L-R: Adam Scott With BC's Allen Kong & Mark O'Meara With BC's Jenny Guo - Golf Canada via X

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(April 7, 2025) - A pair of Metro Vancouver youngsters turned in terrific performances at the national finals of the Drive, Chip & Putt competition at Augusta National Golf Club.

West Vancouver’s Jenny Guo narrowly missed winning her 12-13 girls age group championship. Guo, the reigning B.C. Juvenile Girls champion, finished second to Alexandra Phung of Forest Hills, N.J.

Vancouver’s Allen Kong tied for third in the boys 7-9 age group.

Ledgeview GC GM Brad Clapp, Seen Here During Last Year's BC Amateur At Ledgeview - BC Golf Photo

More Ziemer's Notes: Lauren Kim heads back to Augusta National; SFU women win in Colorado; Ewart top-20s in Argentina; Jackson Jacob triumphs in VGT season-opener

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(March 31st, 2025) - Ledgeview Golf Club, the Abbotsford layout that helped produce the likes of PGA TOUR winners Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and NCAA champion James Lepp, has received a Golf Canada award for its commitment to junior golf.

And that makes Ledgeview general manager Brad Clapp especially proud. So does the view from the club’s pro shop.

“As I look outside now, we have a couple of five-year-olds rolling a ball towards the hole learning what a break looks like,” Clapp, a former PGA Tour Canada winner, says in an interview.

Welcome to the BDO National Golf League, a nationwide, season-long competition created by Golf Canada to enhance the league experience for men, women, and junior players.

This fun format adds value to your existing golf league experience with opportunities to compete in the BDO National Golf League regular season, Regional Championships, and National Championship.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

AUSTIN, Texas (March 24, 2025) - It was a one-under 71, which under normal circumstances would not get Lauren Kim overly excited. She can shoot that type of round in her sleep. But this one was different. It came in difficult conditions with the wind howling in the final round of her team’s home event at the University of Texas Golf Club.

Julia Alexander Carew - BC Golf File Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(March 17, 2025) - Their team nickname is the Heat and the University of B.C.-Okanagan women’s golf team are certainly bringing just that as they get their spring season underway.

For the second straight week, a UBC-Okanagan golfer took home an individual title at a Las Vegas-area tournament. Second-year player Julia Alexander Carew won the Vegas Warrior Invitational this past weekend at Wildhorse Golf Course.

Her win followed last week’s victory by the Heat’s Emily Cornwall, who captured the RMC Intercollegiate at Lake Las Vegas played at Reflection Bay Golf Course.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

POINT ROBERTS, WA (March 10, 2025) - When we re-open it, will they come? That’s the question owners and staff of Bald Eagle Golf Course in Point Roberts are asking themselves.

General manager Tracy Evans has confirmed the course will indeed re-open this spring. An initial target date of April 1 likely will not be met, but the hope is shortly thereafter the highly regarded layout will be back open for business.

And if the course is to remain open, it must attract British Columbians, who in the past have accounted for 90 per cent of its play. Evans knows the current political climate is not great and many Canadians are vowing not to cross the border. “It’s a concern,” says Evans, a Whatcom County realtor who doubles as GM of the course.

“Point Roberts is definitely being impacted by it already. People are just not crossing the border to come down for gas and other things. The businesses down here are feeling it already.”

BC's Cooper Humphreys In The 2023 BC Amateur At Morningstar GC - BC Golf Photo/Bryan Outram

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(March 3, 2025) - Cooper Humphreys has that laid-back, California surfer-dude persona and has always seemed like the kind of guy who would feel right at home in shorts, shades and flip-flops.

So it should come as no surprise that the two-time B.C. Amateur champion is loving life playing collegiate golf for the University of San Diego. “It has been awesome,” the Kelowna native said in a telephone interview.

“After growing up with snowy winters, it’s so nice to wake up to 70 degrees and sunshine pretty much every single day. I can remember one day where it has rained a little bit and a couple of days where it has been cloudy. The weather has been awesome.”

So has the golf. Humphreys has registered two top-10s in the first two spring events of his freshman year and his team has taken home titles in three of its last four starts.

North Bellingham GC - image courtesy North Bellingham GC

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(February 17, 2025) - Golf course operators south of the border in Whatcom County will be nervously examining their tee sheets in the coming weeks to determine what effect the threats of tariffs and Canada becoming a “51st state” will have on their businesses.

