Surrey, BC's Lauren Kim Is One Of Four Team Canada Members With An Exemption Into The CPKC Women's Open At Shaughnessy G&CC Next Week - Image Credit Chuck Russell/Golf Canada

Media Release via Golf Canada

Vancouver (August 14, 2023) – Golf Canada, in partnership with the title sponsor CPKC, announced today the names of 11 players that have earned tournament exemptions into the 2023 CPKC Women’s Open, August 22-27, at the Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver.

From L-R: BC's Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin & Adam Svensson - Images Credit Golf Canada/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

One is comfortably inside the top 30, while the other two are looking to move inside that magic number as the PGA TOUR playoffs head to Olympia Fields, Ill. for this week’s BMW Championship.

Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor who tied for 24th at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, now sits 16th on the points list and seems a lock to remain inside the top 30 and qualify to play in his first Tour Championship next week in Atlanta.

Fellow British Columbians Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford and Adam Svensson of Surrey have a little more work to do this week as they currently reside outside that magic top 30 number.

Golf Canada in partnership with British Columbia Golf is pleased to announce the expansion of Youth on Course to British Columbia.

Youth on Course offers its members aged six to 18 access to golf rounds for $5 or less at participating courses during designated times.

The Youth on Course program will run for the duration of the 2023 golf season at participating golf courses in British Columbia.

2023 BC Senior Men's Champion Andrew Pinette - BC Golf photo/Will Mackenzie

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

WILLIAMS LAKE — They say you can’t go home again, but Andrew Pinette did and will never forget his wonderful week in Williams Lake.

Playing on the fairways where he logged hundreds of rounds as a kid and forged lifelong friendships, Pinette won the B.C. Senior Men’s Championship at Williams Lake Golf & Tennis Club.

The 55-year-old, now a resident of Surrey, had trouble putting into words what the win meant to him.

Cooper Humphreys Holds The Bostock Trophy After His BC Amateur Victory  - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

July 14, 2023 - (PARKSVILLE, BC) - One of the first real clues that Cooper Humphreys might turn into a special player came at the 2019 B.C. Amateur Championship at Big Sky Golf Club in Pemberton when he was just 14 years old.

Humphreys shocked everyone that week when he tied for third. You kind of knew at that point that this was a kid worth watching. He hasn’t disappointed.

James Lee Successfully Defended His BC Junior Boys Championship - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PRINCE GEORGE — His tournament ended, appropriately, with a birdie on the par 5 18th hole at Prince George Golf & Curling Club.

James Lee went wire-to-wire to defend his B.C. Junior Boys Championship and his play on the par 5s was the key. Lee absolutely feasted on the 5s, playing them 16-under for the tournament.

“Obviously, I did the bulk of my scoring there,” Lee said of his dominance on the par 5s. “The par 3s are a little more tricky here, so it was nice to have some short par 5s you could take advantage of.”

BC's Megan Osland - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Kelowna’s Megan Osland not only had to beat her opponents, she had to beat the heat to win the Oscar Williams Classic on the Women’s All Pro Tour. The 72-hole event was held in Anna, Tex., during what has been an epic heat wave in parts of the southern U.S.

“I would say most of the days it was between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius, plus the humidity,” Osland said over the phone. “I had a 7 a.m. tee time one day, so I got to the course just before 6 a,m. and I got out of the car and I just started sweating. At 6 a.m.! It was crazy. The heat was definitely a battle in itself.”

Chelsea Truong Is The 2023 BC Women's Amateur Champion - Images Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(June 23, 2023) COBBLE HILL - Chelsea Truong needed to play the round of her life and it didn’t start particularly well. The 17-year-old from Victoria opened her final round of the 118th B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship with a bogey.

Considering she started the final day at Arbutus Ridge Golf Club seven shots back of the lead, it would have been easy for Truong to hang her head and concede that this wasn’t going to be her week. But Truong isn’t wired that way. The words give up are not in her vocabulary.  There was lots of golf left, she told herself, and as it turns out it would be some very special golf.

2023 RBC Canadian Open Champion Nick Taylor Reacts To His Dramatic 72-Foot Eagle Putt Dropping In For The Win - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

To that list of great Canadian sporting moments, we can add three words: Nick Taylor’s putt.

Yes, that 72-footer for eagle that won the 35-year-old Abbotsford product the RBC Canadian Open on the fourth extra hole Sunday will be discussed in the same breath as Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal, Joe Carter’s World Series-winning home run and Mike Weir’s Masters win of 20 years ago. It was that big.

And no longer will we have to listen to that phrase that has been repeated ad nauseam for decades. You know the one, about no Canadian having won the Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

Image via Instagram Screenshot

BC's Adam Hadwin and his wife Jessica started a non-profit organization in May of 2020, The Hadwin Family Foundation following the successful IVF (In vitro fertilization) that produced their daughter Maddox. The two felt they could help assist other couples struggling to conceive a child and thus started the foundation and Maddy’s Miracle Grant. Canadian golf writer Adam Stanley has a wonderful story on how it all came to be and an update on where things are now. 

Written by Adam Stanley
@adam_stanley

Jessica Hadwin looked out a plane window in the spring of 2019 to see a unique double rainbow. There were two vertical strips of colour coming out of a collection of clouds, straight toward the ground – a bright splash through the darkness. She needed that. She wondered if it was a sign.

About a year later – nine months, to be exact – that double rainbow represented their baby girl Maddox. Their fighter. A glimpse of light after years of darkness.

A “Rainbow Baby” is a term for a child born to a family after experiencing previous child loss.

Click HERE to read full story. 

