BC's Steven Diack (L) And Chris Crisologo (R) Represented British Columbia Golf In Fine Fashion With A 3rd Place Finish Just Four Back Of The Winners At The Mexican National Amateur Championship - Image Courtesy Mexican Golf Federation

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It wasn’t the finish he wanted, but Jared du Toit still enjoyed what must be considered a successful pro debut this past weekend in Victoria.

Du Toit finished tied for 29th place at the Bayview Place Cardtronics Open at Uplands Golf Club. The 2015 B.C. Amateur champion from Kimberley had entered Sunday’s final round tied for eighth spot after opening with rounds of 67, 70 and 66. But a three-over 73 on Sunday dropped him down the leaderboard.

Du Toit had been Canada’s top-ranked amateur before turning pro after graduating recently from Arizona State University.

BC's John Gallacher (L) And Washington State's Tom Brandes (R) Are Your 2017 PNGA Super Senior And Senior Champions Respectively - Image Courtesy PNGA

Courtesy PNGA Staff

June 8, 2017 -- Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash. came from behind in the final round to successfully defend his title and win the 53rd Pacific Northwest Senior Men’s Amateur Championship, while John Gallacher of Burnaby, B.C. went wire-to-wire for the title in the 8th Pacific Northwest Super Senior Men’s Amateur.

The two championships were held concurrently at Semiahmoo Golf & Country Club and Loomis Trail Golf Club, both of which are located in Blaine, Wash. The championships were conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA).

The 2017 BC Girls Junior Americas Cup Team Clockwise From Top Left (With Non-Playing Team Captain Pat Thompson In The Centre): Kathrine Chan, Tiegan Taylor, Tiffany Kong And Cecile Kwon - All Images Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)/British Columbia Golf 

The 2017 Girls Junior Americas Cup takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada July 30th – August 3rd. This prestigious event is being hosted this year by the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association & Reflection Bay Golf Club.

The GJAC was established in 1978 under the leadership of Joan Teats from the state of Washington. The first tournament was held at Tumwater Valley Golf Course in Olympia, Washington.

Eleven teams participated including Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, Idaho, Northern California, Northern Nevada, Oregon, San Diego, Southern California, Southern Nevada and Washington.

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.”

Team BC Coach Matt Cella Poses With His Winning Squad From The North Pacific Junior Ladies Team Matches After Defending Their Title In Oregon - Image Credit: It's A Selfie!

The team of Akari Hayashi, Sumie Francois, Shirin Anjarwalla, Cecile Kwon, Euna Han And Tiffany Kong representing British Columbia Golf successfully defended the title they won last year at Pitt Meadows Golf Course by taking the 4 team international event held this year at at the Illahe Hills Country Club in Oregon May 27-28.

Team BC collected 14 out of the available 36 points, with 2nd place Washington 4.5 points back at 9.5 while host Oregon was 3rd with 6.5 and Idaho 4th with 6 points.

Team BC From L-R: Akari Hayashi, Sumie Francois, Shirin Anjarwalla, Cecile Kwon, Euna Han And Tiffany Kong - Image Credit Andy Fung/British Columbia Golf

Team BCis playing in Oregon at the Illahe Hills Country Club this weekend to defend their title in the 31st North Pacific Junior Ladies Team Matches, which they won last year on home soil at Pitt Meadows Golf Course.

FORMAT

The North Pacific Jr. Ladies Team Matches employ the following scoring system:
The four teams are composed of 6 players from each state/province. In all competitions, which are match play, the front nine is worth one point, the back nine is worth one point, and the 18 is worth one point.

On Day One, there are six four-ball matches, for a total of eighteen possible points. On Day Two, there are six foursome matches (alternate shot), for a total of eighteen possible points, and a two-day total of a possible 36 points.

To follow how they are doing please CLICK HERE for live scoring.

The much anticipated start of British Columbia Golf's 'Get Out And Play' program launches this Sunday commensurate with Golf Canada's 'Get Out And Golf Day' celebration. 

