Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship

Bear Mountain Golf Resort (Mountain Course) | Victoria, B.C. | September 19-25, 2016

Media Contact

Chris Richards – PGA TOUR Manager, Communications
chrisrichards@pgatourhq.com
678-644-4258

Quick Facts

Par 71 / 6,881 yards
Jack and Steve Nicklaus co-design (2003)
$2,500,000 purse (Winner’s Share: $375,000)
Golf Channel will televise all three rounds live from 3-6 p.m. PDT

Jared du Toit (Golf Canada/Bernard Brault)

Ki Taek Lee got his senior campaign at Arizona State off to a solid start, climbing 272 spots in the world rankings after finishing in a tie for second at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invite; it was the best career result for the senior and moved him back into the Top-20 in the Canadian rankings at No. 15.

Fellow Canadian and Arizona State teammate Jared du Toit, the No. 1-ranked amateur in Canada, finished in a tie for 48th.

Recipients Will Be Awarded At The 2016 PGA of BC Awards Celebration On October 12, 2016, At The River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, British Columbia. (Photo/PGA of BC)

The PGA of British Columbia is excited to announce the regional recipients in each of the ten categories for the 2016 PGA of BC Awards. Each category features one nominee from each region, including: Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, Interior, and Kootenays/Northern BC.

New for 2016, the PGA of BC is proud to recognize legends in British Columbia with the naming of the annual awards after individuals who have excelled and had dramatic impacts on our industry in their respective field.

Below, PGA of BC members will find a link to vote for their preferred candidate in each category. Please note that a PGA of Canada member ID is required to submit your ballot, and numbers will be verified. Voting will remain open until Thursday, September 29, 2016, at 12:00 p.m. The voting results will then be forwarded to the final selection committee, which consists of past PGA of BC Award Recipients. Please note that voting will NOT directly determine the recipient of each award, but will be used as supplemental information for the committee in their final decision making.

2016 PGA of BC Awards Regional Recipients

Dick Munn Golf Professional of the Year

• Alan Palmer - Head Professional, Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club
• Brian Schaal - Executive Professional, Copper Point Golf Club
• Brice MacDermott- Head Professional, Kamloops Golf & Country Club
• Lindsay Bernakevitch - Head Professional, Victoria Golf Club

Fred Wood Class "A" Professional of the Year 

• Ashley Zibrik- Class "A" Professional, Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club
• Cindy Soukoroff- Class "A" Professional, St. Eugene Golf Resort & Casino
• Jamie Stevens- Class "A" Professional, Kelowna Golf & Country Club
• Doug Hastie- Class "A" Professional, Bear Mountain Golf Resort

Jock McKinnon Candidate for Membership of the Year

• Scott Cameron - CFM, The Redwoods Golf Course
• Bryan Armstrong - CFM, Copper Point Golf Club
• Jason Jurimae - CFM, Gallagher's Canyon Golf & Country Club
• Brian Wise - CFM, Glacier Greens Golf Course

Jack McLaughlin Junior Golf Leader of the Year

• Chris Lutes - Teaching Professional, Northview Golf Academy
• Braden Chown - CFM, Castlegar Golf Club
• AJ Eathorne - CFM, Predator Ridge Golf Resort
• Corey Lowe - Class "A" Professional, Cordova Bay Golf Club

Herb Paterson Sales Representative of the Year

• Andy Dexter - Callaway Golf (recipient in both Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island regions)
• Deanna Ruby - G&G Golf Company Inc. 
• Jon Kadin- Nielsen Agencies Inc.

Golf Shop of the Year

• University Golf Club
• Fairmont Hot Springs Resort
• Predator Ridge Golf Resort
• Glacier Greens Golf Course

Alvie Thompson Teacher of the Year

• Jordan Fletcher - Head Professional, The Redwoods Golf Course
• Jeremy Johnson - Head Professional, Fairmont Hot Springs Resort
• Brodie Carle - CFM, Predator Ridge Golf Resort
• Arlen Wocknitz - Class "A" Professional, Victoria Golf Club

Facility of the Year

• Burnaby Mountain Golf Course & Driving Range
• Copper Point Golf Club
• Talking Rock Golf Resort
• Victoria Golf Club

Jack Westover Coach of the Year

• Matt Palsenbarg - Head Teaching Professional, Northview Golf Academy
• Steve Haggard - Head Professional, Hirsch Creek Golf & Winter Club
• AJ Eathorne - CFM, Predator Ridge Golf Resort
• Kevin Oates - Head Professional, Morningstar Golf Club

Davie Black Professional Development Award

• Matt Dunn - CFM, Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club
• Peter Smith - Executive Professional, Fairmont Hot Springs Resort
• Adam Blair - Head Professional, Talking Rock Resort
• Jeff Palmer- Head Professional, Ardmore Golf Course

Please click here to submit your vote. 

