More Ziemer's Notes: Taylor ties for 23rd at U.S. Open; Crisologo loses playoff at Glencoe Invitational; Cooper Humphreys, Andy Robb in R&A Amateur field; Amy Lee wins U.S. Junior Girls qualifier; Steven Lecuyer bags third straight PGA of BC Assistants Championship
(June 16, 2025) - For many years, British Columbians wanting to play the PGA Tour Americas qualifying school did not have far to travel. Crown Isle Golf Resort in Courtenay was the longtime location of the lone Canadian Q-school site.
That’s changed in a big way this year as the North American portion of the PGA Tour Americas circuit changes direction this summer...
Instead of its normal rotation of starting in the west and then heading east, this year’s schedule begins in New Brunswick in early July and then makes its way west.
The final full-field regular-season event is the Times Colonist Victoria Open at Uplands Golf Club, which is followed by the Fortinet Cup Championship at Morgan Creek Golf Course in Surrey.
That change has meant this year’s Canadian Q-school has also headed east and is being played June 24-27 in Woodstock, Prince Edward Island. British Columbians making the long trek east for Q-school include Bryce Barker of Vernon, Chris Crisologo of Richmond, Callum Davison of Duncan, Jared du Toit of Kimberley, Jackson Jacob of Langley and John Morrow of Delta.
Dylan MacDonald and Aidan Schumer, who both just completed their collegiate golf careers at the University of B.C., are also in the PEI field. The top 11 finishers earn exempt status while those finishing 12th through 30th receive conditional status.
The PGA Tour Americas’ North American swing, which features nine Canadian stops and one event in Minnesota, begins July 3-6 with the Explore NB Open in Fredericton.
MAJOR DIFFICULTY: Like nearly everyone else, Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor had his struggles on the back nine at Oakmont Country Club in the final round of the U.S. Open. Following a lengthy rain delay, Taylor finished his round with three bogeys in his last five holes. A possible top-10 finish turned into a tie for 23rd, but Taylor was generally pleased with his week. “There are a lot of positives I can take from this week and grow from it and hopefully be ready for the (British) Open,” Taylor told Sportsnet after his round. Taylor showed plenty of grit all week. He was four-over after three holes of his second round, but battled back nicely to shoot a one-over 71 and comfortably make the cut. He fired an even-par 70 in his third round. Taylor closed with a 74 and finished the event at eight-over, nine shots behind winner J.J. Spaun, and earned $204,515. It was his best finish at a major championship. Taylor and fellow Abbotsford native Adam Hadwin are both in the field for this week’s Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Ct., which is the final Signature event of the season.
TRAINING GROUND: U.S. Open winner J.J. Spaun spent three seasons on the PGA Tour Canada circuit in his early years as a professional. In 2013 he made five cuts in eight starts with his best finish, a tie for eighth, coming at the Victoria event at Uplands Golf Golf Club. In 2014, Spaun made just one cut in seven starts and earned a grand total of $825. He bounced back in 2015 when he made the cut in all 11 events he played and posted a win and seven-top 10s. He was named player of the year and earned Korn Ferry Tour status for the following year.
TOUGH ENDING: Richmond’s Chris Crisologo battled from behind to force a playoff at the Glencoe Invitational in Calgary, but lost on the first extra hole to Calgary’s Hunter Thomson. Crisologo closed with a six-under 66 in the final round to finish the 54-hole event tied with Thomson at 11-under par. But Crisologo flared his tee shot on the playoff hole way right into a hazard and made a double-bogey. Thomson won the championship and the $15,000 first-place cheque with a bogey. Crisologo made $8,550. Victoria’s Jeevan Sihota tied for sixth at six-under par, while defending Glencoe champion Ilirian Zalli of Vancouver tied for ninth at four-under. The women’s division was won by amateur Shauna Liu of Maple, Ont., with a score of five-under par. First-place money went to runner-up and low professional Ellie Vorster (nee Szeryk) of Castle Hills, Tex. Vancouver amateur Vanessa Zhang, who led going into the final round, finished in a tie for fourth at even-par after closing with a 76. Richmond’s Christine Wong finished third in the pro division (22nd overall) at 12-over and made $5,350.
AMATEUR HOUR: Two-time B.C. Amateur champion Cooper Humphreys of Kelowna and Vancouver’s Andy Robb, the runner-up at last year’s B.C. Mid-Amateur Championship, are among 288 competitors playing in this week’s R&A Amateur Championship. The 130th Amateur Championship is being played at Royal St. George’s and Royal Cinque Ports in Sandwich, England. The field will compete over stroke play and match play. The winner earns exemptions into The Open Championship, the U.S. Open and the Masters.
GEORGIA BOUND: Langley’s Amy Lee has played her way into this summer’s U.S. Junior Girls Championship. Lee, the reigning B.C. Amateur and B.C. Junior Girls champion, fired a four-under 68 to earn medalist honours at a qualifier at Alta Mesa Golf Course in Arizona. The U.S. Junior Girls Championship will be played July 14-19 at Atlanta Athletic Club’s Riverside Course.
THREE STRAIGHT: Steven Lecuyer of Seymour Creek Golf Centre in North Vancouver won his third straight PGA of BC Assistants Championship. Lecuyer fired rounds of 67 and 70 at Meadow Gardens Golf Course in Pitt Meadows and his seven-under total left him three shots clear of Matthew Daniel of Savage Creek Golf Club in Richmond and Zacharia Carson of Nicklaus North in Whistler. Lecuyer becomes just the second player in the 77-year history of the event to win it three straight years. Former Capilano pro Gerry Chatelain did it in 1972, 1973 and 1974. Lucuyer earned $5,000 for the win.
TOP-20 FINISH: Delta’s Mary Parsons closed with a four-under 68 and tied for 17th at the Epson Tour’s Great Lakes Championship in Harbor Springs, Mich. Parsons finished the 54-hole event at four-under par, eight shots behind winner Riley Smyth of Tequesta, Fla. Parsons earned $3,298. Vancouver’s Leah John and Yeji Kwon of Port Coquitlam both missed the cut.