Abbotsford, BC's Adam Hadwin - Image via YouTube

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin needed a big week and he got it at the 3M Open in Minnesota, where he tied for sixth and all but locked up his exempt status for next season and secured a berth in the lucrative FedEx Cup playoffs. 

Hadwin began the week in Minnesota at 120th on the FedEx Cup points list, dangerously close to falling out of the top 125. But his clutch performance at the 3M moved him up 13 spots to 107th with just two regular-season events remaining. 

Hadwin closed with a birdie on the tough par 5 18th hole at TPC Twin Cities to fire a three-under 68 and finish at 11-under par, four shots behind winner Cameron Champ. That’s the same hole where Hadwin took a costly double-bogey on Saturday. Hadwin earned $208,230 for his T6 finish.

Image Credit: BC Golf File Photo

Shelly Stouffer, Shown Her With The Trophy Last Year At Campbell River, Won Her 2nd Straight BC Senior Women's Championship This Year At Revelstoke Golf Club

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Shelly Stouffer’s second straight B.C. Senior Women’s Championship title didn’t come quite as easy as the first one. Nothing was easy about Friday’s final round for Stouffer, who saw an eight-shot lead evaporate before she rallied to win in dramatic style at Revelstoke Golf Club.

After surrendering the lead late in the round, Stouffer birdied the final two holes to force a playoff and then added another one on the first extra hole to beat six-time champion Jackie Little.

Image Courtesy: @vancouverbasketballfoundation / @victory

First Tee - British Columbia Manager Shayain Gustavsp Sets Up For Golf At The STRONGHER™ Camp

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It’s getting crowded here on the First Tee. We’ve got honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment all ready to play.

So that’s two foursomes and . . . judgment, I guess you’ll have to play as a single. Just kidding, of course. You may have heard of First Tee. If you have, you probably know about the program’s nine core principles that it uses to help instil good values in young golfers learning the game of golf. And if you aren’t familiar with First Tee, you soon will be as it is coming to a community near you.

Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

BC's Angela Arora Is The 2020 BC Jr/Juvenile Girls Champion & A Member Of Golf Canada's Jr. Team 

Via Golf Canada

Like many athletes in a training environment over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to competitive opportunities for junior golfers in Canada. To facilitate the selection of participants for the 2021-2022 National Junior Squad, Golf Canada will hold a National Junior Selection Camp from August 29 through September 3 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, Ont.

Approximately 50 junior boys and girls who have not reached their 19th birthday by August 1, 2021, will be invited to participate in the National Junior Selection Camp. The camp will include skills testing as well as a 54-hole stroke-play competition that will award World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

University Place, Wash. – Chambers Bay, the 7,375 yard, par-71 golf course in University Place, Wash., will host many of the best amateur golfers in the world this week for the 54th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship. The championship, hosted by Washington Golf (WA Golf), will be played July 20-23, 2021.

This will be the second time Chambers Bay has hosted the championship, with it previously being held there in 2017.

Click here to visit the championship portal for tee times, player information, photos and to follow along with live scoring.

This year’s championship had been scheduled to be held at historic Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria, B.C., but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary to find a venue in the U.S.

BC's Adam Hadwin (L) And Roger Sloan Have Their Work Cut Out To Maintain PGA TOUR Status Next Year - File Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Nick Taylor isn’t sweating, but a couple of other British Columbians are definitely thinking about their futures as the clock ticks on the PGA TOUR’s regular season. 

Merritt’s Roger Sloan sits well outside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup points lists, while Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin is just barely inside the magic number following play this past week. Hadwin missed the cut at the Open Championship at Royal St. George’s and fell to 120th on the points list. He needs to finish inside the top 125 to retain his full exempt status for the 2021-22 season. 

Sloan tied for 31st at the Barbasol Championship -- the event held opposite the Open Championship -- but still fell two spots to 147th.

