Vernon, BC's Bryce Barker Played His Way Into The Final RBC Canadian Open Qualifier 

Via Golf Canada

PITT MEADOWS, B.C. – It took six holes for Bryce Barker to get settled in at Meadow Gardens Golf Club in Pitt Meadows, B.C., but once he found his groove, there was no looking back.

After making a bogey on hole 6, the Vernon, B.C. native shifted gears into the fast lane as he recorded three birdies in his final 12 holes to finish at 2-under par on Tuesday at the RBC Canadian Open Regional Qualifier in British Columbia.

As there were less than 100 competitors at the Regional Qualifier, Barker did not gain a direct exemption into the 2022 RBC Canadian Open, but will be vying for a spot in the tournament at the Final Qualifier.

Brian McDonald claimed his first national title at the PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada presented by Titleist & FootJoy Thursday as he closed with a 5-under-par 67 for a five-shot victory.

The Director of Golf and General Manager at Fairview Mountain in Oliver, B.C., featured five birdies in his final round at The Gold Course at Wigwam Golf Club, coming from behind to raise a PGA of Canada national championship trophy for the first time in his career.

Richmond, BC's Chris Crisologo Wears Vancouver Canuck Colours At The Canadian Open In 2019 - Golf Canada Photo/Marcus Oleniuk

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

At the beginning of this year, Chris Crisologo sat down and made a list of things he wanted to accomplish during 2022 in his journey as a young professional golfer. 

He just crossed off one very important goal from that list. 

By surviving the second stage of the Korn Ferry Tour qualifying school last week in Albuquerque, N.M., the Richmond resident has earned himself Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2023.

Richmond's Chris Crisologo Made The Biggest Gain Among Canada's Top-10 Rankings This Week Following His 4th Place Finish In The Canadian Men's Amateur - Image Credit Bryan Outram/ British Columbia Golf

Hugo Bernard added to his impressive season, coming from behind to claim the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. The result saw the Team Canada National Amateur Squad member climb 104 spots in the world amateur rankings, moving up to No. 4 in Canada.

He becomes the first Canadian to win the National Men’s Amateur title since Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Mackenzie Hughes won back-to-back championships in 2011-12. He is the first Quebec native to win the competition since Craig Matthew of Montréal accomplished the feat in 1998. Bernard previously claimed medallist honours at the 2016 NCAA Division II Championship before capturing this year’s Alexander of Tunis event. The win earned the Mont-St-Hilaire, Que., native an exemption into the 2017 RBC Canadian Open and the 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship.

The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Announced Their 2018 Qualifying Tournament Sites Including Vancouver Island's Crown Isle Resort - Image Courtesy Facility

(November 15, 2017 – Toronto, Ont.) - The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament will take place at five separate sites during the spring of 2018 as players compete for Mackenzie Tour membership for the 2018 season.

Coquitlam, BC's AJ Ewart Made His Pro Debut In Victoria After A Stellar College Career - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf 

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

VICTORIA — A.J. Ewart will remember some good shots and some not so good shots, but the one thing he will remember most about his first event as a golf pro was that feeling of knowing he belongs.

The 24-year-old Coquitlam native tied for 37th at the PGA Tour Canada season-opening Royal Beach Victoria Open at Uplands Golf Club. His first pro cheque was worth $940. Not as big as he’d hoped, but it’s a start.

“I am happy with how I played,” Ewart said after closing with a one-over 71. “Every day I had it going. All in all, I am happy. I made a couple of silly mistakes I will learn from, but I also learned that my good golf can play with these guys. I just need to clean some things up and move on to next week.”

Abbotsford, BC's Adam Hadwin Has His Eyes On A Presidents Cup Spot This Year, Among Other Goals For The New PGA TOUR Season - Image Credit: Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Adam Stanley/Courtesy Golf Canada

With the Presidents Cup in his sights and high hopes to return to major championship fields, Adam Hadwin knows a strong start to 2019 is essential.

The Abbotsford, B.C., golfer was in the field at the Sony Open in Hawaii (where he finished T57) – the first full-field event of the 2019 portion of the PGA TOUR season – alongside fellow Canadians Mackenzie Hughes, Ben Silverman, Roger Sloan, Adam Svensson, Nick Taylor, and Corey Conners, (who qualified for the event late on Monday and parlayed that into a T3 finish after back-to-back weekend 64's).