The goal is to see 150,000 British Columbians partake in 1.5 million golf activities in a span of 150 days beginning on May 28th. As of right now, the Golf Activities Centre is up and running on the Golf Canada site and we will begin officially 'counting activities' beginning this Sunday, the 28th.

It's a simple process to become involved and help reach this goal as we help celebrate Canada's 150th in a fun, healthy and inclusive enviroment.

Victoria's Jeevan Sihota Held Off A Late Charge From Tristan Mandur To Win The Future Links Pacific Championship At Chilliwack Golf Club - Image Credit British Columbia Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CHILLIWACK -- There was a calmness about Jeevan Sihota in Sunday’s final round of the Future Links Pacific Championship at Chilliwack Golf & Country Club. 

No final-round jitters were evident as Sihota played the last few holes and sealed his win at the first major junior tourney of the season. After all, Sihota is a seasoned veteran. Oh, and he just turned 13. And is in Grade 7.

Junior Tournament To Kick Off Golf Canada’s 2017 Championship Season At Picturesque Chilliwack Golf Club. Shown Here Is Hole 12 - Image Courtesy Chilliwack GC

​CHILLIWACK, B.C. – Golf Canada’s first junior golf championship of 2017 is set to take place this week as the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship gets underway at Chilliwack Golf Clubin Chilliwack, B.C., from May 12-14.

With support from British Columbia Golf, the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship is the first of six regional junior championships presented in partnership with Acura. The 54-hole stroke play tournament will begin with a practice round on May 11 before the tournament gets underway with round one on May 12.

Victoria's Nolan Thoroughgood Is Looking Forward To 'Redeeming' Himself At Chilliwack Golf Club In This Week's Future Links Pacific Championship - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf  

Nolan Thoroughgood feels like he has a score to settle with Chilliwack Golf Club.

Thoroughgood is the Victoria teen who made history when he won last July’s B.C. Amateur Championship at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort in Qualicum Beach as a 15-year-old. About a month later, he didn’t have the same kind of success at Chilliwack Golf Club during the B.C. Juvenile Boys Championship.  

Thoroughgood didn’t play terribly -- he tied for sixth place -- but he learned what so many others have about Chilliwack Golf Club, which plays host to this weekend’s Future Links Pacific Championship: It’s tougher than it looks.

May 8th, 2017 (Richmond, BC) - British Columbia Golf is pleased to announce the addition of Tyler McKay to their staff as the new Manager, Golf Participation for BC Golf. Tyler will assume his role with BC Golf commencing on Thursday, May 18th, 2017.

Tyler will be responsible for managing current 'grow the game' initiatives within British Columbia Golf such as Future Links, Playground 2 Fairway (P2F), SOAR and Golf In Schools and will also be working with the Allied Golf Association to promote all grow the game initiatives.

The Host Association, Team IGA, Won Their First PNGA Cup With A Stirring Final Day Performance In The Singles Matches - Image Courtesy PNGA

Federal Way, Wash. - Serving as the host golf association in the 12th Annual PNGA Cup held this past week at TimberStone Golf Course in Caldwell, Idaho, Team IGA ran away in the final day's Singles matches to seal their first victory in the history of the competition.

Team IGA (Idaho Golf Association) took a slim half-point lead going into the final Singles matches, after earning three points in the first round morning Four-Ball matches and 3.5 points in the afternoon's Foursomes matches.

Teams WSGA (Washington State Golf Association) and BC Golf (British Columbia Golf) were tied for second after Day One, at six points each, and Team OGA (Oregon Golf Association) was one point behind the leader.

Steven Diack (L) And Chris Crisologo (R) Will Represent British Columbia In The 90th Mexican Amateur Championship This Summer 

British Columbia Golf is pleased to announce that Chris Crisologo of Richmond and Steven Diack from Coquitlam will be representing BC in the 90th Mexican Amateur Championship June 8 -11, 2017 at the Campeche Country Club in Campeche located on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

Crisologo and Diack will play as individuals and as a team simultaneously in the 16th International Mexican Pairs Championship representing British Columbia. 

