14-Year-Old Yeji Kwon Fired Rounds Of 70 And 74 To Win The Rain-Shortened Alberta Ladies Amateur By One Shot  - Image Courtesy @Alberta_Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Yeji Kwon says the COVID-19 pandemic has given her more time to practice and all that hard work paid off for the 14-year-old from Port Coquitlam who this week won the Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship.

“With school being out this spring for COVID I got a lot of practice time in,” Kwon says. “We would practice every day, sometimes from morning to night.”

It wasn’t all golf as Kwon had school work to do to complete Grade 8 at Summit Middle School in Coquitlam. 

The Canadian Pacific Women’s Open LPGA Event Will Return To Shaughnessy In 2021 - Image Courtesy Facility

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The Canadian Pacific Women’s Open has become another COVID-19 sports casualty and will not be played late this summer at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in Vancouver. 

Golf Canada made the announcement Tuesday. With the Canada-U.S. border remaining closed and strict self-quarantine restrictions in place, it simply was not feasible to play the event, which was scheduled for Sept. 3-6. There was some good news for Shaughnessy and Metro Vancouver golf fans, however, as the Southwest Marine Drive layout will play host to the event in 2021.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Commissioner Michael Whan likes to refer to the LPGA Tour as family, one that has grown with the addition of three British Columbia chapters to the LPGA Amateur Golf Association.

Whan was part of a recent conference call welcoming British Columbia to the association, an organization that aims to connect women who play the game. “Whether you play the game professionally, whether you teach it, whether you are helping young girls learn it, or whether you just play with your friends on a nine and dine, we all want to be engaged in this together,” Whan said.

Walking A Golf Course Is One Of The Most Health Beneficial Activities We Can Take Part In - Image Courtesy wallpaperflare.com

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It was another frustrating day on the golf course, where a round that had shown considerable early promise was derailed once again by sloppy play. But my numbers were not all bad. Despite my less than stellar score, there were some positives about that recent round at Peace Portal Golf Course in Surrey.

When I checked the step-counter on my phone, it told me that I had taken more than 13,000 steps during the round and walked about nine kilometres. (Clearly, I did not hit every shot straight down the middle).

I also climbed the equivalent of 23 floors, which is testament to Peace Portal’s hilly terrain. It is numbers like these, rather than the ones I mark on my scorecard, that have convinced me that golf is good for me.

- National Orders of Merit, a points-based ranking which recognizes top male and female amateur performance, will not be awarded for the 2020 championship season -

For Immediate Release

OAKVILLE, ONT. (Golf Canada) – Due to continued health concerns as well as government restrictions on travel and group gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic, Golf Canada has cancelled all of its amateur golf competitions for the duration of the 2020 season.

The National Sport Federation had previously announced the cancellation or postponement of a number of its junior and amateur competitions scheduled through mid-June.

Jared du Toit Of Kimberley BC Is Intrigued By The PGA TOUR's Hint At Having Some 'Make-up' Events For Players Who Have Been Affected By The Shutdown. James Allenby Of Langley And Riley Wheeldon Of Comox Are Also Interested - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

This year was supposed to be a golfing adventure of sorts for Jared du Toit, the former B.C. Junior Boys champion who has exempt status on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica circuit.

But instead of visiting and playing in exotic locales like Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic, du Toit has been playing all of his golf in the East Kootenays near his Kimberley home. He returned home from his winter base in Arizona in late March and has tried to keep his game in shape, which wasn’t easy at first with snow still on the ground.

Join in Virtual Women's Golf Day - Digital Celebration, June 3rd!

Women's Golf Day, with events around the globe is planned for September 1st.

Meanwhile, here is the statement put out from Women's Golf Day with respect to the one day delay from June 2nd to the 3rd on the Virtual Celebration:

We have decided to pause our social media activity today. Join us JUNE 3rd in honouring the people that we work with in the 50+ countries where Women’s Golf Day takes place and we kindly ask you to post and share WGD content tomorrow as we unite to Support, Engage and Empower women and men around the world. #wgdUNITES

This engaging virtual experience will be hosted on the WGD website http://www.womensgolfday.com and will include ways to engage through social media, videos, content and an online charity auction.

