Ziemer's B.C. Golf Notes: Svensson’s Stumble Costly In Playoff Push
Vanessa Zhang third at Canadian Juniors; Royal Colwood plays host to this week’s Canadian Women’s Amateur; Ziggy Nathu wins Golden Ears Open
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf (July 29, 2024)
Adam Svensson’s push for the PGA TOUR playoffs just got more difficult. The Surrey native entered the final round of the 3M Championship in Blaine, Minn., tied for sixth and in great position to move inside the top 70 on the FedEx Cup points list.
But a four-over 75 in the final round dropped Svensson down into a tie for 37th. Instead of moving up the points list, Svensson fell two spots from 79th to 81st. The top 70 players qualify for the PGA TOUR playoffs and with just one regular-season event remaining, Svensson will likely need at least a top-five finish to crack the top 70.
The PGA TOUR schedule is dark this week as the Olympic competition is staged and the regular-season finale, the Wyndam Championship, goes Aug. 8-11 in Greensboro, N.C.
Merritt’s Roger Sloan and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford both missed the cut at the 3M. Sloan is 188th on the points list and will likely be heading to the Korn Ferry Tour playoffs to try and secure his PGA TOUR status for next year.
Hadwin is 37th on the points list and is playoff-bound. So is fellow Abbotsford product Nick Taylor, who will be competing alongside Corey Conners as they represent Canada in the Olympics golf competition in Paris this week. Taylor is 50th on the points list.
ZHANG THIRD: Vancouver’s Vanessa Zhang tied for third and was the top British Columbian at last week’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship at Marine Drive Golf Club. Zhang, who is off to Harvard University this fall, finished the 72-hole event at three-over par. That was five shots behind winner Shauna Liu of Maple, Ont. Other British Columbians who finished inside the top 10 included Surrey’s Ha Young Chang (T7) and Amy Lee of Langley and Chelsea Troung of Victoria (both T9).
CLOSE CALL: Vancouver’s Leah John was lamenting a rocky start after she missed the cut by a single shot at the CPKC Women’s Open. John was five over through the first four holes of her first round. She played even-par golf after that and finished Friday’s second round at five-over par. It was the opposite story for Surrey’s Lauren Kim, who stumbled down the stretch of Friday’s second round.
Kim, who will defend her Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship this week at Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria, started the tournament well but needed 43 strokes on her back nine of the second round and missed the cut by two shots. Fellow British Columbians Anna Huang of Vancouver, Yeji Kwon of Port Coquitlam and Mary Parsons of Delta also missed the cut.
TEAM BRITISH COLUMBIA: B.C. Women’s Amateur champion Amy Lee of Langley, Ha Young Chang of Surrey and Aram Choi of Surrey will represent British Columbia in the inter-provincial team competition at this week’s 110th playing of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria. The field of 156 players includes 118 Canadians and 38 international players. Clara Ding, a 13-year-old from White Rock, is the youngest player in the field. Ding tied for 11th at last week’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship at Marine Drive Golf Club.
STRONG FINISH: Victoria’s Jeevan Sihota closed with a five-under 67 and tied for 26th at the Commissionaires Ottawa Open on the PGA Tour Americas circuit. Sihota’s 17-under total was nine shots behind winner Barend Botha of South Africa. Justin Towill of Kelowna also shot a final-round 67 and tied for 49th at 12-under par.
FEELING GOLDEN: Richmond’s Ziggy Nathu closed with a three-under 69 and won the Vancouver Golf Tour’s Golden Ears Open at Pitt Meadows Golf Club by two shots over Matt Gudmunson of Chilliwack. Nathu, a former UBC Thunderbird, finished with a 36-hole total of seven-under par. He earned $7,000 for the win, while Gudmundson took home $4,000.
TOP CANADIAN: Kelowna’s Finley Dober was the lone Canadian to advance to match play at the U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Dober lost his Round of 64 match to Jessy Heubner of Port St. Lucie, Fla.
PAC COAST PLAYOFF: Two-time B.C. Amateur champion Cooper Humphreys of Vernon was the top British Columbian at last week’s 57th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. Humphreys, who is heading to the University of San Diego later this summer to begin his collegiate golf career, tied for 51st at six-over par. Chaz Aurilia of Scottsdale, Ariz., beat Sam Sommerhauser of Sacramento, Calif., on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff after both players finished the event at 12-under par.