B.C. Golf Notes: Sagebrush Re-Opening Now Scheduled For Early June

Sagebrush Is Almost Set For Its Re-Birth - Image Courtesy Sagebrush

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The highly anticipated re-opening of Sagebrush is now scheduled for early June. The initial hope was to have the Merritt-area course open later this month, but general manager Scott Masse says a little more time is needed to get the facility ready. Sagebrush remained closed last year and was sold this past fall by its original owners to Newmark Group, a Langley-based residential construction company.

“With the focus on the golf course and the completion of two significant building construction projects, our team at Sagebrush along with Troon Golf have been very busy preparing Sagebrush to re-open” Masse said.

“It’s exciting because we’ve had so much interest in Sagebrush as it is being readied for the 2016 season. People definitely seem to know what an amazing place Sagebrush is for golf and hospitality, so to soon have it open to the public is tremendous.”

When it does open, Sagebrush’s daily green fee, which includes unlimited golf, will be $175. A special opening rate of $150 will be offered during the month of June. A B.C. resident rate of $125 will be available on Mondays.

For more information visit sagebrushlife.com.

SLOAN STUMBLES: Merritt’s Roger Sloan had the lead through 16 holes of Sunday’s final round of the United Leasing & Finance Championship on the Web.com Tour, but finished with two double-bogeys to drop into fifth place. Sloan was seven-under through his first 13 holes of Sunday’s final round, but had to settle for a three-under 69 that left him at 10-under for the tournament. Sloan finished two shots behind winner Seamus Power of Ireland.

The $24,000 Sloan earned Sunday moved him into 26th on the Web.com Tour money list. The top 25 at season’s end earn their PGA TOUR cards for next year. Sloan, who tied for fifth at last week’s event in Mexico, is back competing on the Web.com Tour this year after playing last year on the PGA TOUR.

Surrey’s Adam Svensson shot an even-par 72 Sunday and tied for 46th place at three-over par.

VANDALS VICTORIOUS: Surrey’s Ian Kim and 2015 B.C Junior champion Jake Scarrow of Dewdney helped the University of Idaho win the Big Sky Conference championship Sunday in Boulder City, Nev. The Vandals beat Sacramento State by seven shots to claim the title and secure a spot in the NCAA regionals. 

After opening with rounds of 72 and 76, Scarrow struggled to a final round 77 and finished tied for 27th. Kim shot opening rounds of 77 and 79, but rallied with a four-under 68 on Sunday to finish tied for 25th.

At the Pac 12 Championship in Salt Lake City, 2015 B.C. Amateur champion Jared du Toit of Kimberley finished tied for 19th place in the individual competition as his Arizona State University Sun Devils finished third. Stanford won the event by 29 shots. Du Toit shot rounds of 69, 70, 72 and 77 to finish at four-over par. Arizona State had already clinched a spot in the upcoming NCAA regionals.

BIG MONEY: This is a big week for Symetra Tour regulars like Langley products Jessica Wallace and Sue Kim. The purse for this week’s event in Greenwood, S.C., is a season-high $250,000. The winner will take home $37,500, which would go a long way towards securing a top-10 finish on the year-end money list and a promotion to the 2017 LPGA Tour. Most of the purses on the Symetra Tour are in the $100,000 to $150,000 neighbourhood.

Kelowna’s Samantha Richdale, who currently sits second on the Symetra Tour money list, has drawn into this week’s LPGA Tour event in Alabama.

SCHOOL’S IN SESSION: The fourth and final Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada spring qualifying school begins Tuesday in Courtenay at Crown Isle, which has had a knack for producing winners. Eight Q-school grads from Crown Isle have gone on to win events the past two years. By comparison, over the same period the California Q-school sites produced two winners and the Florida site produced four.

TRADITION CONTINUES: The Tradition Golf Classic, the annual tournament benefitting the B.C. Golf House Society, goes Monday, May 9 at University Golf Club. A few spots are still available for the tournament at a cost of $225, which includes lunch, golf, dinner and prizes. Those supporting this year’s tournament will have the first opportunity to reserve spots in the 2017 Tradition, which is being played at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club.

For more information, call Mike Riste at 604-222-4653.

CHIP SHOTS: Victoria amateurs Craig Doell and Kevin Carrigan combined to shoot a 36-hole score of 10-under 130 at Royal Colwood Golf CLub to win last week’s Vancouver Island Open. They beat Courtenay’s Riley Wheeldon and Victoria junior Keaton Gudz by two shots. Doell and Carrigan will be part of British Columbia’s team at this week’s PNGA Cup being held at Richmond Country Club. The PNGA Cup is a Ryder Cup-style competition between teams representing the B.C., Washington, Oregon and Idaho golf associations.