Victoria, BC's Ashton McCulloch Fired A final Round 67 To Win The 2021 B.C. Amateur By Two Shots - Image Credit BradZiemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf 

CAMPBELL RIVER -- Ashton McCulloch’s round had already gotten off to a nice start when he stepped up to the fifth tee in the final round of the B.C. Amateur Championship at Storey Creek Golf Club. It was about to get a whole lot better. 

The par 3 5th was playing 183 yards and McCulloch surveyed the wind before taking dead aim with his 6-iron. All he did then was knock the ball into the hole for an ace. The eagle had landed and it helped propel the 18-year-old to his victory in the 119th playing of the championship.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Kent Gilchrist covered just about everything in a sportswriting career that spanned more than 40 years, but he had a particular affinity for golf. Not just the game, but the people who played it. 

Gilchrist, known as Cookie to his countless friends, died at his New Westminster home Wednesday night after a lengthy illness. He was 72. Cookie was larger than life. He could light up a room and fill it with laughter. He seemed to know everyone.

Patrick Weeks Managed To Hang Onto His Lead Going Into The Final Round At The B.C. Amateur - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CAMPBELL RIVER -- Patrick Weeks has had considerable success closing real estate deals in recent years. He knows closing out the B.C. Amateur Championship figures to be more difficult. 

“Well, I have closed over a thousand real estate deals and I have only closed a couple of tournaments,” the 42-year-old Vancouver realtor said after Thursday’s third round.

“So it’s going to be a lot harder than what I do every day for a living. But also more fun.”

One Is A 13-time Winner Of The B.C. Amateur, That Would Be Doug Roxburgh On The Left, And Another Is A 13-Year Old Competing In His First B.C. Am, That Would Be Hunter Auramenko In The Orange Shirt On The Right With His Brother And Caddy, Zack - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CAMPBELL RIVER -- On the ninth green Wednesday afternoon at Storey Creek Golf Club, Hunter Auramenko and his older brother Zach both got down on their bellies a la Camilo Villegas to read a putt. Hunter and Zach were grinding to make the cut in the 119th playing of the B.C. Amateur Championship. 

Hunter, at age 13 the youngest player in the field, ended up missing by a single shot. But he is not going to let that spoil a special experience at the course he and his brother have grown up playing on.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CAMPBELL RIVER -- Matt Hamilton acknowledged his golfing pals at his home course might be a tad surprised when they see his name at the top of the B.C. Amateur Championship leaderboard. 

“I think people might be a little shocked to be honest,” Hamilton said with a laugh after carding a seven-under 65 at Storey Creek Golf Club. “I think my group was a little shocked as well.” 

The 29-year-old Hamilton, who plays out of Crown Isle in Courtenay, rode a hot putter as he recorded nine birdies on the day.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Steve Berry, a British Columbia Golf Hall of Fame member whose amateur golf career included victories at the 1981 B.C. Amateur and 1972 B.C. Junior Boys Championships, died recently at his Vancouver home.

Berry, who was 68, was a longtime member of Marine Drive Golf Club and contemporary of B.C. golf legend Doug Roxburgh. “We had some good battles,” Roxburgh said of his friend.

“We were good teammates together as well. I’ve known Steve for a long time. I am about a year and half older than Steve. He joined the club the day he was 12 and I joined when I was 13. We called him Little Stevie Berry, he was a small, little kid and then he shot up to 6-foot-3 or 6-4.” 

Berry was found deceased in his Vancouver apartment after family and friends became concerned they had not heard from him in a few days.

viaSport is working with the Province of British Columbia and the amateur sport sector to support organizations to operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

All sport activities in B.C. must follow B.C.'s Restart plan Step 3 and the PHO Order on Gatherings and Events.

Step 3 of B.C.’s Restart plan is in effect as of July 1st.

B.C.’s Restart is the Province’s step-by-step plan to bring us back together. Please remember, the intention of the Restart is to slowly return to activities. Organizations are asked to turn the dimmer slowly when planning sport programming.

