Hadwin Looking To Continue His Vegas Roll; Crisologo Aces First Q -School Test; Kim Shines In College Match Play Event; Zalli-Jacob Win 79th B.C. Match Play Championship

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The UBC-Okanagan men’s team didn’t just win the Canada West Golf Championships, they dominated the competition. The Heat capitalized on home-course advantage to post a team total of 24-under par and beat the field by 17 shots at Okanagan Golf Club’s Bear Course in Kelowna.

Second-year player Ryan Gillis led the way, winning the individual title with a 36-hole score of nine-under par. UBC-Okanagan teammates Thomas Lemay and Andrew Rouble joined Gillis on the podium. Heat coach Clay Stothers was obviously delighted with the performance of the men’s team.

“I couldn’t imagine us winning by 17 shots and having three players on our team coming first, second and third,” Stothers said. “It was a surreal, magical couple of days when everything kind of lined up nicely.”

Youth on Course supporters from across the globe take on the formidable challenge of playing 100 holes of golf all in an effort to help ensure young people have affordable access to golf and the life-changing opportunities that come with playing the sport.

Are you ready to take on the challenge? Register today!

UBC Women Impress Against NCAA Div 1 Competition; Wong Third At PGA Women’s Cup; Several British Columbians Off To Q-School

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It figures to be the longest six months of their young lives. Nine-year-old Allen Kong of Vancouver and 12-year-old Jenny Guo of West Vancouver have punched their tickets to the finals of the Drive, Chip and Putt competition at Augusta National Golf Club.

Now all they have to do is wait. And practise.

The finals go on Sunday, April 6 — the start of Masters week — so the two Metro Vancouver youngsters have lots of time to dream about competing on the hallowed grounds of Augusta National before a worldwide television audience.

Via Golf Canada

MISSISSAUGA, ON (October 5, 2024) - The 15th edition of the Junior Skills Challenge National Event wrapped up on October 5th in Mississauga after 30 of the top Canadian junior golfers showcased their skills in one of Golf Canada’s signature junior events.

The event took place at Credit Valley Golf & Country Club which also played host to the World Junior Girls Golf Championship from September 30 – October 5.

The National Event culminates a year-long program consisting of 92 qualifying events across Canada and 1,600 participants who competed at the local level.

(September 22, 2024) - Successful teams from the BDO National Golf League (NGL) Provincial Championships in B.C. have been established. The BDO National Golf League regular season is a net Stableford points competition culminating in Provincial Championships to identify who will play in the National Finals.

For more information on the concept and how the NGL works, click HERE.

Provincial finals were held last week at Cordova Bay GC in Victoria (B.C. West) and at Tobiano GC (B.C. East) to determine who would receive an exclusive merchandise prize pack and an all-expenses-paid trip to play in the BDO National Golf League Championship, taking place at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley right before the 2025 RBC Canadian Open.

There, 52 two-player teams will go head-to-head over 18 holes in a best ball net Stableford format to seize glory on the national stage.

via Golf Canada

Mississauga, Ont.(October 1, 2024) – The 2024 Junior Skills Challenge National Event will take place on Saturday, October 5 at Credit Valley Golf & Country Club in Mississauga, Ont.

A total of 31 golfers from four age groups will compete in the 15th edition of the Junior Skills Challenge National Event, which brings together the top-scoring juniors from coast-to-coast.

The participating junior golfers will compete in a three-part skills challenge (putting, chipping and driving) with one overall winner per age group and gender.

Langley’s Lin part of Team Canada at World Junior Girls Championship; Du Toit makes cut in Taiwan; Parsons named most improved player on Annika All Pro Women’s Tour

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Winning never gets old. Victoria Liu can certainly attest to that. The Vancouver resident, who has just started her senior year at Princeton University, won again this past weekend. Liu captured her team’s home event, the Princeton Invitational, for what was her eighth collegiate win.

Liu shot rounds of 68, 72 and 71 to finish the tourney at two-under par and one shot ahead of teammate Catherine Rao. Liu and her Princeton teammates captured the team title by 30 shots over second-place Georgetown.

This day, set aside to acknowledge the truths about the history and legacy of residential schools in Canada, prompts us to explore how the world of sport can contribute to reconciliation, education, and social progress.

Recognizing that many of you will already be acknowledging this day of reflection in your own ways, we wanted to share the campaign viaSPORT has created with their networks and for you to share with yours.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

SEATTLE, WA (September 26, 2024) — Shelly Stouffer found herself in an unfamiliar position in the final of the 62nd U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at Broadmoor Golf Club.

After playing with the lead all week, Stouffer was forced to play catch-up for most of her match with Australian Nadene Gole.

Stouffer had emerged earlier in the week as the stroke-play medalist and then played like the No. 1 seed as she breezed through her first five matches. The Nanoose Bay resident seemed to have momentum on her side heading into the final, but simply could not find any of it in the final before losing 3&2.

Courtesy R&A via Golf Canada

St Andrews, Scotland & Oakville, Ont. (September 25, 2024)  – The R&A announced new participation figures that show an increase of more than three million adult golfers playing the sport.  

According to new research undertaken for the governing body, there are now 42.7 million on-course golfers (9 and 18-hole) in R&A affiliated markets (outside the USA and Mexico).

