PGA of BC Club Professional Champion Padraic O'Rourke - PGA of BC Photo

SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 - VICTORIA, BC (PGA of British Columbia) – Padraic O’Rourke (The Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club) tamed a challenging Royal Colwood Golf Club with a second-consecutive 69 Tuesday to secure a convincing win in the Nike Golf PGA of BC Club Professional Championship presented by Oakcreek Golf & Turf LP.

The only player to break par in the 36-hole tournament open to all Head, Executive and Head Teaching Professionals within the Association, O’Rourke’s 2-under total left him five strokes clear of co-runners-up Dave Zibrik (Point Grey Golf & Country Club) and Jesse Crowe (Overlander Golf & Events Centre) as he claimed his first victory in a PGA of BC championship event.

By Latash Maurice Nahanee

Golf is a game that is both fun and challenging. Golf can be a game of leisure and/or demand the best of a great athlete. One element that differentiates this sport from contact sports such as soccer or football is the etiquette.

“First Tee – British Columbia, is a youth development program offered by Golf Canada that introduces the game of golf and its inherent values to young people. We teach values such as integrity, respect and perseverance through the game of golf,” says Shayain Gustavsp, Manager, First Tee - British Columbia.

Through after school and in school programs, First Tee – BC instills character development as a fundamental element of Golf Canada’s junior golf program.

The Pat Fletcher Foundation Has Now Donated A Total Of $800,000 To 565 Recipients - YouTube Image Capture 

TORONTO, CANADA Fall 2021 – The Pat Fletcher Foundation, whose purpose is to provide financial assistance to deserving young Canadian students on their journey to obtaining a university degree, announced recently the awarding of 25 new scholarships from across Canada, including five recipients from British Columbia.

“We are so proud of this year’s recipients. They demonstrated leadership and character in their submissions, and we wish them the best of luck as they head back to university and college this fall,” said Ted Fletcher, Founder and Chairman of Mint Green.

“These are outstanding young people – hard-working, well-rounded leaders in their communities. They share our desire of “making a difference” and we are proud to have played a small role in helping to shape their future.”

Langley, BC's James Allenby - Image Credit Chuck Russell/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

James Allenby made seven of eight cuts on the recently concluded Forme Tour, so he certainly did not play badly. But as he reflects on his two-month adventure down south, Allenby has the bills to prove it was far from a rip-roaring success.

With purses set at $110,000 US each week, players pretty much had to finish inside the top 10 each week to cover expenses. Allenby’s best finish was a tie for 12th and the Langley resident made a grand total of $7,670. That didn’t come close to covering his expenses. “I didn’t go crazy adding everything up, but I estimated that I came out with about a $9,000 loss for the season,” he said.

Talking Rock (Shown Here) Along With Nk’Mip Canyon Desert And St. Eugene Are Just Three Of A Growing Number Of Indigenous Facilities In The Province - Image Credit Talking Rock

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CHASE -- It opened quietly without much fanfare back in 2007, this golf course built by a small Indian band with big dreams. Initially, Talking Rock Golf Course seemed to almost get lost amid some of the more high-profile courses that were opening at the time in British Columbia.

“Talking Rock was one of those projects that was a bit under the radar because it was being developed at about the same time Tobiano (near Kamloops) was,” says golf architect Wayne Carleton, who along with Graham Cooke designed Talking Rock for the Little Shuswap Indian Band. “Tobiano was getting all the raves.”

But a funny thing has happened in the nearly 15 years since Talking Rock welcomed its first players. It has gone from being a course many had not heard of to being one nearly everyone wants to play. It is not a stretch to suggest that Talking Rock, located on the south shore of Little Shuswap Lake, is regarded by many as one of British Columbia’s top resort courses.

Nanoose Bay Resident Shelly Stouffer (L) Has No Regrets After She Dropped A Close Semi-final Match To Ellen Port (R) At The U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship - Image Courtesy Judith Kyrinis/Twitter

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Disappointed? Of course she is. But Shelly Stouffer is also justifiably proud of the run she made at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship in Clear Point, Alabama. 

That run took the Nanoose Bay resident all the way to the semi-finals where she lost a hard-fought match on the 18th hole at The Lakewood Club to a woman who is something of a United States Golf Association legend.

Stouffer had a blast. “It was amazing,” she said over the phone from Alabama. “I can’t complain about anything. I had a fabulous time, the people were amazing, the course is awesome. It was just lots of fun.”

