Ziemer's B.C. Golf Notes: Maxim McKenzie, Elaine Liu capture NextGen Pacific titles at Ledgeview
More Ziemer's BC Golf Notes: Macdonald loses in playoff on Korn Ferry Tour; Ewart top-10s in Peru; Anna Huang earns U.S. Women’s Open spot
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Maxim McKenzie had five birdies in his final round at the NextGen Pacific Championship, but it was one particular par that stood out. “I made a 30-foot putt for par on 11 and that one felt good,” said McKenzie. “That kind of kept the momentum going.”
The 17-year-old Chilliwack resident closed with an impressive four-under 66 at Abbotsford’s Ledgeview Golf Club to win the Junior Boys division by three shots over Nanaimo’s Manpreet Lalh.
“It feels really good,” McKenzie said. “I am definitely very proud of the way I played. I was solid this week, stayed patient and stuck to my game plan.”
McKenzie finished the 54-hole event at four-under par. He completed his final round in style with a birdie on the par 5 18th hole. The first person to congratulate him as he walked off the green was his dad Luke, who happens to be the head professional at Ledgeview.
“It’s storybook stuff, right,” Luke McKenzie said of his son winning a big title at his home course. “He played a great round today, it’s pretty special. He just loves the game and loves playing. He is disciplined, focused and loves the grind.”
Maxim made good use of his home course advantage. He’s been playing a lot at the storied Abbotsford layout since his dad became head pro there in 2023. He acknowledged that knowing the intricacies of the tricky layout was an advantage. “But at the end of the day you still have to play golf and get the ball in the hole,” said McKenzie, who is finishing Grade 11 at Robert Bateman Secondary in Abbotsford.
Mckenzie began the final round one shot behind second-round co-leaders Lalh and B.C. Junior Boys champion Austin Krahn of Christina Lake. “I just tried to stay patient, tried to hit fairways and greens and let them come back to me,” he said. “I didn’t try to be too aggressive. I just played my game, I was focused.”
While McKenzie had to come from behind to win, Junior Girls winner Elaine Liu of Vancouver enjoyed a big cushion. She had an eight-shot lead after opening the tourney with rounds of 68 and 69 and pretty much had it on cruise control for the final round. She carded an-even par 70 to finish at three-under, seven shots ahead of B.C. Junior Girls champion Amy Lee of Langley.
“I tried not to think about my lead,” Liu said. “I just tried to maintain my own game the best I could. Each day I set a goal of two-under. I didn’t meet my goal yesterday or today, but I tried.”
The 17-year-old Liu is a Grade 11 student at Lord Byng Secondary and is following her big sister, Victoria, to Princeton University in the fall of 2026. Victoria is graduating from Princeton this spring and she and her Princeton teammates are competing in this week's NCAA Regionals.
Elaine acknowledges being inspired at an early age by Victoria’s accomplishments as a young junior. “At the start when I was like six years old, she was an inspiration to me,” Elaine said. “I saw her get so many prizes and trophies and I was so excited, I was like, I have to get some of those prizes. That is what led me into golf. I am just following her path.”
Liu kept her game simple in the final round. She had two birdies and two pars. She learned quickly to respect Ledgeview’s sloped greens and tight fairways. “Today’s pins were pretty tough so I tried to stay below the hole so I could have an uphill putt.”
The NextGen tourney at Ledgeview was the first tournament on Golf Canada’s 2025 competitive calendar and drew strong fields with 113 junior boys and 42 girls. The top three finishers earned exemptions into this summer’s Canadian Junior Boys and Girls Championships.
Click HERE for complete scoring from the NextGen Pacific Championship at Ledgeview GC
SOLO SECOND: It didn’t end quite the way Stuart Macdonald had hoped, but the Vancouver pro still had a huge week at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Tulum Championship in Mexico. Macdonald birdied his final hole with a hole-out from the fairway to force a playoff with Bryson Nimmer of Bluffton, S.C. Macdonald lost the playoff with a bogey on the second extra hole. He earned $90,000 for his KFT career-best solo second finish and moved up 110 spots on the points list to 28th. The top 20 players at the end of the season earn a promotion to the 2026 PGA TOUR.
