• Six-Under 66 Moves Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald Into Contention At Pacific Coast Amateur Championship

    Vancouver's Stuart Macdonald Moved Himself Into Contention At The 50th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship With A 10-Shot Second Round Improvement At Seattle Golf Club - Image Courtesy PNGA

    By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

    Stuart Macdonald’s round Wednesday at the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship had a little bit of everything. 

    We’ll start with the good because there was lots of that. Macdonald carded two eagles in his round at Seattle Golf Club, one of them coming when he holed out from 160 yards on the par 4 12th hole. He also added four birdies.

    Then there was the bad, including a four-putt on the par 3 16th green that resulted in a double-bogey. He wasn’t happy about a three-putt that led to a par on the par 5 18th green either.

    But when it was done, Macdonald had carded the day’s best score, a six-under 66 that moved him into contention at the 50th playing of the prestigious tourney.

  • B.C. Golf Notes: This Week’s Pacific Coast Amateur The First Of Three Big Events For Chris Crisologo

    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.

  • Harry Ferguson’s Dream Has A Happy Ending As He Claims B.C. Senior Men’s Championship

    Invermere's Harry Ferguson Saw His Dream Come True As He Won the BC Senior Men's Championship Title At Shuswap Lake Estates Golf & Country Club - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/British Columbia Golf

    By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

    BLIND BAY -- Harry Ferguson had a dream about Thursday’s final round of the B.C. Men’s Senior-Super Senior Championship. Trouble was, he woke up early Thursday morning before finding out how it ended. It turns out there was no nightmarish ending, just a happy one for the 59-year-old oilfield worker from Invermere.

    Ferguson beat Gudmund Lindbjerg of Pitt Meadows on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win his first provincial championship.

  • 50th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship Set For Seattle Golf Club

    British Columbia Golf Is Well Represented At The 50th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship. From L-R: Jack Croucher (Past President), Chuck Gage (Past President), Stuart Macdonald (Team Member), Kevin Kwon (Team Member), Chris Crisologo (Team Member) And David Atkinson (Immediate Past President) - Image Courtesy PNGA

    via press release

    PACIFIC COAST GOLF ASSOCIATION (Seattle, Wash)- The 50th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship, hosted by the Washington State and Pacific Northwest golf associations, will take place at historic Seattle Golf Club from July 26-29, 2016.

    Founded in 1900 with a 1996 redesign by Arnold Palmer, Seattle Golf Club has a history well deserving of hosting the Pacific Coast Amateur's 50th installment, including the 1952 U.S. Amateur, 1961 Walker Cup, 1981 U.S. Senior Amateur and three Pacific Coast Amateurs (1967, 1987, 1999).

    A world-class roster of amateur competitors will be taking part in the 72-hole, four-day stroke play competition in the hopes of raising the Dr. Ed Updegraff Trophy as champion. Without a defending champion, following Aaron Wise's departure to the professional ranks, the trophy and accolades coupled with victory are up for grabs.

  • Lindbjerg In Position To Win His Fifth Senior Men’s Title

    Lance Lundy Of Big Sky GC Had The Low Round Of The Day With A 3-under 69 But He Trails The Leader Gudmund Lindbjerg By 5 Shots Heading Into The Final Round - Image Credit Brad Ziemer

    By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

    BLIND BAY -- Gudmund Lindbjerg’s four B.C. Senior Men’s titles came in four straight years. Now, five years after winning his last one in 2011, he finally has a chance to claim No. 5. The 67-year-old longtime Pitt Meadows Golf Club member shot his second straight 70 Wednesday and will take a two-shot lead into Thursday’s final round of the B.C. Men’s Senior and Super-Senior Championship at Shuswap Lake Estates Golf & Country Club.

  • The Ladies Are In Charge At Shuswap Lake Estates

    Shuswap Lake Estates Golf & Country Club General Manager Wendy Barker (On The Left, With The Course's Resident Dog, Charlie) And Course Superintendent Jen Rozek - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/British Columbia Golf

    By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

    BLIND BAY -- Every day is Ladies Day at Shuswap Lake Estates Golf & Country Club. That’s because the women are in charge at the club, which this week is playing host to the B.C. Senior and Super-Senior Men’s Championship. They’re everywhere here.