Registration for programs is now open and taking place on the First Tee - BC website. Programs are starting the week of Sept. 20^th and run for 6 weeks to the end of October.

They are $120 for 6 classes and the financial assistance will be live on the website.

 Click HERE to register for First Tee - BC programs.

All the information is there and if you have any more questions please email firstteebc@golfcanada.ca

Michell Liu (Centre) Was The BC Women's Amateur Champion In 2020 While Lauren Kim (Left) Was Runner - Up. Also Pictured At Right Is 3rd Place Finisher Luna Lu - Image Courtesy BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Lauren Kim and Michelle Liu are back at their respective high schools and if their teachers happen to ask them to write one of those ‘What I did on my summer vacation’ essays, both will have quite the story to tell.

The two talented teen golfers spent their summers south of the border where they made quite the impression.

Kim won three American Junior Golf Association events and Liu won two. Both qualified to play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and Kim also qualified for the U.S. Junior Girls Championship.

Image Courtesy St. Eugene Resort

The Historic St. Eugene Mission Building Houses Both A Haunting Past And A Powerful Future

By Latash Maurice Nahanee (Uslahan, Squamish temiwx)

Located on 300 acres along the winding St. Mary River and nestled between Purcell and the Kootenay Rocky Mountains, St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino is surrounded by stupendous vistas. The resort offers world-class golf, casino nightlife and is also close to the region’s national parks and ski areas.

However, the beautiful Spanish-colonial-styled resort hotel you see today sitting on the St. Eugene Mission property was not always the site of holiday visits, great rounds of golf and memorable weddings. The red brick building was once the St. Eugene Mission residential school for First Nations youth and has a powerful history that has undergone and is indeed, still experiencing…. an equally powerful evolution going forward.

image credit Marco Verch/Creative Commons License

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Vaccine passports won’t be required to play golf in British Columbia, but courses are reminding their guests that proof of vaccination will be required to use other services. 

In an email to members and guests, Golden Eagle Golf Club in Pitt Meadows says proof of vaccination will be required for indoor and outdoor dining at the club.

“Staff have been instructed not to serve any group that has one or more individuals that will not show proof of vaccine,” the club said in its email. “Any abuse verbal or otherwise towards staff or other guests will not be tolerated.”

Kelowna's Jessica Claggett With Past BC Golf President Patrick Kelly - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Jessica Claggett of Kelowna has been declared the winner of the B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship after Victoria’s Alyssa Herkel was disqualified due to a rules infraction.

Tournament director Doug Hastie said Herkel contacted him over the Labour Day weekend to discuss a shot she attempted on the seventh hole during the final round of the event, which was held Aug. 31-Sept. 2 at Gorge Vale Golf Club in Victoria.

Herkel told Hastie she “whiffed” a chip shop attempt from the rough on the par 5 hole.

Former British Columbia Golf President Peter Bentley Is Shown Here With Current President Michelle Collens - Image Courtesy Michelle Collens/Twitter

British Columbia Golf is saddened to learn of the passing of past BC Golf President, Peter Bentley (March 17th, 1930- September 6th, 2021). 

Peter John Gerald Bentley OC, OBC, LLB (Honorary) died peacefully in his sleep in Vancouver, B.C. September 6, 2021 at the age of 91. He is survived by his wife Sheila (nee McGiverin) and their 5 children, Barbara Hislop (John), Susan Kololian (Vahan), Joanie Ball (Mik), Michael Bentley (Lesley) and Lisa Turner (Terrence), 15 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Peter, highly respected in the BC golf & hockey communities, was named to the order of Canada in 1983 and later also became a BC Sports Hall of Fame WAC Bennett Award winner, and served as the Hall's chair in 1974-75 as well as being a long-time board member.

via Press Release

Vancouver, BC – Par Fairwood Publishing Inc. is excited to announce the official release of Ruby and Pals: Tee Off with Manners.

The first in a series, this book is now available on Amazon Kindle in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Punjabi.

Children’s storybooks about golf are a rare sight to behold, but that is about to change with the release of the Ruby and Pals series by Par Fairwood Publishing Inc.

Nanoose Bay Resident Shelly Stouffer With The Trophy Haul From Her Canadian Senior Women’s Championship in Bromont. Que. - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

As you can probably imagine, there is no quick way to get from Nanoose Bay to Point Clear, Ala., the site of this week’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship. 