Recipients will be awarded at the 2016 PGA of BC Awards Celebration taking place on Wednesday, October 12, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond. Tickets to the reception can be purchased by following this link. Admission will include Hors d'oeuvres and two drink tickets at the event. At the reception, three additional awards, determined by the PGA of BC Administration and Board of Directors, will be presented to their respective recipients. This includes the Jim Gibson Patron of the Year Award, the Arv Olson Media Personnel of the Year Award, and the Dunc Sutherland Distinguished Service Award.

World Golf Hall Of Fame Member And Two-Time Masters Champion Bernhard Langer Highlights A Stellar Field Of PGA TOUR Champions Players Coming To Victoria's Bear Mountain This Week

Tickets available for PGA TOUR Champions Tournament hosted at Bear Mountain Golf Resort

VICTORIA, B.C. (September 20, 2016) – The 2016 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship will get underway this Friday morning at Bear Mountain Golf Resort’s Mountain Course, with 81 of the top players on PGA TOUR Champions competing for one of the year’s top purses of US$2.5 million.

Headlining one of the strongest fields of the 2016 PGA TOUR Champions season are World Golf Hall of Fame members Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie, Mark O’Meara and Tom Kite.

Langer, who currently leads the Charles Schwab Cup standings with $2,432.659 in 2016 earnings, has put forth one of the strongest seasons in Tour history at the age of 59, with four wins – including major championship victories at the Regions Tradition and Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship earlier this year.

Burnaby's John Gallacher (L) And Port Moody's Gudmund Lindbjerg (R) Are No Strangers To Success In The PNGA Senior Team Championships Having Won In 2014 - Image Courtesy PNGA

For Immediate Release

Bremerton, Wash. - The 34th Pacific Northwest Men's and Women's Senior Team Championships are being held this week at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash.

The two championships will be held consecutively on Gold Mountain's Cascade and Olympic courses, with the Women's being held September 19-21 and the Men's being held September 21-23.

It Was Team England Coming From Behind To Defeat Team Canada By One Shot At The CIJC Challenge At Wildfire GC In Ontario - Image Courtesy CJGA

For Immediate Release

Douro-Dummer, Ont. (September 16, 2016) - Round three of the Canadian International Junior Challenge (CIJC) at Wildfire Golf Club, was nothing short of dramatic. The day started off bitterly cold, but by mid morning junior golfers were playing in nearly perfect conditions, with not a cloud in sight.

While Canadian Junior Golf Association (CJGA) Team Canada led the pack for the majority of the tournament, it was not enough to claim the CIJC title. That honour went to the boys from Team England, who finished strong on the back nine to beat CJGA Team Canada by one stroke.

Positive movements for six of the Top-10 in Canada, while the remaining four maintained their standings, including top-ranked Jared du Toit, who begins the new collegiate season at No. 26 in the world.

Lawren Rowe gained 440 spots in the world rankings to move into the Top-20 in Canada after finishing in a tie for 23rd at the California State Fair Amateur. The University of Victoria Vike is coming off a solid summer in which he posted a runner-up finish at the Canadian University/College Championship and a tie for ninth at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. Fellow Canadian Patrick Murphy finished third at the same event, four strokes behind the winner.

Graham DeLaet Will Be On-Site At Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa To Conduct A Junior Clinic On Saturday, September 24th - Image Courtesy Sportbox

For Immediate Release

VICTORIA, B.C. (September 14, 2016) – Tournament Organizers announced today that Canadian PGA TOUR Star Graham DeLaet will join the 2016 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship to host the junior clinic for kids, held at The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa on Saturday, September 24th.

