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.

Jackson Rothwell, Shown Here With Christina Lake GC President Butch Besaro, Is The 2022 BC Amateur Champion Winning In A Playoff Over Tony Li - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Winning seldom seems to come easy, something Jackson Rothwell can certainly attest to after capturing his second B.C. Amateur Championship title.

The 21-year-old from Victoria began the final round at Christina Lake Golf Club with a three-shot lead courtesy of a pair of 67s and a 66. The way Rothwell had played the first three rounds, it seemed unlikely he was going to be caught.

Except he was. And it didn’t take long. By the time Rothwell got to the fifth tee, that three-shot lead was history and he was instead down by two shots to Langley’s Caleb Davies.

Victoria's Jackson Rothwell Is Looking For His 2nd BC Amateur Title - BC Golf File Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Par is not your friend at the 120th B.C. Amateur Championship at Christina Lake Golf Club. Birdies are what’s needed to contend for the title. Lots of them.

Heading into the final round, six players are already double-digits under par. Everyone is chasing Victoria’s Jackson Rothwell, who is well positioned to win what would be his second B.C. Amateur.

BC's Doug Roxburgh 'Hung On' To Shoot 5-under 67 - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski/JKam Photos/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Doug Roxburgh is no different from the rest of us mere golfing mortals in at least one respect. When he’s having a particularly good day on the course, Roxburgh starts thinking about his score.

So when Roxburgh birdied the par 5 11th hole at Christina Lake Golf Club in the third round of the 120th B.C. Amateur Championship to go four-under par for the day, it’s safe to say it got the attention of the 70-year-old Hall of Famer.

2019 BC Amateur Winner Jackson Rothwell Has The Lead After Two Rounds In 2022 - BC Golf Photo 

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Jackson Rothwell’s first two rounds at the 120th B.C. Amateur Championship at Christina Lake Golf Club yielded identical scores. But the 21-year-old Victoria resident will tell you his back-to-back 67s that have him in the lead at 10-under par could not have been more different. 

“It was a little less exciting today, in a good way,” Rothwell said. “It was a little bit less stressful, for sure.”

Rothwell’s 67 in Wednesday’s second round included six birdies and just one bogey. In other words, it was pretty much smooth sailing.

By John Gordon (Courtesy Golf Canada)

The game of golf is booming like never before and, if you’re reading this, you likely are one of the thousands who are taking up the game for the first time.

The allure of golf is obvious: it’s fun exercise, it’s a chance to enjoy the outdoors and it’s very social. Like any sport or recreational pastime, it requires you to learn a bit about the fundamentals and to practise if you want to enjoy the game to its fullest.

Here are nine tips to help you enjoy the game. (Coincidentally, nine holes is just the right number for beginners.)

West Vancouver's Manu Gandhi - File Image Credit Chuck Russell/Golf Canada 

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Manu Gandhi says he didn’t get much out of his game at the recent B.C. Junior Boys Championship, where the 17-year-old from West Vancouver finished sixth. 

He felt like he was playing better than his score indicated. Finally, in Tuesday’s first round of the 120th B.C. Amateur Championship, Gandhi says his score reflected his solid play. The Seymour Golf & Country Club junior member fired a six-under 66 at Christina Lake Golf Club to grab the first-round lead.

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.

BC's Jace Minni Is The Washington State Amateur Champion - Image Credit Vinny Fiorino/WSGA

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

South Delta’s Jace Minni is having himself quite the summer. A couple weeks ago, Minni shot a nine-under 63 at Kings Links in Delta and followed that up with a five-under 66 at his home course, Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen, to win the Vancouver City Amateur by five shots.

This past week, Minni followed that up by winning the Washington State Amateur Championship at Meadow Springs Country Club in Richland, Wash.

The 20-year-old Minni, who just finished his sophomore year at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., would like nothing more than to make it a hat trick of sorts by winning the B.C. Amateur Championship, which goes July 12-15 at Christina Lake Golf Course.

 James Lee Is The 2022 BC Junior Boys Champion - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

OLIVER -- At the beginning of the week, there was some discussion among players and tournament officials who all wanted to know, who is this James Lee from Whistler. 

Well, now they know. He’s the new B.C. Junior Boys Champion. 

The 15-year-old dual-citizen, who spends about three months a year in Whistler but lives in the San Francisco area, was something of an unknown quantity when the tournament began at Nk’mip Canyon Desert Golf Course.

 Luna Lu Holds The BC Junior Girls Championship Trophy - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

OLIVER -- This time, there was no heartbreak on the 18th hole. Instead, Luna Lu was just about perfect in the final round of the B.C. Junior Girls Championship at Nk’mip Canyon Desert Golf Course.