Gavyn Knight Is The 2021 BC Junior Boys Champion Winning At His Home Course, Morningstar GC - image credit Duncan O'Brien/fairwayvision.com

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PARKSVILLE -- In the hundreds of rounds that Gavyn Knight has played over the years at Morningstar Golf Club, he has learned where to hit the ball and, perhaps more importantly, where not to hit it. He used all that local knowledge to his advantage and won the biggest tournament of his life Friday, the B.C. Junior Boys Championship. 

“I had no big numbers,” Knight said. “I kept myself in the tournament the whole week.” Avoiding those big numbers really was the difference. There’s lots of trouble to get into at Morningstar and Knight did a better job than the rest of the field in avoiding those mini-disasters. He had nothing worse than a bogey in his final round of one-under 71 that left him one-under for the tournament.

Jennifer Gu Has A Right To Smile Now That She Is The BC Junior Girls Champion - image credit Duncan O'Brien/fairwayvision.com

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PARKSVILLE -- Jennifer Gu played 'catch me if you can' all week with the rest of the field at the B.C. Junior Girls Championship. It turns out no one could.

The 18-year-old from West Vancouver went wire-to-wire to win the championship at Morningstar Golf Club as she bounced back from a tough runner-up finish at the recent B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship in Summerland. 

“I lost last week and I had a lot of people telling me to go win,” Gu said after her round. “So I am happy with myself, I am happy I met those expectations. The pressure was definitely good. I used it and played solid.”

The provincial skills challenge is being held July 27th at Northview Golf & Country Club in Surrey. Registration begins at 7:30 am and the challenge runs from 8:45am – 11:00am. The field is limited to 32 kids.

For kids to play they have to pre-register through British Columbia Golf's Participation Manager, Tyler McKay by July 23rd using the form found HERE

Gavyn Knight and Jennifer Gu Are Chasing The BC Junior Boys and Junior Girls Titles at Morningstar GC - image credit Duncan O'Brien/fairwayvision.com

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PARKSVILLE -- Gavyn Knight swung his first golf club on the driving range at Morningstar Golf Club when he was three or four years old. 

He’s worked at the course the past couple of summers, washing power carts, picking the range and doing pretty much anything else that needs to be done. He’s also logged innumerable rounds of golf at Morningstar.

“Uncountable” he says with a smile. “A lot. High hundreds.” He’ll play another one today as the leader heading into the final round of the B.C. Junior Boys Championship.

COVID-19 Resources for the British Columbia Golf Industry

Please click here for the most recent comprehensive provincial update, as provided December 30th, 2022

Please Click HERE to see AGA-BC Covid-19 resources page

AGA-BC Best Practices Manual For BC Golf Operations Amidst COVID-19
(These were still in effect and current as of February 1, 2022)

Please click HERE to view Allied Golf Association (AGA) Best Practices Manual For BC Golf Courses.

Jennifer Gu Leads The Girls Competition, While Ryan Vest (Shown Here) And Gavyn Knight Share Boys Lead - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PARKSVILLE -- The golf course is winning through two rounds of the B.C. Junior Boys and Girls Championships. Morningstar Golf Club is proving to be a difficult test for a collection of this province’s best young players. Par has been a good score at Morningstar. In fact, no one is under par through 36 holes.

Vernon’s Ryan Vest and Gavyn Knight of Parksville share the lead on the boys’ side at one-over par. Jennifer Gu of West Vancouver leads the girls’ competition at even-par.

West Vancouver's Jennifer Gu - Image Credit Jerome Goddard/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PARKSVILLE -- Jennifer Gu bounced back nicely from some double trouble early on her back nine and grabbed the first-round lead at the B.C. Junior Girls Championship with a two-under par 70 at Morningstar Golf Club.

Gu, who finished second at last week’s B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship in Summerland, doubled the par 4 12th hole after hitting her tee shot into a penalty area.

The 18-year-old from West Vancouver didn’t let that bother her as she quickly birdied the next two holes to get her round back on track.