The Freedom 55 Financial Open Is The First Event Of The 2017 Mackenzie Tour Schedule And Will Also Be The Pro Debut For Vancouver's Stuart Macdonald (R) Shown Here With Teammate Lawren Rowe Of Victoria After Winning The Peruvian International Amateur Championship - Image Credit Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Stuart Macdonald practically grew up on the fairways of Vancouver’s Point Grey Golf & Country Club and during many of the “hundreds and hundreds” of rounds played there he would find himself dreaming about becoming a touring pro.

What he never dreamed of was making his pro debut at his home course.

Having Won His First PGA TOUR Event At The Valspar Championship This Year, Adam Hadwin Now Has His Eyes On Another Very Special Trophy - The Claret Jug - Image Credit Kelly Murray

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It wasn’t the finish he was looking for, but Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin still had reason to celebrate after Sunday’s final round of the Dean & DeLuca Invitational in Fort Worth, Tex.

Hadwin tied for 53rd spot at Colonial Country Club, but more importantly he remained inside the top 50 in the latest Official World Golf Ranking and clinched a spot in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

Saskatchewan's Graham DeLaet Poses With The Kids At The 2016 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship Junior Clinic for Kids - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

VICTORIA, B.C. – Tournament Organizers have announced that the 2017 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship Junior Clinic for Kids will take place on Saturday, September 16, from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The clinic will be held at The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa — the site of the PGA TOUR Champions event, and will be hosted by one of the PGA TOUR Champions players competing in the tournament.

After An Impressive 10-Year Run, Coach Brian Unger And His Gleneagle High School Golf Team From Coquitlam Will Be Unable To Field A Squad For The Provincial Championships This Year - Images Courtesy Smithsonian & Wikipedia

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Brian Unger wants to make one thing perfectly clear: It was never about the coaching.

Unger is the longtime coach of the golf team at Coquitlam’s Gleneagle Secondary, which has put together a rather remarkable record over the past decade.

He jokes that he has done little but get his kids to the course on time and point them to the first tee. Unger is undoubtedly short-changing his contribution, but he has had a nice pipeline of players drop into his lap at Gleneagle.

“It has just been an embarrassment of riches of good kids,” says Unger, a social studies teacher at Gleneagle. “I don’t want to completely dismiss my role, but I am under no illusions. I don’t really do any coaching. These kids have all got their own personal coaches and training regimens, so I am more of a coordinator. But I do think I have created a bit of a fun environment.”

Freedom 55 Financial Open Tournament Director David Lee Fay Addressed The Assembled Media At Point Grey Golf Club Prior To The Upcoming Web.com Event - Image Credit British Columbia Golf

Season-Opening Freedom 55 Financial Open Tournament Announces Canucks For Kids Fund Charity Ball Hockey Classic And Sponsor Exemptions 

(May 25, 2017 – Vancouver, B.C.) – The Freedom 55 Financial Open is set to open the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season next week at Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver.

In addition to the 72-hole tournament, the first of 12 Mackenzie Tour events this season that will see players compete to earn status on the Web.com Tour, the Freedom 55 Financial Open has incorporated a Canucks for Kids Fund Charity Ball Hockey event to raise both awareness and donations for the charity, along with the second annual Freedom 55 Financial Open Charity Walk.

Children between the ages of 8 – 12 will have the opportunity to participate in a ball hockey game, which will be coached by Canucks stars Daniel and Henrik Sedin, on the Sunday of tournament week, leading into the golf tournament’s exciting Sunday finish.

The tournament also announced six sponsor exemptions, adding to a field of 156 players from nearly 20 countries for the $175,000 event.

Canada’s Top-Ranked Amateur, Jared du Toit, Is Expected To Wave Good-Bye To His Amateur Career And Turn Pro After The NCAA Championships - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Jared du Toit calls the feeling bittersweet. He is excited about what lies ahead, but also a bit sad about what he is leaving behind.

Du Toit, Canada’s top-ranked amateur golfer, is preparing to play his final collegiate event for his Arizona State University Sun Devils and acknowledged in a telephone interview that he has been doing a lot of thinking in recent days.

Chris Crisologo Added Another Accolade To His Season Being Named To The NCAA Divison II PING All-Region West Team - Image Courtesy GNAC

Courtesy Steve Frost/SFU Athletics

NORMAN, Okla. – Simon Fraser University golfer Chris Crisologo was today named to the NCAA Division II PING All-Region West team by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

Crisilogo won four individual titles this season and was named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year and All-Conference First Team for the second consecutive year.

Kat Kennedy And Her UBC T'Birds Women's Golf Team Have Come Together Quite Nicely As A Team Heading Into The NAIA Women's Golf National Championships - Image Courtesy UBC Athletics

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Kat Kennedy wanted to make her final year of collegiate golf a memorable one. So far, so good. Kennedy, a 22-year-old senior with the University of British Columbia’s women’s golf team, has won five individual titles this season for the Thunderbirds and is ranked by Golfstat as the top player in the NAIA.

What she is most interested in now is a team title at the NAIA Women’s Golf National Championships, which begin Tuesday at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Jared du Toit Is Not Going To Go Gently Into That Good Night Of His College Golf Career As He And His ASU Sun Devils Have Qualified For The NCAA Championship Tourney - Golf Canada Image

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Jared du Toit’s collegiate career isn’t over just yet. Du Toit and his Arizona State University Sun Devils advanced to the NCAA Championship tourney on Wednesday with a fifth-place finish at their NCAA regional site in Austin, Tex.

