UBC T'Bird Women's Golf Alum Sonja Tang - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Some additional British Columbia content has been added to this week’s CPKC Women’s Open at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in Vancouver.

Port Coquitlam’s Yeji Kwon, Sonja Tang of Victoria and Surrey’s Angela Arora were all given late exemptions into the event by Golf Canada. They will join Surrey’s Lauren Kim and Vancouver’s Victoria Liu in the Shaughnessy field.

Kim earned her exemption by winning the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, while Liu received hers for winning the Glencoe Invitational in Calgary earlier this summer. They join a star-studded field that includes nine of the top 10 and 22 of the top 25 on the LPGA Tour’s Race to CME Globe standings.

The winners of all five of the LPGA Tour’s major championships this year will be at Shaughnessy.

Canada's Brooke Henderson - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski/British Columbia Golf

Nine of the top-10 and 22 of the top-25 players on the Race to CME Globe Standings along with 16 in-year winners, eight past champions and 10 Canadians head to Vancouver for Canada’s National Open Championship Aug. 22-27 at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club

(AUGUST 16, 2023) Vancouver, B.C. – Golf Canada in partnership with Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) announced today the final field of competitors set to challenge for the 2023 CPKC Women’s Open taking place August 22-27 at the Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, B.C.

Defending champion Paula Reto leads a stellar field of competitors that includes nine of the top-10 and 22 of the top-25 players on the Race to CME Globe standings. The field will also include 16 of the LPGA Tour’s in-year winners and all 2023 Major winners including two-time major champion and new world no. 1 Lilia Vu.

From L-R: BC's Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin & Adam Svensson - Images Credit Golf Canada/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

One is comfortably inside the top 30, while the other two are looking to move inside that magic number as the PGA TOUR playoffs head to Olympia Fields, Ill. for this week’s BMW Championship.

Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor who tied for 24th at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, now sits 16th on the points list and seems a lock to remain inside the top 30 and qualify to play in his first Tour Championship next week in Atlanta.

Fellow British Columbians Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford and Adam Svensson of Surrey have a little more work to do this week as they currently reside outside that magic top 30 number.

Vanessa Zhang (L) & Lauren Kim - Golf Canada photos

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Their run at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship is over. Surrey’s Lauren Kim and Vanessa Zhang of Vancouver lost their Round of 32 matches Thursday at Bel Air Country Club in Los Angeles.

Kim fell 1 down to Thienna Huynh of Lilburn, Ga., while Zhang lost 3&2 to Catherine Rao of Camarillo, Calif.,

Kim, who won last week’s Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship in Halifax, had emerged from the 36-hole stroke play competition seeded 21st. Zhang was the No. 17 seed.

BC's Vanessa Zhang (L) And Lauren Kim  - Golf Canada Photos

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Two British Columbia juniors have advanced to the Round of 32 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in Los Angeles.

Vancouver’s Vanessa Zhang and Lauren Kim of Surrey both won their Round of 64 matches Wednesday at Bel Air Country Club...

BC's Roger Sloan Won The Korn Ferry Tour's Utah Championship - Golf Canada Photo/Bernard Brault

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Merritt’s Roger Sloan took a huge step toward regaining his PGA TOUR playing privileges by winning the Korn Ferry Tour’s Utah Championship in dramatic fashion. Sloan birdied three of his last four holes — including his final two — to win by one shot.

The victory, which came nine years after his first Korn Ferry Tour win in Nova Scotia, moved Sloan from 92nd to 27th on the tour’s points list. Only two regular-season events remain and if Sloan can stay inside the top 30, he will earn PGA TOUR playing privileges for the 2024 season.

Golf Canada in partnership with British Columbia Golf is pleased to announce the expansion of Youth on Course to British Columbia.

Youth on Course offers its members aged six to 18 access to golf rounds for $5 or less at participating courses during designated times.

The Youth on Course program will run for the duration of the 2023 golf season at participating golf courses in British Columbia.

