The Biggest (And Least Publicized) Day in British Columbia Golf

The Richmond Olympic Oval Will Be The Site Of International Olympic Day Celebrations On Monday, June 15th And Golf Is Playing A Major Role - Image Courtesy Richmond Olympic Oval

by Alfie Lau, Inside Golf

Monday, June 15 looks like any other Monday, the beginning of another work week and the last spring Monday of 2015.

But look a little deeper and you may discover it’s the biggest day in British Columbia golf.

Let’s start with an event that’s not just about golf, but is important nevertheless. Golf will return to the Olympics in Rio in 2016 and International Olympic Day will be celebrated from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Richmond Olympic Oval, with British Columbia Golf and CN Future Links playing a big part in this event.

The day will celebrate sport, health and achievement, with the goal of promoting the Olympic values and participation of sport across the globe, regardless of age, gender or abilities.

Events at the Oval will be overseen by golfers Miles Bruce, Winnie Hyun, Chris Crisologo, Stephanie Wong, Eizza Hernandez and Curtis Chan, with an estimated 3,000-4,000 local kids participating.

Across town, another big event is taking place at the Vancouver Golf Club, as Golf Canada holds a media event to publicize the CP Women’s Open.

Better known as the Canadian Women’s Open, it will be held from Aug. 17-23, just three years after New Zealand teenager and current World No. 1 Lydia Ko shocked the world and won with local caddie Brian Alexander on the bag.

LPGA Tour player and CP ambassador Lorie Kane will join officials from Canadian Pacific, Golf Canada and The Vancouver Golf Club along with representatives from the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, the official charitable beneficiary for the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open at this event.

Lorie Kane Will Be On Hand At Vancouver Golf Club To Help Promote This Year's CP Canadian Women's Open - CP Photo

But Kane won’t be the biggest name professional golfer in the area, as out at the Chilliwack Golf Club, the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades golf team hosts its Pro-Am fundraiser. Head coach Chris Bertram has assembled an all-star team of former Fraser Valley golfers as part of the event.

Leading the way are PGA TOUR regulars Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin, who didn’t let the disappointment of not qualifying for the U.S. Open four hours south deter them from supporting the next generation of local golfers.

Taylor and Hadwin’s presence rounds out an impressive contingent of local golf luminaries in the Cascades Pro-Am field, including James Lepp (the 2005 NCAA individual champion) and Ray Stewart (former PGA TOUR pro and 1994 Dunhill Cup winner).

“It’s another huge boost to the Pro-Am having Nick back with us this year,” Cascades head golf coach Chris Bertram said. “We are so lucky to have him – and really this whole great golfing community coming together to help support our program. This is shaping up to be a really great day once again.”

And since we’re on the topic of golfing for good causes, June 15 is also the day many golfers mark on the calendar as the day they can golf the region’s most exclusive course.

The 19th Annual Lions Gate Hospital Golf Classic, Presented by Locher Evers International, will take place at Capilano Golf & Country Club.  

This is the one day of the year where golfers without any other access to Capilano can golf the course – for a charitable donation, of course – with all proceeds going towards the foundation’s $7 million NOW campaign for a new Outpatient Care Centre that will transform the patient experience with a focus on totally patient-centred, individualized care, and a contemporary Atrium.

Come back into Vancouver and another charity golf tournament that raises more than $500,000 annually is being held at another exclusive Vancouver golf club. The Mr. Lube Tournament For Life is being held at the Point Grey Golf & Country Club, with proceeds going toward advancing prostate cancer research and care.

Pt. Grey, which recently hosted the Mackenzie Tour (formerly PGA Tour Canada)’s opening event, is in immaculate shape and promises to be a treat for the people lucky enough to attend this charitable fundraiser.

VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation partners with donors to provide the funds essential to ensuring their hospitals and health care teams can deliver BC’s best, most specialized care for adults. For the past 19 years, the Foundation has raised over $2.4 million to advance prostate cancer research and care.

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in Canada and the third leading cause of death from cancer in men. The Vancouver Prostate Centre at VGH is one of the top three prostate centres in the world. It’s also the largest program of its kind in Canada and is a model for similar institutions because of its unique and valuable linkages between research and treatment programs.

And if these five local events don’t whet your golf appetite enough, then jump in your car and make that four-plus hour drive south to Chambers Bay in suburban Tacoma, WA, where practice rounds for the 2015 U.S. Open are being played.

Never has the U.S. Open been this close to the Lower Mainland and the prospects of seeing Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth in person has local golf fans taking the week off and making their way south to the links course which opened just 8 years ago.

Best of all, if you can’t make it to Chambers Bay on Monday, practice rounds continue on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the U.S. Open starting up for real at 7 a.m. on Thursday.

If you’re a British Columbia golf fan, there’s more than enough to satisfy your golf needs on June 15.

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