    The general manager is Wendy Barker. The course superintendent is Jen Rozek. Heck, even the pro shop’s resident dog, a five-year-old Shih tzu Bichon named Charlie, is a female. “We’re very proud of the fact that we have so many women here,” says Barker, whose father, Jack Barker, bought the course and surrounding property in 1977.

  • B.C. Senior Men’s Tourney A Mix Of Competition And Camaraderie

    Defending Champion John Gallacher Tees Off At Shuswap Lake Estates Golf Course As He Attempts To Go Back-To-Back In The BC Senior Men's Championship -Image Credit Brad Ziemer

    Doug Roxburgh Tied With Three Others For First-Round Lead

    By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

    BLIND BAY -- It is as much about the camaraderie as the competition. The field for this week’s B.C. Senior and Super-Senior Men’s Championships at Shuswap Lake Estates Golf Course in Blind Bay numbers 144. Most know they have no chance of winning, but that doesn’t matter.

    They are here to play with old friends and maybe meet some new ones. Toasts will be made in the bar after their rounds. Stories will be told. They will celebrate their birdies and lament their bogeys or those dreaded others.

  • Parsons Prevails To Win 2016 BC Junior Girls Title At Big Sky Golf Club

    Delta's Mary Parsons Holds The Winner's Hardware After Her Victory In The 2016 BC Junior Girls Championship At Big Sky GC In Pemberton - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

    By Bryan Outram

    Mary Parsons coolly rolled in her 6th birdie putt of the day on the par 5 18th and final hole of the tournament at Big Sky Golf Club on Friday to put the finishing touches on her 6-shot victory in the 2016 BC Junior Girls Championship. Parsons finished at even par (288) for the 4 rounds. 

    Finishing tied for 2nd were Tiffany Kong and Hannah Lee, with halfway mark leader Sumie Francois coming in 4th and 13-year old Akari Hayashi rounding out the top 5.

    The win wasn’t without its up downs along the way, but Parsons’ perseverance proved to be the difference in the end.

  • Nolan Thoroughgood Makes B.C. Amateur Championship History With Win At Pheasant Glen

    Nolan Thoroughgood Is The Youngest BC Amateur Champion At Age 15 In The History Of The Event - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/British Columbia Golf

    By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

    QUALICUM BEACH -- History was made at the 114th playing of the B.C. Amateur Championship. Twice. The tournament began with the legendary Doug Roxburgh teeing it up in his 50th straight B.C. Amateur. It ended Friday with the championship trophy being raised by the event’s youngest ever winner.

    Nolan Thoroughgood, a 15-year-old Victoria resident who was competing in just the second four-round tournament of his young life, played with the poise of a seasoned veteran at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort. He closed with an even-par round of 72 for a 72-hole total of seven-under par to win by two shots over another promising junior, 17-year-old A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam.

  • Parsons Takes The Lead In 2016 BC Junior Girls Championship After Round Three

    Mary Parsons Is The Third Round Leader In The 2016 BC Junior Girls Championship At Big Sky Golf Club - Image Credit Golf Canada 

    By Bryan Outram

    The British Open may be taking place across the pond at Royal Troon this week but it was during the third round of the 2016 BC Junior Girls Championship that typical ‘Open’ weather decided to show up at Big Sky Golf Club in Pemberton.

    With the leaders just heading into the home stretch of holes on the back nine the wind came howling through the mountains and the rain was coming in sideways.

    As it turns out those were ideal conditions for eventual third round leader Mary Parsons, whose 2-under back nine score rescued her from an unsettling 4-over outward nine and staked her to a two-shot lead heading into Friday’s final round.

  • 15-Year-Old Nolan Thoroughgood Of Victoria Grabs The Lead At 114th B.C. Amateur Championship

    Nolan Thoroughgood's Three-Round Total Of Seven-Under Par Has Him One Shot Ahead Of Zach Anderson Of Nanaimo - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/British Columbia Golf

    By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

    QUALICUM BEACH -- Nolan Thoroughgood joined the junior program at Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria when he was 11 years old. His parents didn’t see much of him that summer. “We live right beside the course so he went over every day that summer,” Garth Thoroughgood said of his son.