The 15-year-old Burnaby resident shook off the final-hole disappointment at the recent B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship and played a near flawless round, a bogey-free five-under 68, to win the championship for girls under the age of 19.

And yes, this one will most definitely help Lu forget about that quadruple-bogey on the 18th hole that cost her a chance to win the B.C. Women’s Amateur two weeks ago at her home course, Pitt Meadows Golf Club.

Ryan Vest Is The 3rd Round BC Junior Boys Leader - Photo Credit: Jeff Vogan/SPORTDAD Sports Photography/Golf Canada 

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

OLIVER -- Ryan Vest bogeyed the first hole of Thursday’s third round of the B.C. Junior Boys Championship and that turned out to be a good thing. “I hit it to 10 feet on No. 1 and three-putted,” Vest said. “That gave me some fire and I just kept fighting. I kept fighting over every shot.”

He fought very well. The 15-year-old from Vernon fired his second straight five-under 67 and will carry a three-shot lead into Friday’s final round of the championship at Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course.

Tina Jiang of Richmond leads the B.C. Junior Girls Championship, which is being held concurrently with the boys’ championship.

Tina Jiang Leads The BC Junior Girls Championship At The Halfway Point - Image Credit Brad Ziemer

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

OLIVER, BC -- Don’t get Tina Jiang wrong. She was delighted with the six-under 67 she shot in Tuesday’s second round of the B.C. Junior Girls Championship at Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course.

But . . . “I don’t want to complain, but it could have been better,” Jiang said almost apologetically after her round, which was a women’s course record at Nk’Mip. “I missed a couple of short putts.”

One putt in particular was bothering her. Jiang finished her round on the par 5 9th hole and stuck a three-wood from 230 yards six feet from hole. But she just missed the eagle putt and had to settle for what was her eighth birdie of the day.

Langley's Amy Lee, Shown Here At The NextGen Pacific Championship Last May At Nanaimo GC - Image Credit Chuck Russell/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

OLIVER -- Langley’s Amy Lee already has one provincial title and she put herself in strong position to challenge for another in Tuesday’s first round of the B.C. Junior Girls Championship at Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course in Oliver.

The 14-year-old Lee had seven birdies en route to a four-under 69 that gave her a three-shot lead on Victoria’s Chelsea Truong.

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.

Luna Lu Still Has Her Eyes On The Prize At The BC Women's Amateur  - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Luna Lu still has the lead at the B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship, but her margin is not nearly as comfortable as it could have been.

Lu stumbled down the stretch of Thursday’s third round at Pitt Meadows Golf Club. After a birdie on her 15th hole moved the Burnaby resident to nine-under par, Lu played the next two holes three-over par to make things interesting for Friday’s final round.

Luna Lu Stretched Her Lead In The BC Women's Amateur After A 3-Under 70 In Round 2 - Golf Canada File Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Luna Lu is playing a game of catch me if you can with the rest of the field at the 117th playing of the B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship at Pitt Meadows Golf Club. 

The 15-year-old from Burnaby, who is a junior member at Pitt Meadows, extended her lead by firing a three-under par 70 in Wednesday’s second round. Her 36-hole score of seven-under par has Lu four shots clear of the rest of the field.

BC Women's Amateur First Round Leader Luna Lu - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PITT MEADOWS -- Luna Lu felt right at home and it showed in Tuesday’s first round of the B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship at Pitt Meadows Golf Club. 

The 15-year-old Burnaby resident has been a junior member at Pitt Meadows for the past three years and knows the course well. She put that local knowledge to good use and fired a four-under 69 that gave her first-round lead. “It is certainly more comfortable than going to a course out of my city,” Lu said. “I feel more at ease.”

Defending BC Women's Amateur Champion Leah John - Pitt Meadows GC photo Courtesy Golf Canada

Pitt Meadows Golf Club is hosting the 117th B.C. Women's Amateur.

This is the fifth time the venerable layout has played host to the B.C. Women's Amateur and some outstanding golf will be played from today until Friday the 24th.

Come out and see the best female amateur golfers in the province compete for the title won last year by Leah John. 

You can read Brad Ziemer's tourney preview by clicking the link below:

A Confident Leah John Looks To Defend Her Title At B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship

To follow the scoring please click HERE

As part of the annual Women's Golf Day festivities this year British Columbia Golf put on a 'Cloud Scramble' for teams of women across the province.

Players put together their own teams and participated at courses around B.C. The total number of courses that saw teams play at their facility numbered 68, it was great to see the widespread participation. 

All rounds were played between June 5^th and June 12^th and prizes were awarded through a draw as the event was focussed on participation.