Toronto Native And Global Sports Executive Laurence Applebaum Is To Assume Duties Leading Canadian Golf’s National Sport Federation And Governing Body On July 10, 2017 - Golf Canada Image

For Immediate Release

May 16, 2017 - OAKVILLE, Ont. (Golf Canada) — Following a comprehensive search, Golf Canada has announced the appointment of Laurence Applebaum as the organization’s next Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Applebaum, most recently the Executive Vice President of the Florida-based Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), will assume his new role as of July 10, 2017.

Victoria's Jeevan Sihota Held Off A Late Charge From Tristan Mandur To Win The Future Links Pacific Championship At Chilliwack Golf Club - Image Credit British Columbia Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CHILLIWACK -- There was a calmness about Jeevan Sihota in Sunday’s final round of the Future Links Pacific Championship at Chilliwack Golf & Country Club. 

No final-round jitters were evident as Sihota played the last few holes and sealed his win at the first major junior tourney of the season. After all, Sihota is a seasoned veteran. Oh, and he just turned 13. And is in Grade 7.

Mary Parsons Successfully Defended Her Future Links Pacific Championship At Chilliwack Golf Club - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)/British Columbia Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CHILLIWACK -- Mary Parsons is learning that there is more than one way to win a golf tournament. Some are definitely tougher than others.

Last spring, Parsons went wire-to-wire to cruise to her win at the Future Links Pacific Championship at The Dunes in Kamloops. Her title defence on Sunday at Chilliwack Golf & Country Club was a little more difficult. Actually, a lot more difficult.

The UBC T'Birds Men's Golf Squad Is Off To The NAIA National Championships After Defending Their A.I.I. Title Earning An Automatic Berth In The Tournament - Image Courtesy UBC Athleticis/Indiana Northwest Athletics

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Metro Vancouver’s cold winter and soggy spring have presented some considerable challenges to the men’s and women’s golf teams at the University of British Columbia.

It was tough to find a place to practice. Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club, which for years has been UBC’s main practice facility, was shut down due to the weather for much of the winter and early spring. So were Point Grey and Marine Drive.

The 2017 season opening Golf Canada Future Links Championship is the Pacific Championship taking place at the Chilliwack Golf Club in British Columbia's picturesque Fraser Valley.

For live tournament scoring please CLICK HERE

For round one recap CLICK HERE

For round two recap CLICK HERE

For final round recap CLICK HERE - Boys

                               CLICK HERE - Girls

Her accompishments on the golf course are not commensurate with her last name by any stretch.

Jackie Little has a very big list of titles to mark her stellar amateur career and that fact was honoured recently with her induction to the PNGA Hall of Fame.

Watch the video below to see Jackie's entry and accompanying interview on the night of her induction. 

You can click here to see the other inductees interview/speeches.

Junior Tournament To Kick Off Golf Canada’s 2017 Championship Season At Picturesque Chilliwack Golf Club. Shown Here Is Hole 12 - Image Courtesy Chilliwack GC

​CHILLIWACK, B.C. – Golf Canada’s first junior golf championship of 2017 is set to take place this week as the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship gets underway at Chilliwack Golf Clubin Chilliwack, B.C., from May 12-14.

With support from British Columbia Golf, the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship is the first of six regional junior championships presented in partnership with Acura. The 54-hole stroke play tournament will begin with a practice round on May 11 before the tournament gets underway with round one on May 12.

Victoria's Nolan Thoroughgood Is Looking Forward To 'Redeeming' Himself At Chilliwack Golf Club In This Week's Future Links Pacific Championship - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf  

Nolan Thoroughgood feels like he has a score to settle with Chilliwack Golf Club.

Thoroughgood is the Victoria teen who made history when he won last July’s B.C. Amateur Championship at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort in Qualicum Beach as a 15-year-old. About a month later, he didn’t have the same kind of success at Chilliwack Golf Club during the B.C. Juvenile Boys Championship.  

Thoroughgood didn’t play terribly -- he tied for sixth place -- but he learned what so many others have about Chilliwack Golf Club, which plays host to this weekend’s Future Links Pacific Championship: It’s tougher than it looks.

Don't Look Now, But Nick Taylor Is Movin' On Up In The FedEX Cup Points Race - Image Courtesy VGT

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Very quietly, which is kind of his style, Nick Taylor is putting together a solid year on the PGA TOUR.

This past weekend in North Carolina, the Abbotsford native finally got the top-10 result at the Wells Fargo Championship that he felt he should have had at both the Valero Texas Open and the RBC Heritage tourneys in April.

Taylor closed with a one-under 71 at the Wells Fargo, birdieing the 72nd hole to finish inside the top 10 in a tie for eighth place.

May 8th, 2017 (Richmond, BC) - British Columbia Golf is pleased to announce the addition of Tyler McKay to their staff as the new Manager, Golf Participation for BC Golf. Tyler will assume his role with BC Golf commencing on Thursday, May 18th, 2017.

Tyler will be responsible for managing current 'grow the game' initiatives within British Columbia Golf such as Future Links, Playground 2 Fairway (P2F), SOAR and Golf In Schools and will also be working with the Allied Golf Association to promote all grow the game initiatives.

The GNAC Women's Player Of The Year, Emily Leung, Will Lead Her SFU Women's Golf Sqaud Into Their First NCAA Tournament May 8-10 - Image Courtesy SFU Athletics

PORTLAND, Ore. – Three golfers from Simon Fraser University were named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Golf All-Conference Team, led by sophomore Player of the Year Emily Leung, who helped the Clan earn its first-ever NCAA playoff berth after an emotional season.

The late John Buchanan was named the GNAC Coach of the Year by his peers after a legendary coaching career at Simon Fraser. Buchanan, who began the Simon Fraser women’s golf program, coached the team though the fall before a battle with cancer took his life in January.

The foundation Buchanan set helped interim head coach Matthew Steinbach lift the women’s program to new heights in 2017.