Hadwin, who notched two top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR and represented Canada at the World Cup of Golf with Taylor (they tied for fourth) during the fall of 2018, said he’s excited to get back into the heat of competition again.

BC's Adam Hadwin Finished T7 At The U.S. Open - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin is proud of the way he battled as he contended in a major championship for the first time. After holding the first-round lead at the U.S. Open, Hadwin remained in contention all weekend and settled for a tie for seventh place.

“That round could have slipped away at any point during that front (nine) with some of the places I hit it,” Hadwin said after Sunday’s final round.

“I just kept my head down and kept moving forward and am very proud of the way I ground through this week. I really didn’t have my best stuff at times. I didn’t necessarily feel comfortable at times, but I found a way to get it done.”

BC's Adam Hadwn Is One Round Away From His First PGA TOUR Win As He Goes Into The Final Day At Valspar Championship With A 4-Shot Lead - Image Courtesy Golf Channel 

By Kelly Murray

One of Canada's greatest golfers and considered among the best ball-strikers ever, 8-time PGA TOUR winner George Knudson said to me in 1981 that, "Each golf shot is worth one. Your opening tee shot, your fairway shot on 7, bunker shot on 13, your last putt on 18." That's exactly how Knudson related it to me and it's as fresh in my memory as if he had told me just yesterday.

It became the way I thought. It became the way I played.

On Tuesday of this week heading into the Valspar Championship, Abbotsford, BC's Adam Hadwin shared with me, "Your first tee shot, your fairway shot on 5, your last tee shot or last putt are all worth one," and that he is focusing very hard on that mindset, not trying to place too much importance on any one shot in particular, but rather going through the process to hit the best possible shot that he can at every opportunity.

West Vancouver's Seann Harlingten Was The Low Canadian At Oak Valley In Stage II Of Web.com Q-School - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Tyler Costigan/ Golf Canada

BEAUMONT, Calif. – Three Canadians finished inside the Top-19 on Friday at the Oak Valley Golf Club to advance to the third and final stage of Web.com Tour Qualifying School.

The Canadian trio were led by Vancouver product Seann Harlingten, who fired four rounds in the 60s to capture sole possession of second place at 17-under par (67-67-68-69).

Vancouver's Seann Harlingten Is One Of Four Canadians Vying For Web.com Tour Status In The Final Stage Of Q-School This Week - File Photo

Courtesy Golf Canada

The final stage of Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament gets underway Thursday at the Whirlwind Golf Club (The Cattail and Devil’s Claw) in Chandler, Ariz., where four Canadians will look to secure or improve their status for 2019.

(November 4, 2024) - Fraser Mullholland has had a front-row seat to Ilirian Zalli’s development as a professional golfer, so the Vancouver Golf Tour commissioner was not surprised to see Zalli advance to the final stage of the DP World Tour Q- school.

“He just continues to prove to himself and to us that he is not afraid of the moment and is fully confident in his abilities,” Mullholland said of Zalli, a former B.C. Junior Boys and Vancouver Open champion.

Zalli shot four rounds in the 60s and breezed through his second-stage Q-school site in Girona, Spain.

In addition to earning exempt status on next year’s European Challenge Tour at qualifying school last week, Vancouver’s Ilirian Zalli brought home some memories that will last a lifetime.

One in particular stands out for the former B.C. Junior Boys champion. It happened when Zalli and his caddie — his father Gentian — were about to begin the third round of the final stage of the DP World Tour Q-school in Spain. Standing on the first tee was two-time Masters champion José Maria Olazábal.

“He was caddying for his nephew and we were paired with him the third and fourth rounds, so my dad was really excited to meet him and pass the flagstick back and forth to José,” Zalli said with a chuckle in an interview. “That was fun for me, too. José cleaned my golf ball a few times on the greens. I didn’t even ask him. It was a little hard to believe, to be honest with you.”

