Ashley & Dave Zibrik Have Risen To The Top Of Their Profession While Forging A Life Together At The Same Time - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Before they fell in love with each other, Dave Zibrik and Ashley Hogg had already fallen in love with golf. It was the summer of 2005 when they met -- at a golf course, naturally.

Ashley had come home for the summer after completing her junior year at Boise State University, where she played collegiate golf, and had landed a summer job at Swaneset Bay in Pitt Meadows. Dave had just turned pro, was also working at Swaneset and was in the midst of completing the golf management program at Camosun College. Both were 21 and soon they were in love with more than just golf.

LPGA Legends Including BC's Gail Graham (Inset) And PEI's Lorie Kane Will Be In The Field For The Suquamish Clearwater Legends Cup - Images Courtesy The Legends Tour

Attention Female Amateur Golfers: Tee it up in the White Horse Women's Team Scramble on June 6, 2018 and if your group posts the lowest gross or net team score YOUR TWO-WOMAN TEAM will tee it up with an LPGA Legend in the Legends Cup Pro-Am on Friday, June 8.

The Suquamish Clearwater Legends Cup is a two-day Legends Tour event featuring 30 Legends of the LPGA to be played at White Horse Golf Club in Kingston, WA on Saturday and Sunday, June 9-10, 2018.

The Masters is stiffening policies when it comes to leaving and re-entering the grounds to prevent mass amounts of merchandise and tournament badges being re-sold on the market.

Masters officials have cracked down on the number of times a patron can enter the grounds per day from three to two. This news was posted on The Masters website.

Augusta National - Image Used With Permission Creative Commons License

By
Rex Hoggard/Golf Channel.com

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The silence will be deafening. A Masters without patrons is going to stand alone in the history of a tournament with no shortage of history, but beyond the lonely landscape, the challenge for players will be playing a course that has become as familiar as an old friend in the spring... in the fall.

READ FULL STORY HERE.

Former BC Junior Girls Champion Luna Lu - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

They battled their nerves along with an exceptionally tough golf course. Teeing it up a LPGA Tour event was a new experience for five of the six British Columbians playing in the CPKC Women’s Open at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club.

“I think on a scale of one to 10 on the first tee I was like an eight or a nine,” was how Burnaby’s Luna Lu described her nerves early in Thursday’s opening round. “And then after about nine holes I was like maybe 5 or 6.”

The 16-year-old former B.C. Junior Girls champion carded a five-over 77, joining a large percentage of the field who were over par for the day.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Ward Stouffer, who spent more than 20 years as head professional and director of golf at Fairwinds Golf Club in Nanoose Bay, passed away Thursday, January 5th. He was 56.

Friends and playing competitors remember Stouffer, who stood about 6-feet, 8 inches, as a gentle giant with a heart of gold who hit the ball a mile.

Kimberley, BC's Jared du Toit Has Had A Pretty Solid Start To His Pro Career, Earning Canadian Player Of The Year Honours On The PGA Tour Canada-Mackenzie Tour Circuit - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

He wasn’t happy with the way he finished his round, but Kimberley’s Jared du Toit hung on to win Canadian Player of the Year honours on the PGA Tour Canada-Mackenzie Tour circuit.

That award, sponsored by Freedom 55 Financial, carries a hefty $25,000 bonus and du Toit said it helped soothe the frustration he was feeling about ending his round Sunday with three straight bogeys.

Du Toit closed with an even-par 70 to finish the season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship in London, Ont., at 10-under par and tied for 17th place. He finished the season 23rd on the money list with $26,233, although he made more than that in unofficial money on Sunday.

Langley's Adam Cornelson Came Oh-So-Close To Winning Sunday At The Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada Stop In Ottawa, Losing In A 3-Man Playoff - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

A bogey-bogey finish proved costly for Langley’s Adam Cornelson, who lost in a three-man playoff Sunday at the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada stop in Ottawa.

Cornelson looked to be in control late in what was a soggy final round of the $175,000 National Capital Open, but wayward drives on the 17th and 18th holes cost him. Cornelson ended up in a three-man playoff with Brock Mackenzie of Coos Bay, Ore., and Samuel Del Val of Spain. All three players finished the 72-hole event at 15-under par.

Richmond's Chris Crisologo (L) And Kimberley's Jared du Toit (R) Had Solid Outings This Week - Images Credit British Columbia Golf/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Jared du Toit left the GolfBC Championship in Kelowna with his first top 10 as a pro and a course record.

The Kimberley native is just two events into his new professional career and has already seen plenty of highs and lows. Du Toit, the 2015 B.C. Amateur champion, shot a 10-under 61 to set a course record at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf & Country Club in the third round of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada event.

That round came a day after du Toit had to birdie his final hole in the second round to make the cut. That was thanks mainly to a pair of triple bogeys in his first two rounds.

BC's Jared du Toit Debuts As A Professional This Week At Uplands GC In Victoria In The Mackenzie Tour/PGA Tour Canada's Bayview Place Cardtronics Open - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Kimberley’s Jared du Toit will make his pro debut at this week’s Bayview Place Cardtronics Open at Uplands Golf Club in Victoria and that sounds very familiar to Max Rottluff, du Toit’s former Arizona State University teammate.

“That’s is where I made my pro debut last year,” Rottluff said after his round Sunday at the Freedom 55 Financial Open at Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver. Rottluff, who hails from Dusseldorf, Germany, thinks du Toit will do just fine on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada circuit.

“Obviously he has shown his game is ready,” Rottluff said of du Toit, the 2015 B.C. Amateur champion. “He has the game, so I'm not too worried. Can he do it in his first event? Hopefully, but I wouldn’t be too worried. I am sure he will do just fine.”

