2022 BC Bantam Girls Champion Rose Chen - BC Golf Image

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Rose Zhiyan Chen was delighted to win the B.C. Bantam Girls Championship, but wasn’t overjoyed with the way she played in the final round at Shadow Ridge Golf Club in Kelowna.  “This is maybe my biggest win, but I don’t think it’s my best win because I know I have played better in other tournaments,” the 13-year-old Langley resident said.

The birdies that were flying for Chen in the opening round of the championship for players aged 14 and under were much tougher to come by in the closing 18 holes.

2022 B.C. Bantam Boys Champion Arav Pabla - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

After he tapped in his three-foot putt to win the B.C. Bantam Boys Championship at Shadow Ridge Golf Club in Kelowna, it took Arav Pabla a brief moment to realize what he had accomplished.

“This feels really good,” said the 14-year-old Victoria resident. “I just walked in here with a positive attitude thinking I could win and I did. After we finished the playoff I realized I had won a provincial championship. That’s crazy.”

Norm Jarvis Is Seen Here After His Win In The 2018 PGA of BC Srs. Championship - PGA of BC Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

No one loved golf more than Norm Jarvis, the longtime Vancouver-area pro who died last week following a lengthy illness. 

“I can tell you he lived for golf, more than anyone I know,” said fellow pro and close friend Muncie Booth. “You didn’t go anywhere with Norm without talking about golf.”

“He absolutely lived for his golf,” echoed former PGA TOUR regular Ray Stewart, another close friend. “His whole world was immersed in golf and his family. Norm was a fighter, he has been fighting for a long time.” Jarvis, who was 70, passed after suffering a major stroke a few months ago.

Amy Seung Hyun Lee Holds The Trophy After Winning The 2022 BC Juvenile Girls Title - BC Golf Image

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Amy Lee has been knocking on the door all summer and she finally broke through it by winning the B.C. Juvenile Girls Championship at Shannon Lake Golf Course in West Kelowna.

The 14-year-old from Langley had finished a close second at the B.C. Junior Girls Championship in Oliver in early July and then registered a tie for fourth at the recent Canadian Junior Girls Championship in Ottawa.

She sealed the deal at Shannon Lake with a final round of one-under 71 that left her at three-under par for the 54-hole event. That was good for a one-shot win over Chelsea Truong of Victoria.

Daniel Xu Hung On To Win The BC Juvenile Boys Title In A Playoff - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Tiger Woods used to talk about winning without his ‘A game.’ Daniel Xu can relate to that. 

The 16-year-old Richmond resident certainly did not have his best stuff in the final round of the B.C. Juvenile Boys Championship at Shannon Lake Golf Course in West Kelowna.

But Xu found a way to win, although it did take three extra holes to do it.

Marine Drive GC's Longtime Director of Golf Tim Tait Is Set To Retire This Year - BC Golf & MDGC Image

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

“Now it is going to be time for Tim to play some golf.” 

That’s Tim Tait describing his impending retirement after more than 31 years as director of golf at Marine Drive Golf Club. Tait, who joined Marine Drive in March of 1991, is retiring effective Nov. 30 and at the club’s recent 100th anniversary gala dinner he was presented with a life membership in recognition of his service with the club.

He’ll be leaving with some great memories of a club filled with players whose passion for the game matched his own.

 BC's Shelly Stouffer Celebrates With Son Brett After Winning The USGA Sr. Women's Title - Image Credit Steve Gibbons/USGA

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Shelly Stouffer not only won the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, she also made a little history in becoming the first British Columbian to win a United States Golf Association championship. “That’s pretty cool,” the longtime Nanoose Bay resident said over the phone from Alaska.

Stouffer won the event in the most convincing fashion. She steamrolled her way through the field and finished it off with a 4&3 victory over Australia’s Sue Wooster in the championship match at Anchorage Golf Course.

