By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(May 23, 2025) - After what seems like the longest month of her life, Leah John finally gets to actually play in the U.S. Women’s Open.

It gets real now for the 25-year-old Vancouver native, who jokes that she has been playing the tournament in her head since earning a spot in the field at a qualifier in Sacramento, Calif., way back on April 21.

“Being a little excited is a real understatement, I have been living it in my mind since I qualified,” John said in an phone interview as she drove through rural Wisconsin en route to Erin Hills Golf Course, the site of the 80th playing of the U.S. Women’s Open.

L-R: Colin Lavers (Coach), Emma Kral, Lillian Zhao, Mandy Wang, Joanna Kim, Jenny Guo, Kaylee Chung, Grace Bell (Asst. Coach)

(May 22, 2025) -  The 2025 North Pacific Junior Ladies Team Matches are getting underway in Olympia, WA this year and Canada, represented by British Columbia, will be looking to get back in the win column after finishing second last year.

We have a great team to lead us into another top-ranked event and a good chance to bring home Lucille (the trophy).

UBC Women's Team Celebrate The NAIA Championship - Image Credit: Jaime Crawford/JC Sports Photography

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(May 16, 2025) - In what was a last hurrah of sorts for four departing seniors, the University of B.C. women’s golf team won another NAIA national championship.

The No. 1-ranked Thunderbirds lived up to their billing as they won going away, topping second-place Keiser University by 24 shots.

UBC was led by third-year Jessica Ng of Vancouver, who won the individual title with a 72-hole score of five-under par.

DELTA, BC (May 12, 2025) - British Columbia Golf is excited to announce an enhancement to the Provincial Junior (U19) and U17 Championships.

Moving forward, players will be eligible to receive AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) Performance Stars (essentially points) for top finishes that contribute to their AJGA ranking and will help with entry to more AJGA events.

This means our Junior and U17 Championships are now recognized by the AJGA in their performance based entry system. You can find more information on Performance Based Entry here.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

COQUITLAM, B.C. (May 12, 2025) - Redemption and a spot in the U.S. Women’s Open. It turned out to be a wonderful day at Vancouver Golf Club for Kelly Tan.

The 31-year-old Malaysian topped the field at a 36-hole U.S. Women’s Open qualifier at the pristine Coquitlam layout and in doing so erased some bad memories from a year ago.

Tan, now a Calgary resident, claimed the lone spot up for grabs in dramatic fashion when she holed a 60-foot birdie putt on her 36th and final hole of the day.

The 18th PNGA Lamey Cup is being played this week as 48 of the top amateur golfers in the Pacific Northwest region square off from May 1-2 at Oswego Lake Country Club, in Lake Oswego, Ore.

The PNGA Lamey Cup was created in 2006 by past PNGA President Dr. Jack Lamey as a way of continuing the camaraderie and partnership of the region’s member associations under the PNGA umbrella – British Columbia Golf, Idaho Golf Association, Oregon Golf Association and Washington Golf.

(April 21, 2025) - Lots of birdies and very few mistakes added up to a record-setting performance for Vancouver’s Vanessa Zhang, who went wire-to-wire to win the Ivy League Championship at Royal Palm Golf Course in Naples, Fla.

Zhang, who is completing her first season at Harvard University, made it look easy as she recorded rounds of 68, 67 and 70. Her 11-under total set an Ivy League Championship record and beat the field by five shots.

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.