DeLaet is known to be one of the game’s best ball strikers, while also possessing one of golf’s most colorful personalities on and off the course. After recording three top-10 finishes on the 2016 PGA TOUR schedule, DeLaet went on to represent Canada for golf in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

DeLaet will once again represent his native country at the prestigious World Cup of Golf in November.

(Photo/PGA of BC)

With only three months left until this year’s PGA of BC Professional Development Program (PDP) presented by Sunice and Bobby Jones Golf Apparel winds down, Greg Pool (Capilano Golf & Country Club) and Matt Dunn (Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club) lead an extremely tight points race.

(Photo/USGA)

FAR HILLS, New Jersey (USGA) — The United States Golf Association will host the 2017 North American Golf Innovation Symposium on March 6-7 at the Marriott Vancouver Pinnacle Downtown in Vancouver, BC, gathering leaders in sustainable facility management and sports research to share knowledge and advance the game.

Symposium attendees will discuss how research, science, and data can help golf facilities around the world reduce their costs, operate more efficiently and provide a better experience for golfers. Over two days, the USGA and other contributing innovators will share details of their ongoing work in areas such as resource management, golf operations, revenue management, pace of play and equipment standards.

Victoria's Naomi Ko (Bottom Left) Is In Mexico With Team Canada Teammates Maddie Szeryk (Bottom Right), & Josée Doyon (Top) To Compete In The World Amateur Team Championship - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Courtesy Golf Canada

MEXICO – The trio of Canadian women is set to make its first appearance at the World Amateur Team Championship when action gets underway tomorrow at the Mayakoba El Cameleon Golf Club and Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club.

Representing Canada will be Maddie Szeryk, 20, of Allen, Texas, Josée Doyon, 23, of St-Georges-de-Beauce, Que., and Naomi Ko, 19, of Victoria. The Canadians will be paired with China and Spain for Wednesday’s first round, with Szeryk starting things off at 8:15 a.m. EST followed by Doyon at 8:25 a.m. EST and Ko at 8:35 a.m. EST.

Kimberley's Jared du Toit (L) And Victoria's Naomi Ko (R) Will Represent Canada's Men's & Women's World Amateur Teams Respectively In The World Amateur Team Championship In Mexico This Month - Du Toit Image Courtesy Golf Canada/Ko Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski 

Via Golf Canada

Oakville, Ont. – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the six individuals selected to represent Canada at the 2016 World Amateur Team Championship, conducted by the International Golf Federation. The championships—featuring both a women’s (September 14-17) and men’s (September 21-24) competition—will take place in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Representing Canada on the women’s side will be Maddie Szeryk, 20, of Allen, Tex., Josée Doyon, 23, of St-Georges-de-Beauce, Que., and Naomi Ko, 18, of Victoria, B.C. The trio will compete for the Espirito Santo Trophy at the Mayakoba El Cameleón Golf Club and Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club.

The men’s team selected to represent Canada consists of Jared du Toit, 21, of Kimberley, B.C., Garrett Rank, 28, of Elmira, Ont., and Hugo Bernard, 21, of Mont-St-Hilaire, Que. Also contested on both Mayakoba El Cameleón Golf Club and Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club, the men compete for the Eisenhower Trophy.

For Immediate Release

Florence, Ore. - The 32nd Pacific Northwest Men's Mid-Amateur Championship is being held Sept. 13-15 at Sandpines Golf Links in Florence, Ore. The 54-hole stroke-play championship will be conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA).

Players must be 25 years of age or older by September 13, 2016 and require a USGA Handicap Index or Golf Canada Handicap Factor of 8.4 or lower to be eligible. In last year's Men's Mid-Amateur Championship, held on the Valley course at Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, B.C., Brent Wilson of Cobble Hill, B.C. shot a final round 1-under par 70 to come from behind to win.

Brett Standerwick Of Fairwinds Golf Course Has Been A Longtime Supporter And Fundraiser For The Annual Golfathon For ALS - Standerwick Image Courtesy Fairwinds

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Like so many other members of the Professional Golfers Association of BC, Brett Standerwick has been a longtime supporter of the organization’s annual golfathon for ALS. 

Standerwick, who is sales and revenue manager at Fairwinds Golf Course in Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island, has also tried to put his own personal stamp on a fundraiser that is now more than a decade old. “Typically, guys go out and you play from dawn to dusk and play as many holes and you can,” Standerwick says.