The research figures for 2023 indicate a growth of 3.1 million on-course golfers since 2022. The growth trend began before the onset of Covid-19 and is now accelerating faster than the 2020-2022 pandemic period when there was an average of 2.5 million new on-course golfers per annum. The sport continues to increase in popularity, now up 44% from 29.6 million on-course players in 2016.

The new data is provided by national federations in The R&A’s affiliated markets in Asia, Africa, Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

BURNABY, B.C. (September 25, 2024) - A super summer for Julia Alexander-Carew looks like it’s going to be followed by a fabulous fall. The UBC-Okanagan sophomore won her second tournament in three days as she captured the individual title at the True North Classic at Riverway Golf Course in Burnaby. The 54-hole NCAA Division II event was hosted by Simon Fraser University.

The 19-year-old Alexander-Carew finished the tournament at one-under par and won by five shots over UBC’s Grace Bell. It follows her win this past weekend at the Saint Martin’s University Grisham Memorial tourney in DuPont, Wash., which was her first NCAA victory. Now the Oakville, Ont. native has two.

Lauren Kim leads Texas Longhorns to Tennessee title; Stouffer stroke-play medalist at U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur; Du Toit heads back to Asian Tour; Langley’s Carys Baek fourth at Chambers Bay tourney

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(September 23, 2024) - The Simon Fraser University women’s team gave Krysta Schaus a win in her debut as the program’s interim head coach. The Red Leafs won the Saint Martin’s University Grisham Memorial tourney played at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash.

SFU finished the 36-hole team event at nine-over par. That was good for a 16-shot win over UBC-Okanagan and George Fox University, who tied for second.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

When Krysta Schaus was named interim head coach of the Simon Fraser University men’s and women’s golf teams in early September, her to-do list was rather daunting.

Her players were just returning to campus after the summer break and Schaus had to get both teams organized and ready to compete.

She also had a big event to organize — SFU’s own True North Classic, which will welcome 19 teams and 113 players to Riverway Golf Course in Burnaby on Sept. 23 and 24.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

MACTIER, ON (September 17, 2024) - The significance of what he had accomplished was not lost on Austin Krahn after he survived a gruelling eight-hole playoff and won the Team Canada NextGen selection camp tourney in MacTier, Ont.

The 17-year-old Christina Lake resident — the reigning B.C. Junior and B.C. Indigenous champion — is now officially a member of Team Canada.

“It’s a huge honour to represent your country,” Krahn said in a telephone interview.

“It is something I don’t take lightly. I want to represent them well. It’s not all about the golf, I understand, it’s a lot about how you act on the course and I want to show them that I am more than just a good golfer. I am a good person and I want to show that to the country. And of course it’s the highest level of golf in Canada and it’s an absolute privilege to be part of that.”

HOW IT WORKS

BDO National Golf League Championship

The BDO National Golf League regular season is a net Stableford points competition that’s built seamlessly into your existing league experience—so all you need to focus on is bringing your A-game.

During the regular season, your club will designate six weeks of your traditional league nights as BDO National Golf League Majors. You will play in your league nights as you always have and the BDO National Golf League will pull your best four 9 hole net scores from the 6 major weeks.

Zalli survives first stage of DP World Tour Q-school; Lauren Kim fifth in sophomore debut; UBC men, women win season-openers; Svensson ties for 13th at Procore Championship

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Both are seasoned competitors who enjoyed considerable success in their junior golf careers, but Matthew Wilson and Vanessa Zhang will tell you that teeing it up in their first collegiate event felt a little different.

For starters, they are no longer just playing for themselves. They are now part of a team. And then there are those long 36-hole days to start tournaments.

So it felt different, but that certainly did not prevent Nanaimo’s Wilson and Vancouver’s Zhang from making impressive collegiate debuts.

Shooting 59: Take three minutes to see our top 59 images from the 2024 edition of the Indigenous Challenge Match between teams from BC and Ontario...

Seattle’s Paul Hogben Surprises Himself By Winning Senior Championship

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

In these waning days of summer, Jim Shaw really enjoyed his final day at the Beach. Make that Beach Grove Golf Club. Shaw played a near-perfect round of golf, a bogey-free two-under 69, to win the Pacific Northwest Golf Association’s Super Senior Men’s Championship at the Tsawwassen layout.

“Two birdies and 16 pars,” Shaw said proudly of his closing round in the 54-hole championship for players aged 65 and over. The Sooke resident, a longtime member of Mission Golf Club, was proud of the way he battled down the stretch to secure his two-shot win over Michael Johnson of Sammamish, Wash. Shaw finished his round with 12 straight pars.

The second edition of the Ontario / BC Challenge Match was held earlier this week at Bear Mountain Golf and Tennis Resort Community in Victoria, BC and proved to be just as successful as the first...

Golf Canada

(September 11, 2024) - The chase for the remaining PGA TOUR cards for the 2025 season begins Thursday at the Procore Championship.

Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., is one of the players hunting to stay on the tour in the FedEx Cup Fall mini-season, and he’s using every tool at his disposal to secure one of the 55 remaining full cards or 25 spots with conditional status for next year. That includes relying on analytics to help him better strategize on the course.