Links to all of the WGD action can be found below.

Riley Wheeldon (Top Left) And James Allenby (RIght) Will Have To Wait Another Year To Get Back Out On The Mackenzie Tour - Images Credit BC Golf/Golf Canada (Chuck Russell)

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

James Allenby and Riley Wheeldon were not surprised by the official word that the 2020 Mackenzie Tour - PGA Tour Canada season was being cancelled. Just profoundly disappointed.

Their professional golf dreams are on hold for another year. Langley’s Allenby and Comox native Wheeldon both had exempt status for this year’s Mackenzie Tour, which was officially cancelled on Friday.

The Full-Operational Focus For The Mackenzie Tour - PGA TOUR Canada Points Toward A 2021 Restart - Image Courtesy Mackenzie Tour/Golf Canada

TORONTO, ONTARIO – Due to border restrictions, mandatory quarantines for those entering Canada and gathering restrictions in all provinces because of COVID-19, the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada announced Friday that it is canceling its 2020 season.

“With growing uncertainty surrounding the border and the 14-day quarantine regulations, among other factors, we’ve weighed all of our options and concluded that it is not feasible to play this summer,” said Mackenzie Tour Executive Director Scott Pritchard.

Written by Golf Canada

The World Handicap System stipulates every player is responsible for returning all acceptable scores into one’s scoring record from rounds played on courses observing their active season, which is part of the golf season when courses have acceptable playing conditions.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of authorized provincial golf associations to declare active and inactive periods, and it is the responsibility of the area club and golfers to observe these dates for posting purposes.

Each year, provincial associations analyze numerous factors to determine their active seasons. This ensures consistency of when scores would be posted by the majority of golfers to help keep Handicap Indexes accurate.

L-R: Golf Canada National Team Coaches - Robert Ratcliffe, Derek Ingram & Jennifer Greggain - (K2 image by Pavel Novak/ Everest kalapatthar.jpg)

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Junior golfers in British Columbia aren’t just doing their school work on-line these days. They’ve also been firing up their laptops the past month for a series of golf webinars.

With tournament play and group instruction on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, British Columbia Golf organized a series of 10 webinars aimed at elite junior golfers not only here in B.C. but across the country.

“In-person instruction has been tough, so we are doing everything we can to help them out,” says Doug Hastie, manager of field operations/tournament director with British Columbia Golf.

Courtesy Golf Canada

The Prince Edward Island Golf Association (PEIGA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Alison Griffin as their new Executive Director.

Alison’s experience in sport, recreation and communication will be an asset to PEIGA that will allow the association to continue serving members and facilities while growing the sport of golf.

Image courtesy Jim Epler/Flickr

Courtesy Golf Canada (Written by John Chidley-Hill/ Canadian Press)

As far as Mike Weir is concerned, 50 is the new 20.

The Canadian golfing legend will reach his half-century mark on Tuesday and qualify to join the PGA Tour Champions, the senior circuit for professional men’s golf. Although the date of the next tournament is still up in the air thanks to restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Weir is ready for a new beginning in his career.

“The interesting thing about professional golf is that you look forward to your 50th birthday instead of dreading it,” said Weir. “I’ve been looking forward to this for quite a while.”

- IGF Announces 2020 World Amateur Team Championships Cancelled Due To Continued Uncertainty Of COVID-19 Pandemic

- DCM PGA Women’s Championship Of Canada Cancelled Due To COVID-19

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (May 6, 2020) – The International Golf Federation announced today that the 2020 World Amateur Team Championships scheduled for October have been cancelled due to the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This decision follows the IGF’s announcement in February that the biennial event for men and women, originally to be held in Hong Kong, was moving to Singapore due to ongoing social unrest in Hong Kong.