Jared du Toit Has Earned Himself A Fully Exempt Spot On The PGA Tour Latinoamerica Circuit For 2020 Thanks To His Medallist Performance At Their Qualifying Event - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

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

A month ago, Jared du Toit wasn’t even sure he’d be playing in the Latinoamerica Qualifying Tournament in Mexico. He’d been frustrated with the state of his game for all of the 2019 season and drilled hard for most of November and December trying to get things back on track. By the time the holidays rolled around, he was fed up.

But fast forward to last Sunday and he’d won the event at the Estrella del Mar Golf & Beach Resort, earning a full exemption for the PGA Tour Latinoamerica season.

“I talked to the people close to me, my coaches and family and everyone was kind of like, ‘Nah, just go do it,”’ said du Toit, who had consulted with Golf Canada coach Derek Ingram and Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood, a mental performance coach with the national program, among others.

“So then I really committed to doing it and really good practices and whatnot and I felt really good for tee off and then obviously played well in the event so it was a big relief getting it done.”

Victoria, BC's Jim Rutledge Won The 2019 PGA Seniors' Championship Of Canada At Carleton Golf & Yacht Club - Image Credit PGA of Canada

Courtesy PGA of Canada

It wasn’t the stroll to the finish line Jim Rutledge had hoped for, but in the end, the 59-year-old from Victoria, BC captured the PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada.

When the final round began, Rutledge held a three-shot lead over Ken Tarling and a four-shot cushion over Danny King, however, as the day wore on Rutledge’s lead dwindled away. “I’m sure glad we ran out of holes out there this afternoon,” Rutledge joked after his final round 1-under-par 70.

“Going into the back-nine I hit some wayward shots, some miscues off the tee and the next thing you know I only end up winning by a shot.”

Procter, BC's Jackie Little Is Set To Tee It Up With The LPGA Legends This Week At White Horse GC As One Of Four Amateurs In The Suquamish Clearwater Legends Cup - Image Credit Bryan Outram

By Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

If ever there was an aptly named professional event for amateur great Jackie Little to appear in it has to be this one.

The LPGA Legends Cup taking place at the White Horse Golf Club in Kingston, WA this Friday and Saturday will feature several of the best known and accomplished LPGA stars over the last few decades. 

With an amateur record that has her already in both the BC Golf Hall of Fame and the PNGA Hall of Fame, Little is looking forward to teeing it up with and against some of the players she looked up to as an amateur player growing up.

Vancouver, BC's Stuart Macdonald Is Tabbed By Mackenzie Tour - PGA TOUR Canada Experts As One To Watch This Week At Q-School In California - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Courtesy Brian Decker/ Mackenzie Tour - PGA TOUR Canada

The quest to earn Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada status resumes this week at The Country Club at Soboba Springs in San Jacinto, California, where 120 players will look to earn their cards to compete on the Mackenzie Tour this season.

Below are all the details from this week along with storylines to watch for from California:

Vancouver's Stuart Macdonad, Shown Here Competing In The Pacific Coast Amateur, Will Be Looking To Punch His Ticket To The Web.com Tour On A Full-Time Basis This Coming Week - Image Courtesy PCGA

By Brad Ziemer/British Columbia Golf

Qualifying schools are supposed to be golf’s ultimate pressure-cookers, but so far they haven’t fazed Stuart Macdonald. The 23-year-old rookie pro from Vancouver has sailed through the first and second stages of the Web.com Tour qualifying school to earn a spot in the finals.

“Getting through first and second stage isn’t exactly the easiest thing to accomplish,” Macdonald said in an interview. “So to get to the finals and have a chance to play on the Web.com Tour is good. I am excited to get there and see what I can do.”

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Mary Parsons didn’t want it to be deja vu all over again. Thankfully, it wasn’t. Her season on the Annika Women’s All Pro Tour had a much sweeter ending than the one the former B.C. Junior Girls champion experienced last year.

The Delta native finished third at the season-ending Heritage Classic in Wichita, Kan., this past weekend and moved up two spots to finish fourth on the tour’s Callaway Race to Qualifying Program.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(October 21, 2024) - Much of the focus of the PGA TOUR’s fall season is centred on players trying to fight their way into the top 125 or stay inside that magic number to retain their playing privileges for 2025.

But there’s another race that gets less attention and Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor is in the thick of it. Players who finish the fall season 51st to 60th on the FedEx Cup points list earn a couple of nice perks in 2025.