Yeji Kwon gets first pro win; Nathan Ward seeks to defend title at B.C. Mid-Amateur Championship; Hadwin, Taylor head to Open Championship

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

DELTA, B.C. (July 15, 2024) - Shelly Stouffer saved her birdies for when she really needed them in the final round of the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship.

The Nanoose Bay resident began the final round with a three-shot lead — thanks in no small part to a four-under 68 in the second round — but that cushion had evaporated by the time she and American Catherine Matgranga had reached the 16th tee at Crown Isle Golf Resort in Courtenay.

Matgranga, a Fort Worth, Tex., resident had birdied the 14th and 15th holes to pull even. Stouffer hadn’t made a birdie all day. The momentum seemed to be on the Texan’s side.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

ABBOTSFORD (July 12, 2024) - There is a certain symmetry to Cooper Humphreys becoming the first player to successfully defend his B.C. Amateur Championship in nearly 20 years and doing it at Ledgeview Golf Course.

The renowned Abbotsford layout has produced an impressive list of fine players, including the likes of Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, Ray Stewart and James Lepp. It was Lepp who last repeated as B.C. Amateur champion when he won his last of four straight B.C. Ams in 2005.

Humphreys most definitely has some Lepp in him. Like Lepp in his heyday, the 19-year-old Vernon resident can make the game look easy.

Photographer Bryan Outram was out on the course and here are his top shots from the final round...

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

ABBOTSFORD (July 11, 2024) - Cooper Humphreys and James Fahy each have a chance to accomplish something at the B.C. Amateur Championship that hasn’t been done in a while.

Humphreys, the 2023 champion from Vernon, has an opportunity to become the first player to successfully defend his title since James Lepp won four in a row beginning in 2002. Fahy, a Vancouver resident, will be looking to become the first player older than 30 to win a B.C. Amateur since Victoria’s Bryan Toth captured the 2006 championship.

Fahy, like Toth was in 2006, is 32 years old.

B.C. Amateur Halfway Leader James Fahy

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

ABBOTSFORD (July 10, 2024) — James Fahy has apparently decided the road to follow at the B.C. Amateur Championship is Route 66. The 32-year-old Marine Drive Golf Club member fired his second straight four-under 66 at Ledgeview Golf Course to grab the halfway lead at the 122nd playing of the B.C. Amateur. He is more than a little surprised to be leading.

“We’ll see what happens,” Fahy said. “I am kind of waiting for things to get a little loosey-goosey. Golfing at 32 is very different than 22.”

BC Golf's Greg Moody, the tournament rules chair for this year's B.C. Amateur, talks about setting up the 17th hole at Ledgeview in the second round for maximum birdie opportunities...

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

ABBOTSFORD (July 10, 2024) —The butterflies were replaced by birdies for Matthew Hallat in the second round of the B.C. Amateur Championship. Hallat won the inaugural B.C. All Abilities Championship last summer and was given an exemption into this week’s 122nd playing of the B.C. Amateur at Ledgeview Golf Course in Abbotsford.

The North Vancouver resident was excited about the opportunity and also very nervous. “I did feel a responsibility to some degree being the first exemption from the (All Abilities) tournament,” Hallat said.

ABBOTSFORD (July 9, 2024) — They are college teammates and good friends, but Mackenzie Bickell and Hudson LaFayette are always trying to beat one another. Nothing has changed now that school is out for the summer.

Humphreys in good form as he readies for B.C. Amateur title defence; Barker wins Ogopogo in record-setting fashion; Stinson prevails at Chilliwack Open

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Victoria’s Jeevan Sihota recorded the biggest win of his young pro career at the Mickelson National Invitational in Calgary.

The 20-year-old earned a $30,000 payday after finishing the 54-hole event at 12-under par, one shot better than runner-up Brady McKinlay of Lacombe, Alta. “It’s been a while since I had my last win, so it feels good,” Sihota said in a telephone interview.

