Ziemer's BC Golf Notes: Charlie Lake’s Jake Lane earns PGA Tour Canada status; Big B.C. contingent at this week’s PGA Tour Canada opener in Victoria; Christine Wong defends B.C. Women’s Open pro crown, while Sonja Tang wins amateur division
Jake Lane Of Charlie Lake, BC Earned His PGA Tour Canada Card At Crown Isle Q-School - Image Credit PGA Tour Canada (used with permission)
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Jake Lane’s golf journey began in the northern B.C. community of Charlie Lake and continued in Qualicum Beach before heading south to Florida and North Carolina.
It will now resume on the PGA Tour Canada circuit after Lane made it through last week’s qualifying school at Crown Isle Golf Resort in Courtenay.
The 24-year-old fired a five-under 67 in the final round of Q-school and then had to survive a four-man playoff for one of the final two exempt spots. He’s in the field for this week’s tour opener at Uplands Golf Club in Victoria and could not be happier.
“That will be my first PGA-sanctioned start,” Lane said in a telephone interview. “I don’t really know what to expect. I show up at each tournament with the same mentality, let’s play to win. . .You really want to take advantage of the opportunity.
"Honestly, Q-school was not very much fun. You chalk up a huge amount of money just for an opportunity and I finally got through it and I tell you I don’t want to go back to that.”
Lane spent his early years in Saskatchewan, but his family moved to Charlie Lake when he was 13. He played golf at Lakepoint Golf Club in Fort St. John and showed lots of promise. With his family’s blessing he spent his final two years of high school in Qualicum Beach so he could play golf year-round.
“There are really only three decent months to play up there,” he said. “So I actually spent Grade 11 and 12 in Qualicum and I graduated from Kwalikum Secondary.”
Lane began his collegiate golf career at Bethune-Cookman University, a small NCAA Division I school in Florida before transferring to Appalachian State University in North Carolina, where he won twice in his senior year.
Since graduating in 2022, Lane has been grinding on the mini-tours, including the Vancouver Golf Tour. “I have nothing but good things to say about that Tour,” he said of the VGT and commissioner Fraser Mulholland.
“When you don’t have status, you are travelling all around North America to chase the money. So I have been playing in California, Arizona, North Carolina and Georgia. Those tours have huge entry fees and fantastic players, which is fun. But it’s a real grind.
"There is no set-up anywhere like the Vancouver Golf Tour. The entry fees are affordable and the rate of return on your investment if you are one of the better players is awesome. That tour has really helped me get prepared for this.”
A WIN FOR MOM: The Crown Isle Q-school was won by Jimmy Jones, son of the late Dawn Coe-Jones. Jones, a Florida resident who has Canadian citizenship, earned a full exemption for this year’s PGA Tour Canada circuit. “The nerves were real,” said Jones, who finished at 13-under par. “Exciting nerves, too. This win is going to bring me to tears. This one is for Mom. She was up there cheering me on, and it means a lot to me.” The next nine top finishers at Crown Isle are exempt through the tour’s first five events. Victoria resident Max Sear finished second, one shot behind Jones, while Charlie Lake’s Jake Lane finished in a four-way tie for ninth at eight-under par.
Image Credit PGA Tour Canada
Jimmy Jones Said "This Win Is For Mom" Referring To His Mother, The Late Dawn Coe-Jones. Coe-Jones Grew Up In Lake Cowichan, BC And Is A Member Of The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame
He made it through that playoff with a par on the third extra hole after holing a 20-foot birdie on the second playoff hole to stay in it. Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart was the first out of that playoff. Ewart, who just finished a stellar collegiate career at Barry University in south Florida, earned good conditional status that will get him into some events this summer. Ewart is in the field for this week’s tour opener, the Royal Beach Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist. Other British Columbians earning conditional status at Crown Isle included Lawren Rowe of Squamish, Ilirian Zalli of Vancouver, Ziggy Nathu of Richmond and Jeevan Sihota of Victoria.
B.C. ROSTER: This week’s Royal Beach Victoria Open field at Uplands Golf Club includes a long list of British Columbians. Here they are in alphabetical order: Kevin Carrgian of Victoria; Robin Conlan of Victoria; Chris Crisologo of Richmond; Jared du Toit of Kimberley; A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam; Jake Lane of Charlie Lake; Henry Lee of Coquitlam; Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver; Lawren Rowe of Squamish; Jim Rutledge of Victoria; Max Sear of Victoria; Jeevan Sihota of Victoria; and Riley Wheeldon of Comox.
OPEN PAYOUTS: Macdonald made the cut at the RBC Canadian Open, tying for 57th at one-under par. Macdonald made $20,160. Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin tied for 12th at 11-under and took home $178,650. Merritt’s Roger Sloan tied for 34th at six-under and earned $47,925. And let’s not forget Nick Taylor, who earned $1,620,000 for his third PGA Tour win.
TANG TOPS FIELD: Kudos to the GolfBC Group for sponsoring the B.C. Women’s Open for the second straight year. It’s a shame only five female pros registered to play in the 36-hole event at Mayfair Lakes in Richmond. However, a much larger field of elite amateur players competed and it was Victoria’s Sonja Tang who emerged as the winner. Tang, who recently helped the UBC Thunderbirds win both the NAIA and Canadian University championships, topped the leaderboard with an impressive 36-hole score of three-under par.
Tang is heading this fall to the University of Oregon to continue her collegiate career. She finished three shots up on Victoria Liu of Vancouver, who just finished her sophomore year at Princeton University. Her Princeton teammate, Tiffany Kong of Vancouver, was third at two-under. Last year’s winner, Christine Wong of Richmond, was the low pro. She finished at six-over par and three shots better than Belinda Lin of Surrey. Phyllis Laschuk of Vancouver won both the Masters (over 40) and Senior (over 55) divisions.
SUPER SENIOR: Burnaby’s John Gallacher won the Washington Super Senior Men’s Championship at Fairwood Golf & Country Club in Renton. Gallacher, a former B.C. Senior Men’s champion, finished the 54-hole event at 10-over par to win by three shots.