Nanoose Bay Resident Shelly Stouffer Beat Sandra Turbide Of Maple Ridge On The First Hole Of A Sudden-Death Playoff - All Images Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

NANOOSE BAY -- One of her sons works in the pro shop, her mom and dad had a house near the first tee and her late husband was the longtime head professional at Fairwinds Golf Club, so yes, this one meant a lot to Shelly Stouffer. 

The Nanoose Bay resident won her third straight B.C. Senior Women’s title Wednesday on her home course and had to work a little extra time to do it. Stouffer birdied the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to beat Sandra Turbide of Maple Ridge.

Former Olympic Medallist Leslie Cliff Is Playing In The B.C. Senior Women’s Championship

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

NANOOSE BAY -- It is the golden anniversary of her silver medal. Leslie Cliff doesn’t dwell on that great Olympic memory of winning silver in the 400-metre individual medley at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.

The swimming part of her life ended a long time ago and Cliff has had a busy and productive business career that is just now starting to wind down. That allows for more time to enjoy another sporting passion: Golf. 

Cliff, a longtime member of Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in Vancouver, is competing this week in the B.C. Senior Women’s Championship at Fairwinds Golf Club in Nanoose Bay.

To celebrate Women’s Golf Day 2022, British Columbia Golf is hosting a fun, "cloud scramble" event and we would like you to take part!

Women’s Golf Day is officially on Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 but to accommodate schedules, people wanting to play in our scramble can play their round anytime between June 5th and June 12th.

The details of the event can be found below:

Two-Time Defending Champion Shelly Stouffer Is Leading After Round One In The B.C. Senior Women’s Championship At Fairwinds GC - File Photo Courtesy Kathryn Riley/USGA

NANOOSE BAY -- Shelly Stouffer got her quest for a third straight B.C. Senior Women’s title off to a nice start Monday as she opened with an even-par 72 at Fairwinds Golf Course. Stouffer, not surprisingly, feels right at home at Fairwinds. She’s a member there and a longtime resident of Nanoose Bay.

Her round Monday had some ups and downs. Stouffer, the reigning Canadian Senior Women’s champion, offset five bogeys with five birdies and she carries a two-shot lead over Sandra Turbide of Maple Ridge into Tuesday’s second round of the 54-hole event. Turbide’s two-over 74 included a pair of birdies on the front nine. B.C. Golf Hall of Fame member Jackie Little of Procter was third after her four-over 76 on Monday. 

The Senior Championship is open to players aged 50 and older as of Aug. 30, 2022. A Super-Senior Championship for players aged 60 and older and a Super-Super Senior Championship for players aged 70 and above are also being contested this week at Fairwinds. 

Little leads the Super-Senior division by two shots over Barb Flaman of Sherwood Park, Alta. Dee Horie of Courtenay leads the Super-Super-Senior category after opening with a 13-over 85. Holly Horwood of Vancouver and Lynda Palahniuk of Kelowna are just one shot back.

Click HERE for complete scoring.

Victoria's Jeevan Sihota Will Make His Pro Debut This Week At Uplands GC - Golf Canada Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

After a two-year hiatus, PGA Tour Canada is back and tees off its new season this week in Victoria at Uplands Golf Club. The $200,000 Royal Beach Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist is the first stop of an 11-event schedule that will touch down in seven different provinces as well as the state of Minnesota.

British Columbia has two events this season. The GolfBC Championship at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf & Country Club in Kelowna goes Sept. 1-4. 

The Victoria event features a strong British Columbia contingent, including 18-year-old Jeevan Sihota of Victoria. The former junior standout from Victoria will make his pro debut at Uplands after earning conditional Tour status at a qualifying school at Crown Isle Golf Resort in Courtenay earlier this spring.

Team British Columbia made it five straight wins at the North Pacific Junior Ladies matches played May 27 - 29th at The Home Course in Dupont, Wash. 

Modelled after the Curtis Cup matches for amateur women, the North Pacific matches are played annually and feature teams from B.C., Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

All competition is match play with the front nine worth one point, the back nine one point and the overall 18 another point.

Many Canadians have a strong connection to Ukraine. We all feel for the many colleagues, clients, and community members who have deep connections to Ukrainian family and friends here in Canada and in the Ukraine. To those who are living this nightmare, we share their worry for loved ones and stand with them in the hope that this catastrophic war and resultant refugee crisis will end soon.

Hoping to make a difference to the lives of these refugees, Peter Boronkay, a governor of Golf Canada and resident portfolio manager, along with a team of volunteers is attempting to set a new Bowen Island Golf Course record for the number of rounds played in one day. Peter will play from dawn to dusk in order to attempt to complete 10 rounds (90 holes) on Monday, June 6, 2022.

