Ziemer's B.C. Golf Notes: Lauren Kim battles world No. 1 Lottie Woad in Florida
Lauren Kim - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada
Cooper Humphreys helps lead San Diego to collegiate win at PGA West; Tobiano sold to JK World Group; Leah John, Yeji Kwon set to begin new Epson Tour season
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Lauren Kim is proud to be Canada’s No.1-ranked amateur, but the Surrey native isn’t satisfied. Kim wants to be world No. 1 and at a collegiate tournament last week she proved to herself that she’s not far off.
Kim and her University of Texas teammates were competing at the Moon Golf Invitational in Melbourne, Fla., where Kim found herself battling for the individual title with world No. 1 Lottie Woad of Florida State.
Kim ended up finishing third at four-under par, one shot behind Woad and South Carolina’s Eila Galitsky. While she didn’t get the win, Kim left the event feeling good about her game and the future.
“Lottie is the past champion at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and she is a great player, No. 1 ranked on WAGR, and that is where I want to be,” Kim said in an interview.
“I want to be No. 1 in the world, so for me this tournament, although I didn’t win it, I was only one stroke off and it just shows that I am one of the best out here and I can compete. Once I get a few more putts dropping, I will be winning these tournaments.
“So the Florida tournament was more like a confirmation and a sense of reassurance I am right where I need to be. And it’s early in the spring season, so it is great preparation for the bigger tournaments that are coming up.”
The 19-year-old Kim, currently ranked 27th in the world, is in her sophomore year at Texas. She worked hard over the winter making some subtle swing changes and spent considerable time in the gym. She’s added some ball speed and length that she thinks will serve her well this spring and beyond.
“A lot of the changes I made weren’t anything too technical,” she said. “It was how can I use my muscles that I have developed while growing up from being a little kid to a person who has muscles and more adult-like features. That was kind of what I have been working on, just kind of using the bigger muscles.
“All my coaches and the people who are watching, like the Titleist reps, are telling my coach, ‘oh my gosh, it looks like Lauren has gotten stronger, she is hitting the ball a lot further and she looks a lot faster.’ I have been working out a good amount and doing some speed training and working with my coaches closely to improve on these things.”
Kim is focused on turning pro, but said that won’t happen until after she graduates. “Education is so important to me and I definitely want to get my (business management) degree. The more I think about it, I think it is better for me to just stay here because you only get to experience college once. . .I love the team, love my coach and I don’t think I would give up two more years of college just to turn pro early. Maybe in the fall of my senior year I could try Q-school. That is an option. But I will be staying in school.”
Kim and her Texas teammates play their next event March 3-5 at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C.
DESERT DOMINANCE: Kelowna’s Cooper Humphreys and his University of San Diego teammates won big at PGA West. The two-time B.C. Amateur champion helped San Diego register a convincing 16-shot win at The Prestige tournament played on the Norman course at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. The Toreros finished the 24-team event at 29-under par.
Humphreys, a freshman at San Diego, tied for seventh in the individual competition with a 54-hole score of six-under par. That was five shots behind teammate Ryan Abaun, who won by three shots. Humphreys has won two straight B.C. Amateurs and is expected to try and make it three in a row when the 123rd playing of the B.C. Amateur is contested July 15-18 at Bootleg Gap Golf Course in Kimberley.
TOBIANO SOLD: Coquitlam-based JK World Group is becoming a serious player in the British Columbia golf industry. The company has closed on its latest acquisition, Tobiano in Kamloops. The Tobiano deal comes just two months after JKWG bought Westwood Plateau in Coquitlam. JKWG bought its first B.C. course, Pagoda Ridge in Langley, back in 2021. All of its courses carry the company’s GreenTee brand in their new names. Tobiano, a Tom McBroom design, was ranked 29th in ScoreGolf’s latest list of the top 100 courses in Canada.
TEAM CANADA: Six British Columbians are among 24 pros who have been named to Golf Canada’s Team Canada squad. Leah John of Vancouver and Yeji Kwon of Port Coquitlam were selected to the women’s team, while A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam, Chris Crisologo of Richmond, Jared du Toit of Kimberley and Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver join the men’s team. The 24 pros join the previously announced 28 amateur golfers named to the Team Canada roster last fall.
ON TO FLORIDA: Surrey’s Adam Svensson tied for 59th at the PGA TOUR’s Mexico Open at VidantaWorld near Puerto Vallarta. Svensson finished at five-under par, 15 shots behind winner Brian Campbell, and earned $15,680. Svensson, who is now 128th on the FedEx Cup points list, is the lone British Columbian in the field for this week’s Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
SEASON-OPENER: The Epson Tour begins its season at this week’s Central Florida Championship at the Country Club of Winter Haven. Vancouver’s Leah John and Yeji Kwon of Port Coquitlam are both in the field for the $250,000 event. This year’s Epson Tour features 20 events in 14 different states. The top 15 players on the Epson Tour points list at season’s end will earn their 2026 LPGA Tour cards.
JUNIOR QUALIFIERS SET: Two qualifiers for the Notah Begay III Canadian Junior Golf Championship will be held next month In Pitt Meadows. The first one goes March 8-9 at Golden Eagle Golf Club, while the other will be played March 28-29 at Swaneset Bay. Both tournaments will advance players to the Canadian championship, which will be held Aug. 4-5 at Kanawaki Golf Club in Montreal.
Top finishers at the Canadian championship will advance to the tour’s national championships in the United States. No membership fees are required to play in the qualifiers, which are open to boys and girls aged 10-16 who will play in four different age categories. Registration is now open at www.nb3canada.org.
CHIP SHOTS: Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald and Roger Sloan of Merritt will both be in the field for this week’s Visa Argentina Open in Buenos Aires on the Korn Ferry Tour. . .Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart tied for 15th and Vernon’s Bryce Barker tied for 17th at the Asher Tour’s Bayonet Championship in Seaside, Calif.