L-R: Lauren Kim, Michelle Liu & Luna Lu Finished As The Top 3 In The 2020 BC Women's Amateur. They Will Be Joined By Vanessa Zhang (Far Right) In The Upcoming Mizuho Americas Open

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Four B.C. junior golfers will be playing alongside some of the biggest stars on the LPGA Tour at the upcoming Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey.

Burnaby’s Luna Lu, Lauren Kim of Surrey and Michelle Liu and Vanessa Zhang, both of Vancouver, are among 24 American Junior Golf Association players who have qualified to play in the inaugural event, which goes June 1-4.

The UBC T'Birds Are 2023 NAIA Champions - Photo Credit Dan O'Connor (UBC T'Birds Communications)

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

For just the second time in program history, the University of B.C. men’s golf team has captured the NAIA national championship. The T-Birds surprised even their coach by winning the 72-hole tournament at Las Sendas Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz.

“To be honest it’s a big surprise and it’s a big upset,” said longtime UBC coach Chris Macdonald. “We were the 12th-ranked team coming in, so a lot of things had to go right.”

Lauren Kim (L) And Gabriela Ruffels Were The Two Qualifiers For The U.S. Women's Open At VGC - Image Courtesy Golf Canada/Twitter

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Lauren Kim’s one and only visit to California’s Monterey Peninsula occurred a few years ago when she and her family were driving home from a junior golf tournament in the San Diego area.

Kim, all of 11 or 12 years old at the time, vividly remembers what a beautiful spot it was. “We went to all of the golf courses in the area and picked up every scorecard,” she says. “And then we went to the beach and dipped our toes in the water.

“I bought one of those bouncy balls that had a big Pebble Beach logo on it. And it had golf ball dimples on it. I thought this is really cool, I want that.” She also decided right there and then that she’d one day play Pebble Beach.

On Monday, that dream became a reality. Kim will not only play Pebble Beach, she’ll play it in this summer’s U.S. Women’s Open.

SFU Red Leafs Men's Golf Team - Image Courtesy SFU/Sonoma State Athletics

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The solid play of senior Aidan Goodfellow (Centre In Team Photo Shown) and a pair of clutch 18th-hole birdies by Michael Crisologo and Jordan Bean helped the Simon Fraser University men’s golf team earn a spot in the NCAA Division II national championship tourney for the first time since 2015.

The Red Leafs tied for fourth at the West/South Central regional tourney in Rohnert Park, Calif., where the top five teams earned spots in the national championship tourney.

It was a nail-biter of a final round as only seven strokes separated the top nine teams.

By Craig Dolch, Special to the PGA of America

This article from Craig Dolch has some wonderful insight from former 5-time PGA TOUR winner Ken Green as he gains more and more admiration for those whose main goal is to compete, regardless of the compromised physical situation they may be faced with.

It's Time to Celebrate! Women's Golf Day Celebrations begin May 30 and run through June 6th! You can participate in a number of ways! Don't miss your chance to be a part of the fun!

There are lots of ways to get involved - starting May 30th.

NextGen Pacific Champions Amy Seung Hyun Lee & Jerry Li - Image Credit Chuck Russell/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The NextGen Championships put on by Golf Canada each year are what you might call 'junior majors'. Amy Seung Hyun Lee now has won two of them.

Lee, a 15-year-old Langley resident, captured the NextGen Pacific Championship at Sunshine Coast Golf & Country Club.

She went wire-to-wire and won by five shots against an elite field of B.C. juniors.

The Last BC Team To Win The Lamey Cup Was In 2014 - PNGA Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It was cool, rainy and windy at last year’s PNGA Lamey Cup, but John Robertson enjoyed every minute of what was his debut in the annual Ryder Cup-style competition featuring teams from the British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Idaho golf associations.

Robertson loved the competitive side of the event, but also remembers the great camaraderie between the teams.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 25, 2023

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Canada will merge into a singular Tour to form PGA TOUR Americas, which will begin play in February 2024, the PGA TOUR announced today.

PGA TOUR Americas will consist of 16 events contested across Latin America, Canada and the United States from February through September. The top 10 finishers on the season-long points list will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the following season.

Delta, BC's Jace Minni - Image Courtesy Gonzaga University

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The Gonzaga golf drought is over, thanks to Delta’s Jace Minni.

The former B.C. Juvenile Boys champion earned his first collegiate win in impressive fashion last week by capturing Seattle University’s Redhawk Invitational at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., by four shots.

It was the first individual win by a Gonzaga University player since 2016 and Minni’s final-round 65 matched the low round in the history of the golf program at the Spokane school.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

A former B.C. Bantam Boys champion now living in South Africa has made world-wide headlines after winning a prestigious junior tournament by 21 shots.

Daniel Bennett, a former Victoria-area resident who played out of Gorge Vale Golf Club, won the 2020 Bantam Boys title by six shots at Mount Brenton Golf Course in Chemainus. Shortly afterward, he and his family returned to their native South Africa.