Shelly Stouffer was scheduled to leave on a 6 a.m. flight Tuesday from Comox to Calgary, where she’ll connect to Atlanta. From there she’ll fly to Pensacola, Fla., where she is supposed to catch a shuttle for a one-hour ride to her hotel near the golf course.

Stouffer’s win at last week’s Canadian Senior Women’s Championship in Bromont, Que., earned her a spot in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. “I didn’t realize the tournament was this week, so I was like holy crap,” Stouffer says with a laugh. “But I’ve got my negative COVID test and I am ready to go . This whole experience has been a whirlwind.”

Christina Spence Proteau Collected Her Sixth Career Mid-Amateur Title At Golf Château Bromont - Image Credit Bernard Brault/ Golf Canada

Golf Canada/Media Release

BROMONT, Que. – Christina Spence Proteau of Port Alberni, B.C. won the Mid-Amateur division at the 2021 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur & Senior Championship on Thursday at Golf Château Bromont in a playoff over Vancouver’s Nonie Marler.

Proteau entered Thursday’s final round one stroke back of Marler, who held the Mid-Amateur lead for the first two rounds, and whose first-round 72 would end up being the lowest and only single-round score under par for the entire tournament.

The two B.C. golfers were tied at 5 over par after the final hole of the 54-hole tournament, forcing the division to go to a sudden-death playoff. Proteau came out victorious after a birdie on the first playoff hole.

2021 BC Men's Mid-Amateur Champion Craig Doell - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Craig Doell knew he would have to play a solid round and also get some help from the guy he was chasing on the final day of the B.C. Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Victoria’s Gorge Vale Golf Club.

He got both and completed his B.C. Mid-Am hat trick with his third victory in the competition for players aged 25 and older. The 49-year-old Doell played near flawless golf in Thursday’s final round.

He made just one bogey in his two-under round of 70 and it came on the 18th hole when he already had the tournament won. He beat Courtenay’s John Robertson, who had led through the first two rounds, by three shots.

Vancouver Native Stuart Macdonald Has A Lot On The Line At This Week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship - Image Courtesy Korn Ferry Tour

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Stuart Macdonald hopes to treat it like any other week, but of course it is not.

This week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Newburgh, Ind., has life-changing implications for Macdonald and so many others who will tee it up in the final event of the season.

Twenty-five PGA TOUR cards will be handed out to the top-performing players in the three-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Macdonald is in the hunt as the 26-year-old Vancouver native sits 30th heading into the Tour Championship.

Surrey, BC's Adam Svensson Won His 2nd Korn Ferry Tour Event Of The Season This Week - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The 2021-22 PGA TOUR season is less than three weeks away and Adam Svensson is serving notice that he’s ready for his second crack on the big stage. 

The 27-year-old from Surrey earned his second Korn Ferry Tour win of the season and third overall by capturing the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship by two shots Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. 

Svensson had already clinched his PGA TOUR card for next season, but Sunday’s win improves his priority ranking. He’ll enter this week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Newburgh, Ind., seeded third overall.

Abbotsford Native James Lepp Is Now Busy As A Parent And An Entrepreneur But Certainly Had His Moments As An Elite Golfer - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Golf is no longer top of mind for James Lepp, but some special memories came flooding back this week when he learned that the PGA TOUR’s BMW Championship was being contested on the course where he won the NCAA Championship back in 2005.

That win at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md., was the biggest in a brilliant, but short golf career for the Abbotsford native. It came against a field stacked with many future PGA TOUR stars, including the likes of Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Kevin Kisner and Alex Noren. 

Lepp beat them all after closing that tournament with a seven-under 63 and beating Michael Putnam in a playoff.

Greenwood Golf Owners Joel Luyt (R) & Mark Wilson (L) - Image Courtesy Greenwood Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

When Joel Luyt talks to golfers about the wooden-head putters his company is producing in its Langley shop, many of them look at him like he’s Old Tom Morris. 

Yeah, and maybe you want to sell me a feathery golf ball and some hickory-shafted irons to go with it. 

“It’s a hurdle,” Luyt says of convincing the skeptics that Greenwood Golf’s hand-crafted wooden-head putters actually perform as well or better than many of today’s top-selling brands from the likes of Taylor Made, Ping, Callaway and Titleist.