KICK OFF THE GOLF SEASON WITH SOME FUN!

The 2017 Vancouver Golf & Travel Show is upon us to help get the golf season started. Come on down to the PNE this weekend, February 18th & 19th for great deals and a chance to see & try all the exciting new equipment, take part in fun contests, draws for terrific prizes and so much more.

Peak Golf has been a part of the Vancouver Golf & Travel Show for many years and we are happy to have the Peak Golf Retail Centre here again. Peak Golf will offer some terrific deals on apparel, accessories, shoes, bags, equipment and more! Don't miss this year's event to get your golf season started in all the right gear.

Innovations Golf again brings us the BC Putting Championship. Prove that you are the best putter in BC and win a new Innovations Golf putter and a $100 Peak Golf Gift Card. You get three putts for only $5 with the entry going to support our Golf Show charity. The finals begin on Sunday at 2pm with a head-to-head battle. If you qualify you will receive a free ticket to Sunday's show.

Don't miss out on all this fun!

Kimberley, B.C.'s Jared du Toit continues to lead his Arizona State Sun Devils golf squad in heroic fashion as his three-way tie for top spot at the Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii paced his team to a 4th place finish in the NCAA event. 

It was du Toit's fourth Top-10 this year for the Sun Devils and orchestrated a career high ranking in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. 

From L-R: Jared du Doit, Naomi Ko and A.J. Ewart Are All Finalists For Sport BC Athlete Of The Year Awards

Three out of four golfers nominated by British Columbia Golf for a Sport BC Athlete of the Year Award have been chosen as finalists for their particular category.

Jared du Toit of Kimberley is a finalist for the Male Senior AOY, with Victoria’s Namoi Ko as Female Senior Athlete and Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart in the Male Junior Athlete categories also being acknowledged as finalists with the winners to be announced March 8th at the annual Sport BC AOY awards dinner.

Former BC Golf Zone 3 Chair And Long-Time Contributor To The Game In British Columbia Peter Dobson (December 21, 1931 ~ January 5, 2017)

Peter Dobson, a long-time resident of Abbotsford and Mission, passed away peacefully Thursday, January 5, at Menno Home in Abbotsford. He was 85. 

Peter was an avid, low-handicap golfer throughout his adult life as well as maintaining an interest in boxing.

He received the Sports BC Award of Community Sports Hero for his decades as community advisor and leader: mentoring youth in the Restorative Justice program, training young golfers, Chairing British Columbia Golf Zone 3, volunteering for the Western Canada Summer Games and serving as Director of the BC Amateur Boxing Association.

Vancouver, BC's Stuart Macdonald Recorded A T5 In The Avondale Amateur In Australia After A Final Round 68 - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Tyler Costigan/ Golf Canada

NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia – Team Canada Amateur Squad member Stuart Macdonald continued his Australian swing in strong fashion on Thursday, collecting a T5 result at the Avondale Amateur, a 72-hole stroke-play event.

Macdonald—a Vancouver product and Purdue University graduate—leaped eight spots up the leaderboard at the Avondale Golf Club with a final round 68 (-3) to hold a two-way share of fifth at 6-under par for the tournament (75-65-70-68).

Clockwise From Top Left: Devin Carrey, David Rose, Patrick Williams, Matt Hill, Russell Budd & Ally Tidcombe Have All Earned Status On The PGA TOUR Lationamérica Circuit For 2017

courtesy Golf Canada

The remaining two of four PGA Tour Latinoamérica Qualifying Tournaments came to a close on Friday in Argentina and Colombia, with three more Canadians earning status in 2017.

In total, six Canadians have earned status on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica by way of Q-school. The Canucks were led by Nova Scotia’s Ally Tidcombe, who finished solo fourth at the Argentina event for the strongest finish by a Canadian. With the result, Tidcombe is exempt through the first half of the season (subject to reshuffle for second half).

Shelly Stouffer's Strong 2016 Season Sees Her Nominated For Female Athlete Of The Year By The Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards - Image Courtesy GaugeDesigns.com/Shelly Stouffer 

Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay has been announced as a finalist for the Female Individual Athlete of the Year by the Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards.

The Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards were established in 2006. The awards recognize those within the sport community who, during the course of the year, have made a significant contribution to the community in which he or she lives.

The nominee must be a resident of the Nanaimo area (Ladysmith to Nanoose).

...viaSport and the Government of B.C. recognize that bullying in any form cannot be tolerated by anyone in sport at any level – athletes, parents, coaches and officials.

A sport environment in which participants - athletes, coaches, volunteers, and officials - are exposed to negative experiences such as bullying can be harmful and cause individuals to quit.

55% of BC sports organizations surveyed know of athletes who have dropped out of #sport because of bullying. 

That’s why viaSport and the Government of B.C. have launched a new #ERASEbullying initiative for every provincial and local sport organization, and all B.C. citizens.

Click HERE or on the image above to take the online Erase Bullying in Sport pledge. 

On February 22, 2017, provincial sport organizations will celebrate the Province’s first Declaration of Commitment to erase bullying in sport across B.C.

Learn more about this initiative and how you can get involved as an organization or individual at www.viaSport.ca./erasebullying

Sammamish, Wash. - Sahalee Country Club and the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) are pleased to announce the return of the Sahalee Players Championship on July 5-7, 2017.

The championship took a hiatus in 2016 while the club hosted the 2016 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, won by Brooke Henderson in a playoff with Lydia Ko.