In the opening segment of season 14 on the ModGolf Podcast, show creator and host Colin Weston speaks with Preston Phillips, Sport & Entertainment Entrepreneur, Investor & Advisor.

Colin met Phillips on a HYPE Sports Innovation "Ask Me Anything" webinar and was so impressed with his genuine desire to help entrepreneurs and their companies that he had to invite him on the show to share his experiences with you.

From L-R: Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, Adam Svensson - Images Courtesy Golf Canada/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The PGA TOUR wraps up its regular season at this week’s Wyndham Championship with many players scrambling to play their way into the top 70 and qualify for the lucrative FedEx Cup playoffs.

The British Columbia trio of Nick Taylor, Adam Svensson and Adam Hadwin have no such worries. All three are well inside the top 70.

Taylor, who is 12th on the FedEx Cup points list, is taking his second straight week off and not playing the Wyndham Championship. Hadwin and Svensson are both in the Wyndham field.

View From Capilano GC's 14th Tee - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2023

West Vancouver, B.C. – Capilano Golf and Country Club in West Vancouver, B.C. (Canada), will host many of the top amateur golfers in the world this week for the 56th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship.

Hosted by British Columbia Golf, the championship will be played from July 25-28, 2023. Hosting previously in 2003 and 2013, this marks the third time the championship has been held at Capilano Golf and Country Club.

BC's Team Clockwise From L-R: Oakley Mayner, Eric Joo, Jaden August & Adrian Roberts - Image Courtesy Riverside/Golf Canada/BC Golf

July 17, 2023 (DELTA, BC) - British Columbia Golf is pleased to announce the members of the 2023 Eddie Hogan Cup Team that will compete for the  Eddie Hogan Cup title in August. 

The 55th annual Eddie Hogan Cup tournament is scheduled to take place August 12 – 13 at the Riverside Golf & Country Club in Portland, Oregon and British Columbia has been represented every single year since its inception in 1969.

BC has won the Eddie Hogan Cup title twice since 1972, with the first coming in 2009 and then again 4 years later in 2013 where team member Kevin Vigna also won the individual title.

The Eddie Hogan Cup is filled with excellent competition from across the USA including Southern and Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Hawaii and others as well as British Columbia.

BC's Megan Osland - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Kelowna’s Megan Osland not only had to beat her opponents, she had to beat the heat to win the Oscar Williams Classic on the Women’s All Pro Tour. The 72-hole event was held in Anna, Tex., during what has been an epic heat wave in parts of the southern U.S.

“I would say most of the days it was between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius, plus the humidity,” Osland said over the phone. “I had a 7 a.m. tee time one day, so I got to the course just before 6 a,m. and I got out of the car and I just started sweating. At 6 a.m.! It was crazy. The heat was definitely a battle in itself.”

BC's Lauren Kim (R) Posed With LPGA Legend Betsy King Before The 2022 U.S. Women's Open At Pine Needles In North Carolina - Image Credit Kevin Kim

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Before she heads to the University of Texas to begin her collegiate golf career, Surrey’s Lauren Kim has a busy summer ahead of her.

Kim, who just graduated from Earl Marriott Secondary, has qualified to play in three major United States Golf Association events this summer.

In addition to the Women’s Amateur, Kim has also qualified to play in the U.S. Women’s Open and the U.S. Junior Girls Championships.

Playing golf from the appropriate set of tees is a great way to derive a lot more enjoyment from the game.

At the same time, how do we really know how to determine credibly what those tees should be for each of us?

If you are Canadian, it is definitely a bona fide 'Where were you when' moment. Depending on one's age you may recall Paul Henderson's winning goal for Canada against Russia in the final minute of the final game in what became known as the 'Summit Series' hockey tournament back in September of 1972.

Or Sidney Crosby's Golden Goal against the Americans in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Of course, there's Mike Weir's playoff victory over Len Mattiace to capture the 2003 Masters title, the only major ever won by a Canadian. And now this...Nick Taylor's improbable 72-foot bomb of a putt on the 4th playoff hole of the RBC Canadian Open to defeat England's Tommy Fleetwood and become the first Canadian in 69 years to win our National Professional Men's Golf Championship. 