BC's Lauren Kim Warmed Up For Her U.S. Women's Open Start Next Month With Some Fine Play At Liberty National In New Jersey -  Photo Credit Chuck Russell/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Rose Zhang didn’t make a birdie Sunday as she made history by winning in her LPGA Tour debut. Surrey teen Lauren Kim had eight of them as she played the same Liberty National course from most of the same tees.

The inaugural Mizuho Americas Open featured 24 of the top players from the American Junior Golf Association, who competed in their own tourney opposite the LPGA field. In the final two rounds, one AJGA player played with two LPGA players.

Kim was one of four B.C. juniors invited to the event, along with Luna Lu of Burnaby and Michelle Liu and Vanessa Zhang, both of Vancouver.

Port Alberni Resident Christina Spence Proteau Not Only Chaired The Tournament, She Won It - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(OLIVER, BC, May 30, 2023) — Christina Spence Proteau’s impressive golfing résumé includes three B.C. Women’s Amateur championships, six B.C. Mid-Amateur titles, six Canadian Mid-Amateurs crowns and two Canadian University individual championships.

But perhaps none of those are as meaningful as the Port Alberni resident’s latest victory. This one felt different and brought with it emotions Spence Proteau had never experienced on the golf course.

You must understand that Spence Proteau did much more than play in the inaugural B.C. Men’s and Women’s Indigenous Championships at Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course.

Christina Lake's Austin Krahn Is The Inaugural Men's Champion For The Indigenous Championship British Columbia - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(OLIVER, BC, May 30, 2023) — Growing up in their hometown of Christina Lake, Austin Krahn and his older twin brothers, David and Mitchell, never had trouble getting a tee time.

Their family owns the Cascade Par 3 Golf Course in Christina Lake and, not surprisingly, the three boys were handed clubs at a young age. All three of them quickly fell in love with the game and have become good players. However, the little brother is the golfing star of the family as 15-year-old Austin now regularly beats his 17-year-old brothers.

Austin bested his two siblings again — and everyone else in the field — to make some history by winning the inaugural B.C. Indigenous Men’s Championship at Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course in Oliver.

Kylie Jack Tees Off In The Inaugural Indigenous Championship - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(OLIVER, BC, May 30, 2023) — The inaugural B.C. Indigenous Championship is a family affair of sorts for Kylie Jack and her parents, Sharon and OJ. And they did not need any yardage books to help them navigate their way around Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course.

“I grew up on this course,” said Kylie, who honed her golfing skills at Nk’Mip and went on to play collegiate golf for Simon Fraser University where she earned a degree in criminology.

Her mom Sharon plays 45 to 50 rounds of golf a year and most of them are at Nk’Mip. And dad OJ is no stranger to the course, which is owned and operated by the Osoyoos Indian band.

When they heard about the first Indigenous Championship being played at Nk’Mip they didn’t hesitate before signing up.

BC Golf Past President Patrick Kelly Envisioned An Indigenous Championship Years Ago - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

(OLIVER, BC, May 29, 2023) — Before the first shots were even struck at the inaugural British Columbia Indigenous Championship, Patrick Kelly was ready to call the event a success.

He could see it on the faces of the 114 participants, ranging in age from 14 to 80. Everyone was smiling, perhaps none as widely as Kelly himself.

This championship likely would not have happened if Kelly had not planted the seed about 15 years ago.

There's No Looking Back Now As Coquitlam's AJ Ewart Is Turning Pro - Golf Canada Image

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Call it a slightly disappointing ending to a brilliant collegiate career. Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart and his Barry University Bucs were knocked out in the semi-finals of the NCAA Division II championship tourney at Avalon Lakes Golf Club in Warren, Ohio.

Ewart, of course, was hoping to end his career with an NCAA Championship, but can reflect on a remarkable four years at the Miami-area school where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in communications with a sport management minor.

Sonja Tang Led The UBC Women T'Birds With Her T4 Finish - Image Courtesy UBC/Bushnell Athletics

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

For a while, it looked like it might be close. Turns out, it wasn’t. The University of B.C. women’s golf team rebounded nicely after a second-round hiccup and repeated as NAIA champions with a resounding 29-stroke victory at the TPC Deere Run in Silvas, Ill.

The Thunderbirds did what they were expected to do, which often isn’t as easy as it sounds. They entered the tournament ranked No. 1, but after a poor second round trailed Keiser University by one shot.

The UBC T'Birds Are 2023 NAIA Champions - Photo Credit Dan O'Connor (UBC T'Birds Communications)

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

For just the second time in program history, the University of B.C. men’s golf team has captured the NAIA national championship. The T-Birds surprised even their coach by winning the 72-hole tournament at Las Sendas Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz.

“To be honest it’s a big surprise and it’s a big upset,” said longtime UBC coach Chris Macdonald. “We were the 12th-ranked team coming in, so a lot of things had to go right.”

Summerland's Nathan Ward Is The 2023 BC Men's Mid-Amateur Champion - All Images Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

HARRISON MILLS — Every golf round seems to bring with it that moment of adversity when a player’s character and resolve are put to the test.

For Nathan Ward, that moment came on the par 5 13th hole during the final round of the B.C. Men’s Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master Championships at Sandpiper Golf Course.

Ward made a mess of the hole, walking off the green with a double-bogey seven. That very easily could have been the end of Ward’s chances, but the 37-year-old Summerland resident wasn’t about to give up.

Nanoose Bay Resident Shelly Stouffer Captured Both The B.C. Women's Mid-Amateur & Mid-Master Championships At Sandpiper GC In Harrison Mills - All Images Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

HARRISON MILLS — For those of us wondering what Shelly Stouffer was going to do for an encore, she provided an answer at Sandpiper Golf Course.

Apparently, the Nanoose Bay resident is going to just keep winning.

After a stellar 2022 campaign, Stouffer began her 2023 season by capturing both the B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master titles at the scenic Harrison Mills layout.