BC's Yeji Kwon Receives The Canadian Junior Girls Championship Trophy From Golf Canada President Liz Hoffman - BC Golf Photo 

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

After shooting a three-over 75 in the first round of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship, Yeji Kwon really wasn’t thinking about winning the event. 

She was more concerned about fixing her swing. “After that 75, I was really unhappy with my shots in general, so after the round I made a couple of changes to try and get my swing more on plane,” Kwon said. “That seemed to help.”

Did it ever. The 16-year-old Port Coquitlam resident followed up with rounds of 67, 65 and 70 and not only won the championship, but beat the rest of the field by nine shots at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa.

Past President Of BC Golf, Patrick Kelly (Left) Presents Sandy Harper With The BC Seniors' Trophy

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf 

VICTORIA - For the past two years, golf was a constant reminder to Sandy Harper that his life had changed and he was not the same person he once was.

Harper, one of this province’s most decorated amateur players, suffered a stroke in 2020 and the road back has not been easy. Especially when it comes to his golf, the game he has played so well that he earned himself a spot in the British Columbia Golf Hall of Fame.

“The funny thing about my stroke is the hardest thing has been the golf,” Harper said.

Image Courtesy George Sasaki/BC Summer Games

The 2022 BC Summer Games held in Prince George went off beautifully these past few days and more tremendous memories and friendships were made by people from all over our great province.

British Columbia Golf would like to acknowledge the medallists from the Golf Competition in the Girls, Boys and Mixed Team events.

BC's Interprovincial Women's Team Champions L-R: Ha Young Chang, Victoria Liu & Leah John - Image Credit Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

British Columbia won the interprovincial team title and Surrey’s Lauren Kim tied for third at the 108th Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Westmount Golf & Country Club in Kitchener, Ont.

The B.C. team of Leah John of Vancouver, Victoria Liu of Vancouver and Ha Young Chang of Surrey beat Quebec by five shots in the 36-hole team competition. It was British Columbia’s first interprovincial team title since 2018 and the 21st since the competition began in 1947.

Doug Roxburgh Is Set For The B.C. Senior Men's At Uplands Golf Club In Victoria - BC Golf File Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Doug Roxburgh is heading to the B.C. Senior Men’s Championship feeling good about his game and the course the tournament is being played on. 

Roxburgh has some pleasant memories, albeit well-aged ones, of Uplands Golf Club in Victoria. Roxburgh won his sixth of 13 B.C. Amateur Championships at Uplands in 1978, beating Brent Murray of Portland by six shots.

Bill Hobbis Was Made A Lifetime Member At Royal Colwood in 2020 - Images Courtes Royal Colwood

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Bill Hobbis, a member of the British Columbia Golf Hall of Fame and a life member of Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria, died July 15 after a lengthy illness. He was 80 years old.

Hobbis represented British Columbia on two Willingdon Cup teams and was part of B.C.’s national championship team in 1975. He also played one Willingdon Cup for Alberta in 1978 when he worked in that province. 

Hobbis won more than 60 invitational, open or amateur championships over his career. He won the Saskatchewan Amateur Championship in 1978 and the New Zealand Senior Championship in 1979. Hobbis collected many wins in northern B.C. while living in Prince George, including three Simon Fraser Opens.

BC's Adam Svensson - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Any disappointment Surrey’s Adam Svensson feels over a stumble down the stretch at the Barbasol Championship should be tempered with the knowledge he has secured his PGA TOUR status for next year. 

After contending all week, Svensson finished a career-best solo sixth at the Barbasol. Svensson was done in when he only managed to par the easy par 5 15th hole in the final round and then took a double-bogey on the par 4 17th when he was forced to take an unplayable lie after an errant drive.

Svensson finished the event at 19-under par, six shots behind winner Trey Mullinax.

Christina Lake GC, Site Of The 2022 BC Amateur -Image Courtesy YouTube/Christina Lake GC

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It would be difficult to find another course in the province that has played host to more British Columbia Golf championship events the past two decades than Christina Lake Golf Club.