“That’s fun but we all do the same thing, so after the first couple of years I started to think about what I could do that was something different, just to try and increase the exposure a little bit.”

British Columbia Golf Executive Director Kris Jonasson (Middle) Took Some Time From His Extremely Busy Schedule To Win A Gold Medal In The Men's Golf Competition Of The Americas Masters Games. The Silver Medal In This Flight Went To George Franko (L) And The Bronze To Cameron Kusch (R) -Image Credit British Columbia Golf

Courtesy British Columbia Golf

The inaugural Americas Masters Games held in the city of Vancouver from August 25th - September 4th are now complete and by all accounts the event was a tremendous success, bringing together Masters Athletes from across North America and around the world.

As was the case at this year's Rio Olympics in Brazil, golf was a featured medal event and provided not only some great play from both the men and the women, it accomplished one of its primary goals, to foster friendship and camaraderie while continuing to promote the sport as a most worthy component in these type of competitions.

Olympic View Golf Club Will Be The Site Of A Canada Summer Games Selection Camp For The 2017 Canada Summer Games In Winnipeg

For Immediate Release

British Columbia Golf will be hosting a Canada Summer Games Selection Camp on Saturday, October 1st and Sunday, October 2nd, 2016 at Olympic View Golf Club, Victoria, BC. The 2017 Canada Summer Games will showcase the best athletes in Canada who are on the fast track to the Olympics for 2020 in multiple sports, including golf.

Celebrating its 50th Anniversary and Canada’s 150th Birthday, the Games will be “an extra” special experience for the 4,000 athletes and coaches who will participate in 2017. British Columbia – Team BC Golf has captured every gold medal at the Games since 2009, with past BC gold medalists including: Eugene Wong, Kevin Kwon, Sue Kim and Taylor Kim.

By Matthew Steinbach (British Columbia Golf: Manager, Golf Participation)

As the bell rings and children head back to school, I am reminded that the summer golf season is gone and fall is here. The end of summer holidays signals the start of a new school year and our little golfers trade in their clubs for hockey sticks and soccer balls.

Too often, our little golfers, who just a few weeks ago were hitting balls daily, won’t touch a golf club until next spring. Returning to School, however, doesn’t need to mean the end of the golf season.

Surrey's Hannah Lee (L) And Mary Parsons Of Delta Are Both On The Canadian World Junior Girls Team Competing Later This Month At Mississauga Golf & Country Club - Images BC Golf

Courtesy - Herb Fung/ Golf Canada

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – The world’s top female junior golfers will head to Mississauga for the third edition of the World Junior Girls Championship from September 25-30 at Mississauga Golf & Country Club.

Two teams of three athletes will don the red and white of the host nation as Canada competes for the title of World Junior Girls champion. Among those representing Canada will be two oustanding juniors from British Columbia, Delta's Mary Parsons and Surrey's Hannah Lee.

The 2016 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship Organizers Have Announced Commitments From (L-R): Mark O'Meara, Vijay Singh, Miguel Angel Jimenez And Colin Montgomerie

Jay Haas, Fred Funk, Craig Stadler And John Cook Round Out The Latest Legends Commitments

VICTORIA, B.C. (September 7, 2016) – Tournament Organizers announced today that World Golf Hall of Fame members Vijay Singh and Colin Montgomerie, as well as four-time European Ryder Cup team member Miguel Angel Jimenez, have committed to play the 2016 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship.

The PGA TOUR Champions event will be contested at Bear Mountain Golf Resort’s Mountain Course in Victoria, British Columbia the week of September 19-25, 2016. The tournament will feature a US$2.5 million purse, with 81 players competing for a winner’s share of $375,000.

Victoria's Namoi Ko Didn't Make It To The Weekend At The CP Canadian Women's Open But She's Got A Bright Future Ahead Of Her - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)

By Gord Montgomery (iG)

PRIDDIS GREENS - While experience in the moment may be painful, down the road it often comes in extremely handy.

That's the viewpoint Victoria, B.C.'s Naomi Ko is taking back to college after failing to make the cut at the 2016 LPGA CP Women's Open outside of Calgary, AB.