    “He’d leave the house at 9 and we wouldn’t see him until 9 at night. They spoiled him there and he just fell in love with the game. He gave up hockey two years later and said he is just going to focus on golf.”

    That decision seems to be working out just fine. On Thursday, Nolan -- now 15 and heading into Grade 11 at Royal Bay Secondary -- shot a two-under par 70 in the third round of the B.C. Amateur Championship at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort and will take a one-shot lead into Friday’s final round.

  • ‘Old-Timer’ Andrew Hennings Keeping Up With The Kids At 114th B.C. Amateur Championship

    Andrew Hennings Shares The Halfway Lead In The 2016 BC Amateur At Pheasant Glen In Qualicum Beach - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/British Columbia Golf

    Veteran Doug Roxburgh, Playing In His 50Th Straight B.C. Amateur, Misses The Cut By One Shot At Pheasant Glen

    By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

    QUALICUM BEACH -- The idyllic oceanside town of Qualicum Beach is a popular retirement spot and has what can safely be described as a mature citizenry. It has become decidedly younger this week with the arrival of the B.C. Amateur Championship at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort.

    Of the 156 players who teed it up in the 114th playing of the B.C. Amateur, 124 are 24 years old or younger. And 43 of those are 18 and younger. The leaderboard through two rounds is a reflection of that youth. Two of the three co-leaders are 15 and 20. There is a liberal sprinkling of other teens and early 20-somethings fairly high up on the leaderboard.

    The exception is ‘old-timer’ Andrew Hennings. He’s 33, which would qualify him as a spring chicken by Qualicum Beach standards. But in this field, he’s one of the old guys.

  • Sumie Francois Maintains Lead After Round 2 Of BC Jr. Girls Championship

    Burnaby's Sumie Francois Still Holds The Lead After Round Two Of The 2016 BC Junior Girls Championship At Big Sky Golf Club In Pemberton - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

    By Bryan Outram

    Round two of the 2016 BC Junior Girls Championship at Big Sky Golf Club was played under mostly sunny skies with the stunning backdrop of Mt. Currie doing its level best to provide a distraction to the competitors below. 

    First round leader Sumie Francois of Shaughnessy G&CC continued her plan of playing conservatively off the tee and but for a balky putter may have been able to extend her 2-shot lead. As it was, her closest pursuer, Delta's Mary Parsons who plays out of Richmond's Mayfair Lakes GC, managed the only under par score of day two with a 1-under 71 to cut into Francois' lead by one shot going into round 3 on Thursday.

  • Motomochi Back At B.C. Amateur In A Different Role

    Former Junior Star Jonnie Motomochi From North Delta Is Now An Assistant Golf Coach With Oregon State - Image Courtesy Brad Ziemer/British Columbia Golf

    By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

    QUALICUM BEACH -- It wasn’t all that long ago that Jonnie Motomochi had the B.C. Amateur Championship circled on his summer playing calendar. These days it’s still highlighted, but for a different reason. 

    Motomochi now scouts the tournament he used to play in.

    A solid junior career landed Motomochi a golf scholarship to Oregon State University, where he played for the Beavers. Now he helps coach them.

  • Roxburgh’s 50th Straight B.C. Amateur Start A Soggy One At Pheasant Glen

    Kelowna's William Deck Is (Pictured Here) Is Tied For The First Round Lead With Roy Kang At The BC Amateur Being Played At Pheasant Glen GC In Qualicum Beach - BC Golf Photo

    13-Time Winner Shoots Two-Over 74; William Deck Of Kelowna And Roy Kang Of North Vancouver Share Lead With Six-Under 66s

    By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

    QUALICUM BEACH -- It rained on Doug Roxburgh’s parade. The 13-time champion finished the first round of his milestone 50th straight B.C. Amateur Championship in a downpour early Tuesday afternoon at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort in Qualicum Beach.

