Ziemer's B.C. Golf Notes: Macdonald gets unexpected Korn Ferry Tour promotion
Capilano hires its new superintendent from within, now looking for new head pro; British Columbians blanked at Asian Tour Q-school; Anna Huang earns status on Ladies European Tour
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
It was a lost opportunity, one that had weighed heavily on Stuart Macdonald in recent months. After a fine season on the PGA Tour Americas circuit, the Vancouver pro had come agonizingly close this past fall to earning a promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour.
Ten Korn Ferry Tour cards were handed out when the PGA Tour Americas season ended in early September and Macdonald fell from 10th to 11th in the final event of the season. It’s not a stretch to say he was devastated.
But Macdonald’s story has a happy ending. You could call it a Christmas miracle of sorts.
On the morning of Dec. 20, Macdonald got some news he most definitely was not expecting. It turns out that Danish pro Frederik Kjettrup, who had finished second on the PGA Tour Americas points list, had accepted an invitation to join LIV golf.
So Macdonald’s official position on the points list was bumped up one spot to No. 10. And just like that, he has a full Korn Ferry Tour card for the 2025 season.
“I heard a rumour the day before but obviously it’s tough to believe anything you hear given the golf landscape recently,” Macdonald said in an interview. “I didn’t think too much about it, but then I got confirmation today. The tour got ahold of me and made it official, which was really cool. Obviously, it was a very nice surprise.”
After failing to advance from the second stage of PGA TOUR qualifying school in early December, Macdonald had resigned himself to another season on the PGA Tour Americas circuit. Now he’s instead preparing for the Korn Ferry Tour season-opener in the Bahamas in mid-January.
“I have been playing professional golf for seven or eight years now,” Macdonald said. “I have played at a reasonably high level, so just to have the opportunity to play against better guys for 10 times the money means so much. . .You are now a step closer to that PGA TOUR card.”
Macdonald acknowledged being something of an emotional wreck after missing his KFT promotion by one spot. “Ending the season that way was super difficult emotionally,” he said. “You put a lot of effort into something for an entire year and to have something so close and then have it ripped away is difficult to get past, really. With this news today, it’s just like I have been through a real roller-coaster of emotions.”
HELP WANTED: Capilano Golf & Country Club has filled one of two vacancies created by the recent departures of key personnel at the highly regarded West Vancouver layout. Stu Sheridan, course superintendent at Capilano since 2013, recently resigned to accept a position in his home country of Ireland. Capilano has promoted Sheridan’s former senior assistant superintendent, Nick Daley, as new course superintendent.
Mark Thirtle, head professional at Cap since 2011, recently resigned to become director of golf at La Cumbre Country Club in Santa Barbara, Calif. Capilano has launched a search for a new head professional and hopes to have the position filled by Feb. 1.
Sheridan loved his time at Capilano, but said he could not resist the temptation to head home and accept the superintendent’s position at County Sligo Golf Club (Rosses Point), a 27-hole Harry Holt design in northwest Ireland. “After 13 years away, 11 years at Capilano, my family and I are excited to return to Ireland,” Sheridan posted on X. “Bittersweet to leave a great country, club, membership, and most of all a fantastic team. It’s mixed with a lot of excitement to return to Ireland and an amazing new opportunity.”
Sheridan begins his new job in the new year at Sligo, where a renovation with architects MacKenzie and Ebert is about to get underway. Sligo plays host annually to the West of Ireland, a major amateur championship with previous winners including Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Padraig Harrington.
Thirtle was lured south to Santa Barbara by Adam Zubek, the former general manager at Vancouver’s Point Grey Golf & Country Club who became GM and chief operating officer at La Cumbre in 2023. La Cumbre is a high-end facility where the initiation fee is north of $200,000 US and the annual dues for a full member are $12,600 US. The club currently has about 825 members in various categories.
DECISION TIME: Vancouver’s Anna Huang now has a decision to make after earning some playing status at the Ladies European Tour qualifying school in Morocco. The 16-year-old Huang entered the event as an amateur and now must decide whether she will turn pro. The LET will allow her to play as a 16-year-old pro but she must make a decision by mid-January. Huang tied for 29th at eight-under par at Q-school. The top 20 and ties earned the best status, but by finishing inside the top 50 Huang should be eligible for plenty of starts if she decides to become a member.
SCHOOL DAYS: There won’t be any British Columbia content on the 2025 Asian Tour. Bryce Barker of Vernon and Henry Lee of Coquitlam both missed the cut at the final stage of the tour’s qualifying school last week in Hua Hin, Thailand. Kimberley’s Jared du Toit, who was a regular on the 2024 Asian Tour after earning his card at Q-school late last year, failed to advance at a first-stage Q-school site in early December. Richard T. Lee, who played much of his junior golf in British Columbia before moving to the U.S., will be back on the Asian Tour after a fabulous 2024 season. Lee finished third on the Order of Merit and made more than $800,000 US.
TRIPLE CROWN: Kevin Stinson made a little history when he won the PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada recently at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla. The Cheam Mountain Golf Course head pro won that event by 13 shots and became the first player to win the PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada, the PGA of Canada Championship and the PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada.
Stinson fired rounds of 67, 68 and 66 to run away from the field in Florida. Not bad for a guy who had never played golf in the state. “It was a great week,” Stinson said. “It was my first time playing golf in Florida and it was cool to be out here playing on different grass than we are used to. I got to play with some great guys and great players out here, too.” Stinson earned $6,300 for the win.
UNDER PRESSURE: Roger Sloan’s performance at the final stage of PGA TOUR Q-school reflected his past year on the PGA TOUR. The Merritt native did not play well and as a result he has tenuous status on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour. After a miserable start, Sloan withdrew in the final round of Q-school, leaving him with conditional KFT status that would not get him any starts in 2025.
However, by virtue of finishing between 151st and 200th on this past season’s PGA Tour FedEx Cup points list (Sloan was 175th), he is guaranteed four starts on the Korn Ferry Tour. Sloan will have to play well in at least one of those events to survive the first reshuffle and earn additional starts.