Pat Fletcher was the last Canadian to win the event back in 1954 at Vancouver's Point Grey Golf & Country Club and Canadian golf fans had been reminded of that...every...year...since. No disrespect to Mr. Fletcher or his family, but Canada is definitely ready to talk about the newest 'last Canadian to win' our national open. Thank you, Nick Taylor.

There's so much to be said and enjoyed about that moment and indeed the entire tournament. But watching the PGA TOUR video of the broadcasting moment on CBS does a fine job of capturing the joy, celebration and relief of an entire country.

Oh...and a viral social media moment accidentally produced by Taylor's friend and fellow Canadian on Tour, Adam Hadwin, now eternally linked with Taylor's spectacular winning moment.

Image via Instagram Screenshot

BC's Adam Hadwin and his wife Jessica started a non-profit organization in May of 2020, The Hadwin Family Foundation following the successful IVF (In vitro fertilization) that produced their daughter Maddox. The two felt they could help assist other couples struggling to conceive a child and thus started the foundation and Maddy’s Miracle Grant. Canadian golf writer Adam Stanley has a wonderful story on how it all came to be and an update on where things are now. 

Written by Adam Stanley
@adam_stanley

Jessica Hadwin looked out a plane window in the spring of 2019 to see a unique double rainbow. There were two vertical strips of colour coming out of a collection of clouds, straight toward the ground – a bright splash through the darkness. She needed that. She wondered if it was a sign.

About a year later – nine months, to be exact – that double rainbow represented their baby girl Maddox. Their fighter. A glimpse of light after years of darkness.

A “Rainbow Baby” is a term for a child born to a family after experiencing previous child loss.

Click HERE to read full story. 

BC's Lauren Kim Warmed Up For Her U.S. Women's Open Start Next Month With Some Fine Play At Liberty National In New Jersey -  Photo Credit Chuck Russell/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Rose Zhang didn’t make a birdie Sunday as she made history by winning in her LPGA Tour debut. Surrey teen Lauren Kim had eight of them as she played the same Liberty National course from most of the same tees.

The inaugural Mizuho Americas Open featured 24 of the top players from the American Junior Golf Association, who competed in their own tourney opposite the LPGA field. In the final two rounds, one AJGA player played with two LPGA players.

Kim was one of four B.C. juniors invited to the event, along with Luna Lu of Burnaby and Michelle Liu and Vanessa Zhang, both of Vancouver.

Women’s Golf Day encourages women to explore various options in their community including local facilities, lessons, leagues and other ways to get involved in golf.

Women's Golf Day 'Week' kicks off today, May 30th and runs until Tuesday, June 6th.

Introducing women and girls to golf and celebrating existing players by joining them together irrespective of gender, race, religion, language, ethnicity, or location is all a part of Women's Golf Day initiatives. 

Click HERE to learn more. 

There's No Looking Back Now As Coquitlam's AJ Ewart Is Turning Pro - Golf Canada Image

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Call it a slightly disappointing ending to a brilliant collegiate career. Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart and his Barry University Bucs were knocked out in the semi-finals of the NCAA Division II championship tourney at Avalon Lakes Golf Club in Warren, Ohio.

Ewart, of course, was hoping to end his career with an NCAA Championship, but can reflect on a remarkable four years at the Miami-area school where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in communications with a sport management minor.

Sonja Tang Led The UBC Women T'Birds With Her T4 Finish - Image Courtesy UBC/Bushnell Athletics

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

For a while, it looked like it might be close. Turns out, it wasn’t. The University of B.C. women’s golf team rebounded nicely after a second-round hiccup and repeated as NAIA champions with a resounding 29-stroke victory at the TPC Deere Run in Silvas, Ill.

The Thunderbirds did what they were expected to do, which often isn’t as easy as it sounds. They entered the tournament ranked No. 1, but after a poor second round trailed Keiser University by one shot.