking to test competitors August 6th to 9th. 

The layout has been gradually lengthened to more than 6800 yards with new tees added on three holes… most recently on the par three 16th that will make the signature hole play almost 200 yards. 

A visit to Duncan Meadows in late July showed a course that is going to present a test reminiscent of that seen at this year's Open Championship at Carnoustie. Balls will definitely be able to run.

The Last Three British Columbians To Win The Canadian Women's Amateur Championship From L-R: A.J. Eathorne, Tracey Lipp And Jessica Potter - Images Courtesy Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer/British Columbia Golf

The 105th playing of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship begins Tuesday at Marine Drive Golf Club inVancouver. As the last three British Columbia women to win the event, Jessica Potter, A.J. Eathorne and Tracey Lipp each has a little piece of the tournament’s rich history. British Columbia Golf's Brad Ziemer asked them to reminisce about the tournament and what winning it meant to them. We begin with the most recent British Columbian to win the event:

Jessica Potter captured the title in 2006 at Moncton Golf & Country Club in New Brunswick. To say that win came as a surprise to the then 20-year-old Potter would be an understatement.