Kelowna’s Megan Osland won the National Women’s Golf Association's 54-hole Pro Tournament that was held at the Preserve at Turnbull Bay in New Smyrna Beach Florida from September 29th – October 1st.

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LAKE WALES, Florida (Golf Canada) — Samantha Richdale won the Symetra Tour’s Florida’s Natural Charity Classic, closing with a 3-under 69 for a one-stroke victory.

The 32-year-old Kelowna, B.C., player had a 7-under 209 total at Lake Wales Country Club. She earned $26,250 for her fourth career victory on the tour. She won once in 2008 and twice in 2009.

“I’m very excited,” said Richdale, who last won on the Symetra Tour on August 23, 2009 at the Turkey Hill Classic in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “It seems like forever the last time I won so this is a big day for me.”

From Left, British Columbia Golf Executive Director Kris Jonasson, Retired Vancouver Province Editor, Reporter And Columnist And 2015 NWGMA Distinguished Service Award Recipient Kent “Cookie” Gilchrist And NWGMA President Tom Cade - Image Credit Alfie Lau

by Alfie Lau

It almost seemed like a roast when retired Vancouver Province editor, reporter and columnist Kent “Cookie” Gilchrist was named the 2015 recipient of the Northwest Golf Media Association Distinguished Service Award.

Kris Jonasson, executive director of the British Columbia Golf Association, nominated Gilchrist for the award and presented him to the 50-plus people who attended the NWGMA Awards Luncheon at Tacoma Golf & Country Club on Oct. 8.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Northwest Golf Media Association Announces Annual Awards

(September 29, 2015) - Seattle, Wash. – At the 16th annual awards luncheon of the Northwest Golf Media Association (NWGMA), Kent “Cookie” Gilchrist of Vancouver, B.C. will be honored with the 2015 NWGMA Distinguished Service Award, the Association’s highest honor.

Also being recognized at the luncheon will be Steve Kealy of Seattle, Wash., the longtime golf course superintendent who has been selected to receive the Association’s Local Legend award. The luncheon will be held at historic Tacoma Country & Golf Club in Lakewood, Wash. on October 8.

Scott Kerr (L) And Ziggy Nathu (R) Are Headed To Mexico To Represent British Columbia In The 2018 Mexican International Amateur - Images BC Golf/VGT

British Columbia Golf has announced that Vancouver's Scott Kerr and Zaahidali (Ziggy) Nathu of Richmond will be BC's representative team at this year's prestigious Mexican Amateur taking place this week, June 7-10th in Mexico City at the Club de golf México.

The event is a 72 hole stroke play championship with a cut after 36 holes. It draws an international field from North, South and Central America.

SFU's Scott Kerr (L) And Chris Crisologo (R) Finished One - Two In The Annual WWU Invitational At Bellingham Golf & Country Club - Image Courtesy SFU Athletics

By Steve Frost/ SFU Athletics (sfrost@sfu.ca)

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Sophomore Scott Kerr fired a final round six-under-par 66 to edge teammate Chris Crisologo for medalist honours, helping Simon Fraser University capture the 46th Annual WWU Invitational Tuesday at Bellingham Golf & Country Club.

Kerr won his first career tournament by two strokes over Crisologo with a three-round score of 10-under-par 206. Kerr birdied the par 3 18th hole, one of seven birdies in the round, to finish at 6-under par at the 54-hole tournament. Kerr recorded rounds of 71, 69 and 66.

Vanessa Zhang (L) & Lauren Kim - Golf Canada photos

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Their run at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship is over. Surrey’s Lauren Kim and Vanessa Zhang of Vancouver lost their Round of 32 matches Thursday at Bel Air Country Club in Los Angeles.

Kim fell 1 down to Thienna Huynh of Lilburn, Ga., while Zhang lost 3&2 to Catherine Rao of Camarillo, Calif.,

Kim, who won last week’s Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship in Halifax, had emerged from the 36-hole stroke play competition seeded 21st. Zhang was the No. 17 seed.

Former B.C. Amateur Champion Jared du Toit Is Competing On The PGA Tour - LatinoAmerica Circuit - Image Courtesy British Columbia Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Playing the PGA Tour LatinoAmerica circuit has been part golf, part adventure for Jared du Toit. The former B.C. Amateur champion from Kimberley acknowledges he hasn’t yet played as well as he’d like, but repeatedly uses the same four-letter word to describe his experiences through the first four events: cool.

“The travel days can be pretty long, but a lot of places we get to go are really cool,” du Toit says in a telephone interview from Montego Bay, the site of this week’s BMW Jamaica Classic. “I probably wouldn’t have the opportunity or desire to go to a lot of these places if I wasn’t playing golf. So it is very cool to just have the opportunity to check out these places and see some new parts of the world. It has definitely been very cool.”

BC's Jared du Toit Is Showing No Signs Of Slowing Down In His Senior Year At Arizona State University - Image Credit Golf Canada

courtesy Golf Canada

LAS VEGAS – National Amateur Squad member Jared du Toit continued his impressive run last week, finishing in a tie for third at the Southern Highlands Collegiate.

The 21-year-old senior (and captain) at Arizona State closed the event at 5-under par—one stroke off the lead. His final-round scorecard included a hole-in-one on the par-3 2nd hole, lifting him into contention down the stretch.