*This article was last updated on May 4, 2020.

Courtesy Golf Canada

Our partners at the Provincial Golf Associations are working incredibly hard to understand the impact of COVID-19 on golf in each province.

They will continue to seek clarity from municipal and provincial government and health authorities to help our member clubs and golfers navigate through this crisis.

Below are summaries and links for each respective provincial golf association.

During this time of uncertainty and disruption to our regular routines both at home and in the community, we'd like to make this space available for readers to access the many golf tips on line that can be done away from the golf course or driving range, so either at home or in the back yard. 

We'll search for informative and hopefully entertaining articles and share the links with you in this section. Check back regularly to see what's been newly posted to help get you ready for when we head back out to the golf course.

Image - Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

MEDIA RELEASE

 – Golf Canada and RBC will now pivot all efforts towards planning for a celebrated return of the RBC Canadian Open in 2021 – 

TORONTO – With continued public health concerns as well as international travel and government restrictions due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the PGA TOUR, in consultation with Golf Canada and RBC, has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 RBC Canadian Open.

The event was scheduled for June 8-14 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club with Islington Golf Club as the official practice facility. The cancellation of the 2020 RBC Canadian Open also includes the RBCxMusic Concert Series which was scheduled to take place June 12-13 at Richview Collegiate Institute, featuring headline performances by The Chainsmokers and Keith Urban.

“The RBC Canadian Open has always been a rallying point for Canadian golf and while we share in the crushing disappointment with our fans, players, volunteers and many event partners, our primary responsibility is the safety of our people and our communities,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum.

“It is now our full intention to push forward together with RBC, the PGA TOUR, the City of Toronto and our host clubs with the goal to bring the 2021 RBC Canadian Open to St. George’s Golf and Country Club with Islington Golf Club as the official practice facility.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Korn Ferry Tour aims to restart in mid-June;

Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada postpones first six events of its season

April 16, 2020 – With additional time needed to ensure PGA TOUR tournaments are staged in the most safe and responsible manner possible given the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the PGA TOUR is announcing further schedule modifications for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, as well as plans for the opening portion of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Regular Season, the restart of the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour season and updates regarding the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada schedule.

The PGA TOUR had previously targeted the week of the Charles Schwab Challenge (May 18-24) as the restart of the TOUR season, which has been suspended since THE PLAYERS Championship was canceled on Thursday, March 12. For health and safety reasons due to COVID-19, today’s announcement delays that timeline three weeks – to June 8, starting with the Charles Schwab Challenge – with additional tournaments being repositioned between then and the season’s conclusion, which is the TOUR Championship, ending on Labor Day (September 7).

At this time, the TOUR plans to resume play with the first four events closed to the general public but will continue to monitor the situation and follow the recommendations of local and state authorities in order to determine the most appropriate on-site access in each market. As such, the TOUR will continually review available COVID-19-related protocols that could be implemented at PGA TOUR events to ensure the health and well-being for all involved.

Via Golf Canada

TOKYO – The Tokyo Olympics will open next year in the same time slot scheduled for this year’s games. Tokyo organizers said Monday the opening ceremony will take place on July 23, 2021 – almost exactly one year after the games were due to start this year.

“The schedule for the games is key to preparing for the games,” Tokyo organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori said. “This will only accelerate our progress.”

Last week, the IOC and Japanese organizers postponed the Olympics until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s games were scheduled to open on July 24 and close on Aug. 9. But the near exact one-year delay will see the rescheduled closing ceremony on Aug. 8.

Courtesy Golf Canada

With heightened uncertainty and global concern related to COVID-19, Golf Canada continues to evaluate all aspects of our business to operate and make informed and responsible decisions within the best interests of our athletes, staff, volunteers, host clubs, partners and other stakeholders health and well-being.

Today (March 30, 2020), Golf Canada is announcing its decision to cancel or postpone the events listed below.