The 1979 BC Willingdon Cup Team Including Victoria's Rick Gibson (shown here), Vancouver's Doug Roxburgh, Kelly Murray and Steve Berry Wil Be Enshrined In The BC Golf Hall Of Fame - Images Courtesy Golf Canada & BC Golf Museum

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Victoria native Rick Gibson will be entering the British Columbia Golf Hall of Fame for the third time this fall.

Gibson, who is already in the hall of fame as an individual and as part of Canada’s 1994 Dunhill Cup-winning team, is being inducted again as part of the team that won the 1979 Willingdon Cup for B.C.
That team was unique in that it was comprised of all Marine Drive Golf Club members. Doug Roxburgh, Steve Berry and Kelly Murray were the other members of that team.

Having Won His First PGA TOUR Event At The Valspar Championship This Year, Adam Hadwin Now Has His Eyes On Another Very Special Trophy - The Claret Jug - Image Credit Kelly Murray

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It wasn’t the finish he was looking for, but Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin still had reason to celebrate after Sunday’s final round of the Dean & DeLuca Invitational in Fort Worth, Tex.

Hadwin tied for 53rd spot at Colonial Country Club, but more importantly he remained inside the top 50 in the latest Official World Golf Ranking and clinched a spot in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

Kimberley's Jared du Toit Will See How He Stacks Up Against The Pros In This Week's SIGA Dakota Dunes Open - Image Courtesy Jared du Toit/Twitter 

B.C. Amateur Champion Has Spot In This Week’s Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada Event In Saskatoon

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Fresh off a big win at Calgary’s Glencoe Invitational, Jared du Toit will get his first taste of pro golf at this week’s Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada event in Saskatoon. Du Toit, the reigning B.C. Amateur champion from Kimberley, has been granted a sponsor’s exemption to play in the SIGA Dakota Dunes Open. 

It will be the first professional tournament for du Toit, Canada’s top-ranked amateur player.

Langley's Adam Cornelson Poses With The Trophy After His First Win On The Mackenzie Tour - PGA Tour Canada Circuit In The Bayview Place Island Savings Open at Uplands Golf Club In Victoria - Image Courtesy Mackenzie Tour - PGA Tour Canada

Three Other British Columbians Finish In The Top 10

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Adam Cornelson could be a poster child for perseverance. The Langley native has absorbed plenty of punches as he chased his professional golf dream the last few years.

Just last month Cornelson had to pull himself off the canvas and fight for survival on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada circuit. He passed that test of nerves at qualifying school at Crown Isle in Courtenay and on Sunday finally delivered a knockout punch of his own.

Sagebrush Is Almost Set For Its Re-Birth - Image Courtesy Sagebrush

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The highly anticipated re-opening of Sagebrush is now scheduled for early June. The initial hope was to have the Merritt-area course open later this month, but general manager Scott Masse says a little more time is needed to get the facility ready. Sagebrush remained closed last year and was sold this past fall by its original owners to Newmark Group, a Langley-based residential construction company.

Merritt's Roger Sloan Is Getting Closer To The Coveted Top 25 Spot On The Web.com Tour Money List He Needs To Gain A Place On The PGA TOUR Next Year - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

A bogey on the final hole Sunday cost Merritt’s Roger Sloan a spot in a playoff at the Web.com Tour’s Digital Ally Open in Kansas.

Sloan just missed a five-foot putt for par on the 18th hole that would have put him in a playoff with Americans Wesley Bryan, J.T. Poston and Grayson Murray. Instead, he ended up in a five-way tie for fourth place.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor has his 2018 PGA TOUR season off to a fast start. After finishing tied for ninth at the season-opening Safeway Open in Napa, Calif., Taylor followed up with a tie for 13th place Sunday at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.

Taylor closed with a seven-under par 65 to finish at 12-under par. That was 12 shots behind winner Pat Perez, who beat runner-up Keegan Bradley by four strokes. Taylor has made $292,450 in the first two events of the 2018 season and stands ninth on the PGA TOUR’s FedEx Cup points list.

Richmond's Chris Crisologo Has A Lot To Look Forward To On His Golf Schedule Over The Next Month - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Like a boxer stepping up in weight class, Chris Crisologo is excited about testing himself at the next level. Over the next month, the 20-year-old Richmond resident has three big amateur tournaments on his schedule.

It starts this week at the prestigious Pacific Coast Amateur, which is being played at Seattle Golf Club. After that comes the Canadian Amateur at Royal Ottawa Golf Club and then the U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Richmond's Chris Crisologo, Shown Here At The B.C. Amateur At Morgan Creek Last Month, Is In The Field At The U.S. Amateur This Week At Riviera GC In Los Angeles - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)/British Columbia Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

A tie for second on Sunday by veteran Wes Heffernan of Calgary notwithstanding, it has been a tough year for Canadians on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada circuit.

Eight events into the 12-tournament season, Kimberley’s Jared du Toit is the top Canadian on the Mackenzie Tour’s money list. And he’s 22nd.

That’s right, there’s not a single Canadian inside the top 20. To this point anyway, it’s the worst year for Canadians since the PGA TOUR started running what used to be the Canadian Tour in 2013.

 Langley's Jessica Wallace Sits Fifth On The Symetra Tour Money List After Her Latest Top 10 Finish On The LPGA Tour's Developmental Circuit - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Langley’s Jessica Wallace recorded her second top-10 finish Sunday in three Symetra Tour starts this year at the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial tourney in Fort Myers, Fla. Wallace closed with a one-under 71 to finish the 72-hole event at two-under par and tied for eighth place.

The Chico’s tourney had a unique format that saw members of the LPGA’s Legends Tour play with Symetra Tour players on the weekend.