Kimberley's Jared du Toit Is Chasing The RBC Canadian Open Title At Glen Abbey GC In Oakville, Ontario. He Went Into The Weekend Just One Shot Back Of The Lead - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Kimberley BC's 21-year old Jared du Toit went into the weekend at the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey GC just one shot back of leader Dustin Johnson. Chances are if you'd said a Canadian would be this close to the top of the leaderboard in his national open it would likely be an Adam Hadwin, Nick Taylor or Graham DeLaet.

Even du Toit himself is at least a little surprised but as he said after his second round, “I didn’t have a lot of expectations coming in. To kind of vault up the leaderboard kind of caught me a bit off guard. But everything from now on is just cream on top.”

Jared du Toit Is Not Going To Go Gently Into That Good Night Of His College Golf Career As He And His ASU Sun Devils Have Qualified For The NCAA Championship Tourney - Golf Canada Image

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Jared du Toit’s collegiate career isn’t over just yet. Du Toit and his Arizona State University Sun Devils advanced to the NCAA Championship tourney on Wednesday with a fifth-place finish at their NCAA regional site in Austin, Tex.

Chief Executive Of The R&A, Martin Slumbers - Image Courtesy Twitter

courtesy Golf Canada with files from the R&A

St Andrews, Scotland – The merger of the Ladies’ Golf Union (LGU) and The R&A has been finalized and will come into effect January 1, 2017.

The heads of agreement between the two organisations was signed in June leading to the integration of the LGU’s business operations and its members of staff into The R&A group of companies. An agreed governance structure has also been implemented to give LGU Board members representation on relevant R&A Committees.

BC's Mike Darby Poses With Winner Jim Herman After Herman's Second Career PGA TOUR Victory, This One In The Barbasol Championship With Darby On The Bag - Images Courtesy Facebook

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Ladner resident Mike Darby took some good-natured ribbing from some of his fellow PGA TOUR caddies after his recent win with Jim Herman at the Barbasol Championship in Kentucky.

The win was Darby’s third on the PGA TOUR. He had previously partnered with Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor to win the 2014 Sanderson Farms Championship and with American D.A. Points to win the 2017 Puerto Rico Open.

“The big inside joke on tour right now is me going for the opposite field Grand Slam,” Darby said with a chuckle in an interview this week. “If we had won in Reno last week I would have sealed it up. It’s either Reno or the Dominican Republic, so that’s my goal.”

Mid-Amateur Champions Craig Doell & Shelly Stouffer Head Up BC Golf's PNGA Lamey Cup Team

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The PNGA Lamey Cup is named in honour of Dr. Jack Lamey, a former president of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association who started the Ryder Cup-style team competition featuring players representing the Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia golf associations 16 years ago.

Kelowna’s Norm Bradley, a former B.C. Senior Men’s champion, considers it his good fortune to have played in nine of them. He’ll make his 10th appearance in early May when the Lamey Cup resumes after a two-year Covid-induced hiatus at Bellingham Golf & Country Club.

LAKE WALES, Florida — Sue Kim of Langley, B.C., made a 25-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole to seize the lead and never looked back as she carded a 2-under 70 on Sunday to win the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic at 5-under 211.

Kim earned her second career Symetra Tour victory and moved to the top spot on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.

Courtesy Golf Canada

ADELAIDE, Australia – Canadian-based South Korean SooBin Kim shot a course-record 9-under 63 on Thursday to leave top-ranked Lydia Ko and Canadian sweetheart Brooke Henderson seven strokes behind at the Women’s Australian Open.

Kim’s bogey-free opening round came after starting on the 10th hole of The Grange’s West course. She had a three-stroke clubhouse lead over American Casey Grice with most of the afternoon groups, including five-time champion Karrie Webb, on the course.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PRATTVILLE, AL (September 09, 2024) - Leah John seems to be getting the hang of this professional golf thing.

The 24-year-old Vancouver native, who only graduated from college this past spring, headed out on her pro golf journey this summer not quite knowing what to expect.

The two-time B.C. Women’s Amateur Champion hoped she could prove to herself that her game was ready for the next level.

Mission accomplished.

The Addition Of A New Gil Hanse Course And A Planned Residential Community Mark A Rebirth Of Sorts For This Upscale Club In France’s Loire Valley - All Images Courtesy Les Bordes

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

SAINT-LAURENT-NOUAN, France -- The fact they are called the Old Course and the New Course and are located in France, not Scotland, could be considered chutzpah of the highest order.

But no offence was intended to the home of golf in St. Andrews when Les Bordes Golf Club placed those monikers on its two layouts. It just made sense in a simple but elegant sort of way.

Its Old Course, which opened in 1986, is a Robert von Hagge design that has long been regarded as one of continental Europe’s finest tracks. Its New Course is really new, opening this past summer and designed by highly regarded American architect Gil Hanse.

Golfers Should Get Used To Seeing Less Green Grass On Golf Courses In The Near Future - For The Good Of The Game 

by Brad Ziemer (British Columbia Golf)

The Mark Twain quote most often repeated in golf circles is the one about the game being a good walk spoiled. But there is another quote from the noted American author that seems especially apropos for the golf industry these days: “Whiskey’s for drinking; water’s for fighting over.”

Larry Gilhuly, the colourful west region agronomist with the United States Golf Association, has no doubt about what the biggest issue facing golf will be in the coming years. “It’s water,” Gilhuly said in a lively presentation to the annual general meeting of British Columbia Golf at Tsawwassen Springs.

In Flanders Fields...

BY JOHN MCCRAE

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.