With snow on the ground last week and courses closed, it was too early to say what effect U.S. President Donald Trump’s tough talk regarding Canada is having on golfers who regularly play Whatcom County layouts.

But with polls showing that many Canadians are vowing to avoid travel to the United States, it seems likely that Bellingham and Blaine-area courses like Loomis Trail, North Bellingham and Shuksan could be hurt. Those courses rely heavily on play from British Columbians.

Grace Bell, UBC T'Birds Women's Golf - Image Courtesy Chris MacDonald/UBC TBirds

Hadwin top-10s in Phoenix; Anna Huang cashes cheque in her Ladies European Tour debut

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(February 10, 2025) - Grace Bell is deep into the back nine of her collegiate golf career and is determined to make the most of the time she has left.

This spring’s schedule is a last hurrah of sorts for Bell and three of her UBC teammates who are set to graduate this spring. They already have a bushel full of memories — including NAIA and Canadian championships — that figure to last a lifetime, but why not produce a few more.

Bell helped do just that when she created a little UBC history by winning last week’s Wigwam Preview, a NCAA Division I event in Litchfield Park, Ariz.

DELTA, BC (February 5, 2025) -  BC Golf and the Notah Begay III Canadian Junior Golf National Championship (NB3) will work together once again this year to provide our juniors with the chance to participate in the NB3 Canada/USA platform.

Players will compete locally with hopes to advance into the NB3 Canada Championship and/or to play in the United States in the state of Washington.

The top-finishers within each division from the NB3 Canada Championship and/or the Washington State Regional Final will move into NB3's U.S. Championship which takes place in Kinder, Louisiana annually. The U.S. Championships air on the Golf Channel for 2 hours!

Vancouver, BC's Anna Huang - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(February 3, 2025) - Vancouver native Anna Huang is doing her own version of the Marrakesh Express.

The 16-year-old is back in Morocco this week where she will make her professional debut at the Ladies European Tour’s Lalla Meryem Cup at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat.

Just before Christmas, Huang travelled to Marrakesh where she earned status for this year’s LET Tour at qualifying school. She had entered Q-school as an amateur, so she had a decision to make once she earned playing status. It didn’t take her long to decide that she would turn pro.

New Capilano GC Head Professional Mike Haraguchi

Taylor, Hadwin head to Pebble Beach and Netflix; Lauren Kim gets second crack at Augusta National; Sloan heads to Panama for season debut on Korn Ferry Tour

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(January 27, 2025) - You can count on one hand the number of head professionals Capilano Golf & Country Club has had since opening in 1939. Mike Haraguchi is honoured to be among them.

The highly regarded West Vancouver private club recently appointed the Richmond native as their new head pro.

He succeeds Mark Thirtle, who departed last year to become director of golf at La Cumbre Country Club in Santa Barbara, Calif.

BC's Nick Taylor Won His 5th PGA TOUR Title At The Sony Open In Hawaii - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

For a good chunk of his PGA TOUR career, Nick Taylor flew under the radar. He was known as a steady, not spectacular, player who quietly went about his business.

Not anymore. Taylor has developed a flair for the dramatic. The bigger the moment, the better he plays. And when he gets in contention, Taylor just hits one clutch shot after another.

He did it again on a magical Sunday on the island of Oahu where Taylor chipped in for eagle on the 72nd hole and then beat Nico Echavarria of Colombia on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Adam Hadwin Is Shown Here In 2024 Sony Open In Hawaii (Image Credit: Bryan Outram/BC Golf)

Ziemer's Notes: Macdonald heads to Bahamas for Korn Ferry Tour opener; Zalli about to become a world traveller on DP Challenge Tour; Humphreys top-10s at Thunderbolt Invitational; Clara Ding impresses in Florida

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(January 6, 2025)  - A four-round total of 18-under par will usually get you a top 10, maybe even a win, most weeks on the PGA TOUR.

Not at Kapalua’s Plantation course, where the season-opening Sentry tournament is an absolute birdie-fest.

Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin had 24 birdies and an eagle in his 72 holes of golf at the Plantation and just eked out a top-30 finish by finishing 29th at 18-under par.