Sihota was tied for the lead heading into the final round and after bogeying his first hole, he played flawlessly the rest of the way. He closed with a six-under 66.

Find direct links to everything champsionship here...

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

KELOWNA (July 05, 2024) — Along with her 14 clubs, Amy Lee has four letters that accompany her nearly every time she tees it up. WAAC is a South Korean golf apparel brand and that acronym stands for Win At All Costs.

It has become something of a golfing mantra for the 16-year-old Langley resident, who seems to be winning every time she plays. Lee didn’t just successfully defend her B.C. Junior Girls Championship, she lapped her competition at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf & Country Club. Lee won by 18 shots. That’s right, 18 shots.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

KELOWNA, B.C. (July 5, 2024) - Austin Krahn won the B.C. Junior Boys Championship and for that he can thank his putter.

The 16-year-old Christina Lake resident made one clutch putt after another in the final round at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf & Country Club and emerged with a hard-fought two-stroke victory over Ryan Vest of Vernon.

“The putter was really good today,” Krahn said. “I can’t think of one putt that I hit poorly today. It was just perfect all day long.”

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

KELOWNA — He already has two British Columbia Golf Championships and Austin Krahn is looking to add a third at the B.C. Junior Boys Championship.

The 16-year-old Christina Lake resident, a two-time winner of the B.C. Indigenous Championship, fired a three-under 69 at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf & Country Club to grab the 54-hole lead at eight-under par.

Krahn leads Vernon’s Ryan Vest and Maxim McKenzie of Chilliwack by two shots. “I hit the ball beautifully today,” Krahn said.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Shelly Stouffer has made it five in a row and you can’t help but get the feeling she’s far from finished winning B.C. Senior Women’s Championships.

The 54-year-old Nanoose Bay resident beat the field by five shots at Sun Peaks Golf Course near Kamloops. Stouffer finished the 54-hole competition with a four-over 77 in the final round that left her at eight-over for the tournament.

And in case you are wondering, winning does not get old.

“No, it’s always fun to win,” Stouffer said. “I’m just going to keep trying to do this as long as I can.”

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

KELOWNA — Amy Lee isn’t trying to just beat the girls. Halfway through the B.C. Junior Boys & Girls Championships, the 16-year-old Langley resident has set herself a new goal beyond just defending the Junior Girls title she won last summer in Prince George.

“I was talking with my parents last night and again this morning and I told them my goal is to beat the boys,” Lee said with a wry smile. “My goal is to beat the leader of the boys. That is my new goal. Hopefully, by the end of the week I can have a lower score than the boys.”

That is a lofty goal for Lee, who seems to be beating the field wherever she plays.

Shelly Stouffer Has Her Eye On A 5th Straight B.C. Sr. Women's Title - BC Golf File Photo

SUN PEAKS RESORT — Shelly Stouffer will take a four-shot lead into the final round as she attempts to win her fifth straight B.C. Senior Women’s Championship.

Stouffer fired the low round of the tournament — a one-over 74 — on Wednesday and the Nanoose Bay resident sits four-over par through two rounds of the 54-hole event at Sun Peaks Golf Course.

There really is only one player with a realistic chance of catching Stouffer. That would be fellow B.C. Golf Hall of Fame member Jackie Little of Procter.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

KELOWNA — They take their junior golf seriously at Gallagher’s Canyon. And it’s just not a one-week thing, with the B.C. Junior Boys & Girls Championships being held this week at the scenic layout located about 10 minutes from downtown Kelowna.

Peter Hopley, the longtime general manager at Gallagher’s, is a big junior golf booster and is proud his club is playing host to a tournament he has a personal history with. Hopley’s eldest son, Matt, was a regular participant a few years ago and his youngest son, Markus, is playing this week.

There are some very specific crtieria as to how you can get to be one of the 156 who qualify to compete in the B.C. Amateur...