Vancouver hometown tennis athlete Rebecca Marino and her Team Canada teammates, Leylah Fernandez, Bianca Andreescu and Gabriela Dabrowski will take on Belgium right here in Vancouver, at the Pacific Coliseum, April 14-15, in the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers, the World Cup of Women's Tennis. 

The tie is going to be a fabulous showcase of some of the best athletes our country, and the world, has to offer. By attending, watching and following, you're directly supporting and elevating women's sport in Canada.

BC Golf members can get 20% off single-day tickets to cheer on Team Canada at the Pacific Coliseum. See promo code details below.

Uplands GC Will Host BC's Only PGA Tour Canada Event This Year - Image Courtesy Uplands GC

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PGA Tour Canada has released its 2023 schedule and as expected it includes only one British Columbia event, the season-opening Royal Beach Victoria Open which goes June 15-18 at Uplands Golf Club.

B.C. has had as many as three PGA Tour Canada events in the past. But the former tournament held at Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver was last played in 2019.

And the Kelowna stop at Gallagher’s Canyon in Kelowna ended after last summer’s event when GolfBC chose not to renew its sponsorship of the tournament.

As the Islamic calendar is based around the lunar cycle, the Holy month of Ramadan rotates by approximately ten days each year. This year, Ramadan is expected to begin on Thursday March 23rd, 2023, and end on Thursday April 20th, 2023, depending on the sighting of the moon.

Islamic holidays always begin at sundown and end at sundown the following day/days ending the holiday or festival.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is a month of fasting, prayer, giving and self-evaluation observed by Muslims. The month lasts 29-30 days depending on the sightings of the crescent moon.

British Columbia Golf hopes you enjoy a tranquil Ramadan.

BC's Victoria Liu Wins Third Ivy League Title This Year - Image Courtesy GoPrincetonTigers.com

Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Victoria Liu headed to Princeton University with more than a little apprehension about how she would balance the academic challenges of an Ivy League school with playing college golf.

It turns out the Lord Byng high school graduate from Vancouver need not have worried. Liu is registering excellent grades as she pursues a computer science degree at Princeton and is absolutely acing things on the golf course.

In the words of Vancouverite Adam Fine, "Golf helped me persevere through the most difficult chapter of my life."

As Fine explains:

"In 2015 I was diagnosed with an autoimmune liver disease. I began playing twilight golf at Harding Park in San Francisco to distract myself from the slow deterioration of my health. My passion for golf grew into an obsession, and I played frequently until I received a liver transplant in 2018. After recovering from my surgery, I was fortunate to enjoy playing rounds of golf at Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, and other bucket list golf courses."

He goes on to tell the story about one of the first things he found out about the person from whom he received his life-saving opportunity, "Later, I learned that I share a special connection with my liver donor, who shared my passion for golf."

In this video Adam Fine explains the hugely important role the game of golf played in not only dealing with his situation but in his rehabilitation and his life going forward.

President of British Columbia Golf, Greg Moody - BC Golf Photo

by Jim Sutherland

The Pacific Coast Amateur is easily one of the most illustrious championships in amateur golf.

For proof, one need only glance at results from the 2015 edition, held at the Eugene Country Club.

That year, current PGA TOUR player Aaron Wise topped the leaderboard, trailed in order by Beau Hossler, Maverick McNealy, Bryson DeChambeau and Will Zalatoris, with Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa further down the list. Big names all, now on the pro circuit.

And that wasn’t a one-off.

Every year the leaderboard is sprinkled with big names. In 2016 and 2017, Wise was followed as winner by Zalatoris and Doug Ghim, yet another pro in waiting.

This year’s Pacific Coast Amateur will be held July 25-28, at Capilano Golf and Country Club in West Vancouver, and you’d expect Championship Chair Greg Moody to be stoked.

Click HERE to read full article...

image courtesy vectorportal.com

British Columbia Golf would like to wish everyone a Happy International Women's Day! 

Everyone at British Columbia Golf salutes International Women's Day #EmbraceEquity #IWD2023 ...and we invite you to check out this YouTube video 'Women In Golf Breaking Tradition'

Abbotsford, BC's Nick Taylor - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Nick Taylor went head to head with two of the best players in the world and never blinked. And while the Abbotsford native had to settle for second place, he earned one heck of a nice consolation prize at the PGA TOUR’s WM Phoenix Open.

Taylor took home $2.18 million as he finished the star-stacked $20-million event at TPC Scottsdale at 17-under par, two shots behind new world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler...

Wow, what a week in Orlando at The PGA Show! Show creator and host Colin Weston met up with old friends, met plenty of new ones and found some time to squeeze in a couple of ModGolf Podcast recording sessions. As he reports, it was great to see the golf industry back in full force!