Capilano hires its new superintendent from within, now looking for new head pro; British Columbians blanked at Asian Tour Q-school; Anna Huang earns status on Ladies European Tour

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It was a lost opportunity, one that had weighed heavily on Stuart Macdonald in recent months. After a fine season on the PGA Tour Americas circuit, the Vancouver pro had come agonizingly close this past fall to earning a promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour.

Ten Korn Ferry Tour cards were handed out when the PGA Tour Americas season ended in early September and Macdonald fell from 10th to 11th in the final event of the season. It’s not a stretch to say he was devastated.

But Macdonald’s story has a happy ending. You could call it a Christmas miracle of sorts.

Golf Canada via PGA TOUR Communications 

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – (December 16, 2024)  - The PGA TOUR announced the 2025 PGA TOUR Americas schedule, which features 16 tournaments contested across eight countries, beginning in March and culminating in September at the Fortinet Cup Championship contested at Morgan Creek Golf Course in Surrey, British Columbia and where Korn Ferry Tour membership will be awarded to the top 10 finishers on the season-long Fortinet Cup standings.

For the second consecutive season, the top 10 players in the final Fortinet Cup standings will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the 2026 season. A $225,000 USD purse will be contested for at each of the 16 events, totaling a $3.6 million USD pot for the season. Additionally, a $100,000 bonus pool will be shared among the top 10 players, with $25,000 awarded to the points leader, courtesy of Fortinet.

Click HERE to see complete story & schedule. 

Yeji Kwon misses cut at LPGA Q-school; Henry Lee advances to final stage of Asian Tour Q-school; Surrey council to debate Peace Portal redevelopment in New Year

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(December 9, 2024) - The second stage of PGA TOUR Q-school wrapped up last week and its long list of casualties included British Columbians Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver, Chris Crisologo of Richmond and A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam.

For them and so many others, PGA TOUR regular Joel Dahmen had some words of encouragement he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “For every player who didn’t get thru 2nd stage this year, keep your head up,” Dahmen said in his post. “I never got through myself. Keep believing.”

Point Grey winner Dahmen comes up clutch in final round; Macdonald, Ewart, Crisologo prepare for second stage; du Toit makes cut in Hong Kong, now heads to Qatar

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The PGA TOUR wrapped up its 2024 season at last week’s RSM Classic on St. Simons Island in Georgia, where Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor didn’t play but got some good news anyway.

Taylor managed to hang on to his spot inside the top 60 on the Fed Ex Cup points list — finishing 60th — and that means he can add a couple of lucrative Signature events to his 2025 PGA TOUR schedule. Players finishing 51st to 60th on the points list earned invitations into two California Signature events, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the Monterey Peninsula and the Genesis Championship at Riviera Country Club in suburban Los Angeles.

The 2024 season was a mixed bag for the four British Columbians who had PGA TOUR status. Here’s how we grade their play in 2024.

In addition to earning exempt status on next year’s European Challenge Tour at qualifying school last week, Vancouver’s Ilirian Zalli brought home some memories that will last a lifetime.

One in particular stands out for the former B.C. Junior Boys champion. It happened when Zalli and his caddie — his father Gentian — were about to begin the third round of the final stage of the DP World Tour Q-school in Spain. Standing on the first tee was two-time Masters champion José Maria Olazábal.

“He was caddying for his nephew and we were paired with him the third and fourth rounds, so my dad was really excited to meet him and pass the flagstick back and forth to José,” Zalli said with a chuckle in an interview. “That was fun for me, too. José cleaned my golf ball a few times on the greens. I didn’t even ask him. It was a little hard to believe, to be honest with you.”

Residential Development Proposed For The Hills At Portal GC; Major Renovation Planned For Whistler Golf Club

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

In addition to earning exempt status on next year’s European Challenge Tour at qualifying school last week, Vancouver’s Ilirian Zalli brought home some memories that will last a lifetime.

One in particular stands out for the former B.C. Junior Boys champion. It happened when Zalli and his caddie — his father Gentian — were about to begin the third round of the final stage of the DP World Tour Q-school in Spain. Standing on the first tee was two-time Masters champion José Maria Olazábal.

“He was caddying for his nephew and we were paired with him the third and fourth rounds, so my dad was really excited to meet him and pass the flagstick back and forth to José,” Zalli said with a chuckle in an interview. “That was fun for me, too. José cleaned my golf ball a few times on the greens. I didn’t even ask him. It was a little hard to believe, to be honest with you.”