    It made for a soggy ending to what Roxburgh described as day when he didn’t have his best stuff. He finished with a two-over 74, which left him eight shots behind co-leaders William Deck of Kelowna and North Vancouver’s Roy Kang.

  • Francois Takes First Round Lead In BC Jr. Girls Championship At Big Sky GC

    Burnaby's Sumie Francois Was The Only Player To Break Par In The Opening Round Of The 2016 BC Junior Girls Championship At Big Sky GC In Pemberton - Image Credit Kris Jonasson

    By Bryan Outram

    After round one of the BC Junior Girls Championship at Big Sky GCin Pemberton it’s 16-year old Sumie Francois in the lead after firing the only sub-par round of the day, a 2-under 70. Francois, who plays out of Shaughnessy G&CC, holds a two shot lead over last week’s runner-up from the BC Women’s Amateur, Delta’s Mary Parsons, who posted an even par round of 72.

    This is Francois’ first time playing Big Sky and she carded four birdies and two bogies in a round where she stuck with mainly 3-woods and hybrids off the tees in a conservative approach she employed saying, “I do hit my driver pretty far and I didn’t want my misses to be big ones.”

  • World Golf Hall Of Fame Member Bernhard Langer Commits To 2016 Pacific Links Championship

    Along With Bernhard Langer (Pictured), Rocco Mediate, Lee Janzen And Jesper Parnevik Have Also Committed To The PGA TOUR Champions Pacific Links Championship - Image Courtesy SportBox

    Victoria, B.C. (July 11, 2016) – World Golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer committed to play the 2016 Pacific Links Championship, to be contested on Bear Mountain Golf Resort’s Mountain Course in Victoria, British Columbia, the week of September 19-25, 2016. The event will feature a US$2.5 million purse, with 81 players competing for a winner’s share of $440,000.

    Langer, a two-time winner of the Masters Tournament, has notched 28 career titles on PGA TOUR Champions, which ranks third all-time behind Hale Irwin (45) and Lee Trevino (29).

  • Pheasant Glen Ready To Welcome And Test B.C.’S Best Amateurs

    Pheasant Glen Golf Course In Qualicum Beach Is The Site Of The 114th B.C. Amateur This Week - Image Courtesy Facility

    By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

    Doug Roxburgh has always said that one of the things he has most enjoyed about competing in the B.C. Amateur Championship is travelling the province and playing courses that are new to him. It seems fitting that when Roxburgh tees it up Tuesday in his 50th straight B.C. Amateur Championship it will be on a course that he had not played until Monday’s practice round.

    Pheasant Glen Golf Resort in Qualicum Beach isn’t exactly new, but it is to Roxburgh. The course dates back to the early 1990s, when it opened as an executive-length layout.

  • The 2016 BC Aboriginal Golf Championships Has Now Opened Registration

    The Aboriginal Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity Partners Council (Partners Council) of BC is pleased to announce the 2016 BC Aboriginal Provincial Golf Championships will be hosted in partnership with Talking Rock Golf Course and the Little Shuswap Band from August 7th-9th, 2016 in Chase, BC.

    Aboriginal youth golfers are invited to attend this 3-day event sanctioned by the British Columbia Golf Association. Please note this event will also serve as a talent identification event to identify athletes to form a "Team BC Development Squad" to train for and pursue participation in the 2017 North American Indigenous Games held in Toronto, Ontario, from July 16 to 23, 2017.

  • Tristan Mandur Uses Home Course Advantage To Win 2016 BC Junior Boys Championship

    Mill Bay's Tristan Mandur (L) Accepts The Bower Trophy As 2016 BC Junior Boys Champion From British Columbia Golf President Patrick Kelly - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

    By Bryan Outram

    It was home, sweet home for Mill Bay's Tristan Mandur as he calmly rolled in a 5-foot par putt on the 72nd hole at Arbutus Ridge Golf Club, his home course, for a one-shot victory over Coquitlam's A.J. Ewart in the 2016 British Columbia Junior Boys Championship.

    "it feels incredible, I mean, to win it on my home soil it means even more. I've worked really hard this year and it feels good for it to pay off, " said Mandur following the trophy presentation.