Quebec's Hugo Bernard Was The Low Canadian For Team Canada At The South American Amateur - Image Credit Golf Canada/ Graig Abel

Golf Canada

PILAR COUNTY, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Team Canada’s Hugo Bernard saved his strongest play for Sunday’s final round of action at the South American Amateur, carding a 5-under par 67 to jump into a three-way tie for seventh place.

Bernard, a Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., native, recorded six birdies at the Martindale Country Club en route to finishing as the low Canadian at 6-under par. The 22-year-old trailed men’s champion Paul Chaplet of Costa Rica, who secured a two-stroke victory at 14-under par.

Abbotsford, BC's Adam Hadwin Followed His Record-Setting 59 In The 3rd Round To Stand-Alone 2nd Place Finish At The PGA TOUR's CareerBuilder Challenge In La Quinta

Golf Canada / PGA Tour Communications

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Hudson Swafford won the fittingly named CareerBuilder Challenge on Sunday for his first PGA TOUR title, following three straight birdies with a closing par for a one-stroke victory.

Swafford shot a 5-under 67 on the Stadium Course at PGA West to finish the three-course, pro-am event at 20-under 268. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C.,came back with a 70 after his third-round 59 to finish second.

The Canucks Autism Network (CAN) provides year-round, high- quality sports, recreational, arts, and social programs for individuals and families living with autism, while increasing awareness and providing training in communities across British Columbia.

The Canucks Autism Network team consists of a diverse group of trained staff, experienced support workers and dedicated volunteers who administer programs for families and individuals living with autism in our province.

The 2017 Qualifying Tournament will take place at five sites in 2017 Including Crown Isle On Vancouver Island - Image Credit (Chuck Russell/PGA TOUR)

How and when to sign up for this year's Q-Schools

The application for the 2017 Mackenzie Tour Qualifying Tournament will be open to the public on January 19th at 12 p.m. ET.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE APPLICATION

You may access more information about the format, entry fees, field size, eligiblity and more at the above link prior to 12 p.m. ET on January 19th.

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS:

• The application will be available online only
• Payment can be made by VISA or MasterCard only
• The application will go live at 12 p.m. ET

NOTE: Applicant may only play one site. Once applicant is assigned a site, it may not be changed. Sites will be assigned in the order the applications are received.

Should an applicant withdraw within one week of their assigned competition, a processing fee of $1000 will be assessed. Should they withdraw prior to one week of their assigned competition, a processing fee of $250 will be assessed.

No refunds will be issued to contestants after they have started play in the Qualifying Tournament. Contestants who withdraw during the round may be subject to disciplinary action.

Full refunds will be offered to those who withdraw while on the alternate list.

Jared du Toit of Kimberley has been nominated for the Sport BC Senior Male Athlete of The Year Award.

Du Toit, who had an outstanding 2016 season, has been the number one ranked amateur male golfer in Canada for over 44 weeks straight as well as being ranked as high as number 23 in the world, will find out on March 8th, 2017 during the awards ceremony dinner being held at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver, whether he will be adding another honour to his name.

Abbotsford Pro Adam Hadwin Is Set To Return To PGA TOUR After Fruitful Fall Season 

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Personally and professionally, Adam Hadwin figures 2017 is going to be a great year. The former seems a given, as Hadwin will marry his fiancee, Jessica Dawn, in a late March ceremony in the Arizona desert. But Hadwin is also expecting 2017 to be a significant year on the golf course.

Now in his third year as a PGA TOUR regular, the 29-year-old Abbotsford pro is adamant that he is ready to win on golf’s biggest stage.

Chilliwack's Brad Clapp (L) With Some Of His 'Cow-orkers' - Image Courtesy Brad Clapp & Betsy (R)

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

You’ve probably heard all about the glamorous life of a professional golfer, right? The big pay-cheques, the courtesy cars, the five-star hotels.

Well, Brad Clapp would like to welcome you to his world.

Clapp, a regular and past winner on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada circuit, is spending the winter working on a dairy farm. And man, will he have some stories to tell on the driving range when the Mackenzie Tour tees off its 2017 season this spring.

Kimberley, British Columbia's Jared du Toit begins his 44th consecutive week as the Number one ranked Men's Amateur in Canada this week. He is ably joined in the Men's Top 10 Amateur rankings in the country by Victoria's Lawren Rowe at no. 4,  Richmond's Chris Crisologo at no. 6 and Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver in 10th spot, giving BC 4 of the top 10 places in the country.

On the Women's Amateur side, Naomi Ko of Victoria continues to hold down the number two ranking in the country with Surrey's Michelle Kim at no. 5 and Vancouver's Sophie Liu jumping up 3 spots to no. 7 on the list.

BC's top pros are also prominent holding down 4 of the top 10 men's spots and 3 of the top 10 in the women's standings.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Ward Stouffer, who spent more than 20 years as head professional and director of golf at Fairwinds Golf Club in Nanoose Bay, passed away Thursday, January 5th. He was 56.

Friends and playing competitors remember Stouffer, who stood about 6-feet, 8 inches, as a gentle giant with a heart of gold who hit the ball a mile.

Naomi Ko of Victoria has been nominated for the Sport BC Senior Female Athlete of The Year Award.

Ko, who had an outstanding 2016 season with 2 significant victories to go along with medallist honours in two other high profile events, is the number two ranked amateur female golfer in Canada and will find out on March 8th, 2017 during the awards ceremony dinner being held at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver, whether she will be adding another honour to her name.