B.C. Juvenile and Junior championships, B.C. Senior Men’s and Women’s championships, the B.C. Mid-Amateur and B.C. Women’s Amateur have all been contested on the scenic layout. Now, Christina Lake is getting its biggest event as it prepares to play host to the 120th B.C. Amateur Championship, which goes July 12-15.

The Huntting Cup Teams From 1922- Image used with permission courtesy The City Of Victoria Archives #M08036

Front row, L-R: Mrs. Nixon; Mrs. B.R. Philbrick (Captain and B.C. and City Campion for many years); unidentified; unidentified. Middle row: Dr. G.M. Luden; Mrs. C.E. (Dolly) Wilson; Mrs. Leslie Hadley; Jean Allen (?); Vera Hutchings; unidentified; unidentified; Eunice Mitchell. Back row: unidentified; Aileen Benson; Betty Fitz-Gibbon; unidentified; Constance Sheffield; unidentified; Ruth Jones (daughter of Dr. O.M. Jones); Nora Patterson (daughter of Harvey Coombe, founder of Victoria Golf Club); unidentified; Vivian Cousland (?); Mary and Helen Campbell (father owned Campbell's Drugstore).

The Annual Huntting Cup Competition Brings Together Top Female Players From Metro Vancouver And Lower Vancouver Island

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Some of the memories have faded with time, but when Donna Thompson reflects on playing in the Huntting Cup, she thinks about the great friendships that were forged along the way in the annual competition that features some of the best female players from the Metro Vancouver and Victoria areas.

“We got to know a lot of the girls from Victoria and the Island,” says Thompson, a three-time B.C. Senior Women’s Amateur champion. “I remember meeting Margaret Todd, Dorothy DeGirolamo, all those gals. It was a great experience, a lot of fun. It was nice to get to know them and play against them. It was a very friendly atmosphere.”

Thompson chuckles when one other memory comes to mind from what she believes was her first Huntting Cup.

Nk'Mip Canyon Desert GC, Oliver - Image Credit Steve Austin

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Gayvn Knight of Parksville will defend his title at this week’s B.C. Junior Boys Championship, but a new champion will be crowned in the B.C. Junior Girls Championship. Both competitions are being held at Nk’Mip Desert Golf Course in Oliver.

Last year’s B.C. Junior Girls champion, Jennifer Gu of West Vancouver, is no longer age eligible for the junior competition, which is open to players aged 18 and younger as of Aug. 1, 2022. Gu just completed her freshman year at Kent State University.

Leah John Is The 2022 BC Women's Amateur Champion - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

 In a final round that had more twists and turns than the Sea to Sky Highway, Vancouver’s Leah John emerged on top and successfully defended her B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship at Pitt Meadows Golf Club.

Dramatic. Crazy. Unpredictable. Surprising. Pick an adjective. They all describe a final round at Pitt Meadows that included a number of lead changes and plenty of ups and downs. John won it thanks in no small part to a dramatic shot she holed out of a greenside bunker for birdie on her 17th hole.

Prince George will host the 2022 BC Summer Games July 21-24 in venues throughout the community and surrounding area. Volunteers are working to put details into place and finalize the plans to host over 3,000 participants this summer.

The 2020 BC Summer Games were originally scheduled to take place in Maple Ridge but were cancelled due to Covid-19. Maple Ridge is on tap to host the games in 2024.

The volunteer recruitment team can be seen all over Prince George and on June 5 from 10 am-4 pm they held a VOLUNTEER-A-THON at Canadian Tire.

British Columbia Golf is fully invested in doing all we can to assist and promote golf as an accessible sport for all.

As part of this committment we are circulating this survey intended to gather information to enable further gains to be made in creating and improving accessiblity to golf and golf facilities for those who may themselves have or know others with physical or cognitive limitations.

Please click on the link below to take part in a short survey. As is requested in the opening question, if you are not someone who has physical or cognitive limitations as identified by EDGA (formerly the European Disabled Golf Association), kindly pass along or inform anyone you may know who could be interested. 

Survey Link

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VFX5W9J