The 2017 British Columbia Golf North Pacific Junior Ladies Team Matches Squad, Clockwise From Top Left: Shirin Anjarwalla, Euna Han, Tiffany Kong, Abigail Rigsby, Cecile Kwon And Akari Hayashi

This year is the 31st edition of the North Pacific Junior Ladies' Team Matches and will see squads from British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon and Washington competing Saturday, May 27th - Sunday, May 28th at the Illahe Hills Country Club in Salem, Oregon.

British Columbia Golf is looking to retain the title they won on home soil at Pitt Meadows Golf Club in the 2016 event.

Vancouver's Stuart Macdonald (R) And Victoria's Lawren Rowe (L) Represented British Columbia Golf In Fine Fashion Winning The Team Title And Coming In 1st And 3rd Individually - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

British Columbia’s Stuart Macdonald (Vancouver) and Lawren Rowe (Victoria) teamed up to secure a five-stroke victory on Saturday at the Lima Golf Club en route to capturing the Peruvian International Amateur Championship - The XXIX Campeonato Internacional De Afficionados - and with it the prestigious Manuel Prado Cup.

Ray Flynn (L) Chairman Of The Player Development Trust Fund, At The Zone 3 AGM, Presents A Plaque To Graham Roberts For His Tireless Efforts In Raising Funds, From The Harry Roberts Memorial Golf Tournament - Image Courtesy Zone 3/ Ray Flynn

The Player Development Trust Fund is the charitable arm of British Columbia Golf. The fund provides scholarships to boys and girls for post-secondary education and provides financial assistance to help young boys and girls attend British Columbia Golf sanctioned events.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Matt Cella, who has been appointed Team B.C.’s head golf coach for the 2017 Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg, knows the bar has been set awfully high for him.

After all, British Columbia has swept the individual and team competitions in the two Canada Summer Games where golf has been contested. Golf was first played at the Canada Summer Games in 2009 in Prince Edward Island, where North Vancouver’s Eugene Wong and Sue Kim of Langley won individual gold medals and B.C. swept the team titles.

Four years later in Sherbrooke, Que., Kevin Kwon of Pitt Meadows and Taylor Kim of Surrey won gold and B.C. again took home gold in the boys’ and girls’ team competition.

Jackie Little Will Be Enshrined In The PNGA Hall Of Fame On April 28th - Image Credits British Columbia Golf/PNGA

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Jackie Little is one of British Columbia’s most accomplished amateur golfers, but she hasn’t yet quite convinced her young granddaughter of her playing prowess.

Last June, Little placed second at the B.C. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at Kelowna Golf & Country Club. Her five-year-old granddaughter Myelle was there to watch Little complete her round. As she walked off the 18th green, Myelle asked her grandmother if she had won.

“She said, ‘Granny, did you win,’” Little recalls with a chuckle. “And I said, ‘no, Granny didn’t win today, Granny didn’t putt very well.’ Ever since then, any time we ask her about my golf she goes, ‘oh Granny, it’s too bad you can’t putt.’ 

“So I'm going to have to win another championship to prove to her that I can putt.”

The XXIX Campeonato Internacional De Afficionados sees Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald Victoria’s Lawren Rowe representing British Columbia at the Lima Golf Club in Lima, Peru.

Macdonald, a member of Team Canada, is currently the 8th ranked amateur in the country. Rowe is in his 3rd year at the University of Victoria and is the 4th ranked male amateur in Canada.

image courtesy pixabay

(19 April 2017), Far Hills, USA and St Andrews, Scotland: The USGA and The R&A are working with golf’s handicapping authorities to develop a single World Handicap System for the sport.

More than 15 million golfers in over 80 countries presently have a handicap, a numerical index long used as a reference to gauge a golfer’s potential skill level. Handicaps are currently delivered through six different systems around the world. The aim of the proposed handicap system is to adopt a universal set of principles and procedures that will apply all over the world.