TOP 10 FOR EWART: Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart tied for 10th at the Peru Open in Lima on the PGA Tour Americas circuit. Ewart closed with a four-under 68 to finish at 12-under par, seven shots behind tournament winner Hunter Wolcott of Knoxville, Tenn. Richmond’s Chris Crisologo tied for 41st at six-under par, while Lawren Rowe of Squamish tied for 60th at three-under. Ewart and Crisologo are both in the field for this week’s Bupa Championship in Mexico City.
MISSED CUT: Surrey’s Adam Svensson missed the cut at The CJ Cup Bryon Nelson tourney in McKinney, Tex., and fell to 156th on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup points list. Svensson is competing in this week’s ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic in South Carolina. That is being held opposite the Truist Championship, a $20-million Signature event in Flourtown, Pa., where the Abbotsford duo of Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin are both in the field. Taylor enters that event 20th on the points list, while Hadwin is 110th.
OPEN SEASON: Vancouver’s Anna Huang has played her way into the U.S. Women’s Open. The 16-year-old pro, now a regular on the Ladies European Tour, shot rounds of 73 and 70 to finish solo second at one-under par at a qualifier in New Albany, Ohio.
The 80th playing of the U.S. Women’s Open goes May 29-June 1 at Erin Hills Golf Course in Wisconsin. Vancouver’s Leah John is also in the field. She earned her spot as a co-medalist at a qualifier last month in Sacramento.
LAMEY CUP: The PNGA Lamey Cup had a familiar winner as the Oregon Golf Association won the Ryder-Cup style competition against the British Columbia, Washington and Idaho golf associations for the ninth time. The annual competition between 12-member teams from each association was first held in 2006. The event was not held in 2020 or 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Oregon finished this year’s event held at Oswego Lake Country Club in Oregon with 17.5 points, five more than runner-up Washington. B.C. was third with 9.5 points and Idaho was fourth with 8.5. Two B.C. Golf Hall of Fame members led the way for British Columbia. Jackie Little of Procter and Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay partnered to win both of their foursomes and four-ball matches.
Little tied her singles match, while Stouffer fell one-down to Lara Tennant of Oregon despite making seven birdies in their match. They both shot 69.
CONTINENTAL CHAMPS: The University of Victoria swept the men’s and women’s individual events and the Vikes’ men won the team title at the Continental Athletic Conference Championships in Smithville, Mo. Daniel Kirby led the way for the Vikes as he captured the men’s individual title with a three-round score of 11-over par. With their team win, the men earned a spot in the NAIA Championship tourney, which goes May 20-23 in Silvas, Ill.
UVic’s Cindy Koira won the women’s individual title and helped the Vikes to a second-place finish. Koira earned the right to compete as an individual at the NAIA Women’s Championship, which goes May 13-16 in Ypsilanti, Mich.
INTERNATIONAL SELECTION: Surrey’s Lauren Kim has been selected to play in next month’s Arnold Palmer Cup. Kim, who is completing her sophomore year at the University of Texas, will compete for the International team against a squad of American players. The competition goes June 5-7 at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, S.C. and is a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top men’s and women’s university/college golfers. Kim and her Texas teammates are competing at NCAA Regionals this week.
STREAK ENDS: Jeevan Sihota’s winning streak on the Vancouver Golf Tour ended at the Surrey Open, where RJ Manke of Tacoma, Wash., emerged with a one-stroke win over Ryan Gronlund of West Linn, Ore. Manke fired rounds of 63 and 69 at Surrey Golf Club to earn the $2,500 winner’s purse. Coquitlam’s Henry Lee was third at nine-under par. Sihota, the Victoria native who had won the four previous VGT events, tied for fifth at six-under par.
OFF TO REGIONALS: Two-time B.C. Amateur champion Cooper Humphreys of Kelowna is off to the NCAA Regionals. Humphreys and his University of San Diego team received an at-large selection and will compete May 12-14 in the regional tournament being hosted by the University of Nevada at Montreux Golf & Country Club in Reno. San Diego is seeded seventh in its 14-team regional.
CHIP SHOTS: White Rock’s Clara Ding finished second after losing a sudden-death playoff at the American Junior Golf Association’s Nelly Invitational in Bradenton, Fla. . .Kelowna’s Finley Dober has committed to Grand Valley State University, a NCAA Division II school in Michigan. . .Nicklaus North in Whistler opened its season on May 4. Whistler Golf Club and Chateau Whistler are scheduled to open on May 9.