You are invited to support this initiative by contributing to the Canadian Red Cross in support of the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appealthrough the following donation portal or by calling:
1.800.418.1111

http://www.redcross.ca/UkraineCrisis/GolfMarathonforUkraine

Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable donation tax receipt.

Sample donation sizes for an estimated 90 holes played:

$0.50/hole = $45
$1/hole = $90
$2/hole = $180
$5/hole = $450
$10/hole = $900

It is that time of the year again, where women around the world get together to celebrate International Women's Golf Day! To help kick things off once again the WGD Paloooza is having a Digital Day Celebration on May 31st.

Below is the official press release and more information.

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

 BC's Nick Taylor Has Qualified To Play In His 4th U.S. Open - Image Credit Marcus Oleniuk/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor is heading back to the U.S. Open and will have some British Columbia company as Roger Sloan of Merritt also advanced from a final qualifier in Dallas. 

With 13 spots up for grabs at the Dallas site, Taylor tied for sixth at nine-under par in the 36-hole qualifier. Sloan had to do some extra work.

He had to survive a six-man playoff for the final two spots after tying for 12th at seven-under. Sloan birdied the second playoff hole after sticking a wedge from 102 yards to three feet.

Longtime Shaughnessy Golf Club Member Patrick Weeks Also Won The B.C. Mid-Master Championship - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CHASE -- Seven final-round birdies weren’t enough, so Patrick Weeks made one more. The longtime Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club member birdied the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to beat Brent Pound of Kamloops and win the B.C. Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Talking Rock Golf Course.

“This is amazing,” said Weeks. “I honestly can’t believe it is true. I have been second so many times -- last year at the B.C. Amateur, then I lost in a playoff at Big Sky in the Mid-Am in 2014. This is redemption. I was two shots back the last time the Mid-Am was here at Talking Rock (in 2015) and they called off the final round due to rain. So this is poetic justice.”

Nonie Marler Of Vancouver With The B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur Trophy - Image Courtesy Nonie Marler

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CHASE -- Nonie Marler led from start to finish at the B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t have to overcome a little adversity along the way.

During Thursday’s final round at Talking Rock Golf Course, Marler was cruising along with a three-shot lead when her tee ball on the par 4 13th hole sailed slightly right, struck the top of a tall tree and was never seen again. 

No one saw it come down -- there’s a good chance it remained up in the tree -- and suddenly Marler was under some pressure.

Nonie Marler And Andy Robb Are The 36-hole Leaders at B.C. Women’s and Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship - Images Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CHASE -- There were whitecaps on the water and lots of bogeys (and others) on scorecards Wednesday at Talking Rock Golf Course. 

Those waves on Little Shuswap Lake were a warning to players at the B.C. Women’s and Men’s Mid-Amateur Championships that second-round conditions were going to be challenging. Make that brutal.

A bit of a morning breeze turned into an absolute gale in the afternoon. Throw in a little hail and unseasonably cool temperatures and Talking Rock presented an extremely stiff test.

Nonie Marler Of Vancouver Has The First Round Lead In The BC Women's Mid-Am - BC Golf Photo

CHASE -- Three back-nine birdies propelled Vancouver’s Nonie Marler to an even-par 72 and a four-shot lead after Tuesday’s first round of the B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Talking Rock Golf Course.

Marler, the 2020 B.C. Mid-Am champion who plays out of Marine Drive Golf Club, birdied the 10th, 12th and 15th holes to finish off her round nicely. Shelly Stouffer, the reigning B.C. Senior Women’s Champion from Nanoose Bay, is alone in second place after opening with a four-over 76.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

She’s a senior golfer now, but Shelly Stouffer likes her chances as she prepares to tee it up with the ‘kids’ at the B.C. Mid-Amateur Championship at Talking Rock Golf Course.

Stouffer, the reigning B.C. and Canadian Senior Women’s champion, has never laid eyes on Talking Rock. But these days, her golf game is travelling well. She’s never felt more confident about her swing.

“I am feeling pretty good,” Stouffer says. “I like my chances. I don’t know if I have ever hit it this well. I have hit it farther before, but not as consistently straight and in play all the time. I feel like my swing is a lot better than it has been. And I am putting well. It’s great. I love where my game is at. I am just much more consistent.”

BC's NPJLTM Squad Are No Strangers To Success On The Golf Course. Clockwise From Top Left: Angela Arora, Yeji Kwon, Luna Lu, Martina Yu, Tina Jiang & Katherine Hao 

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The long wait is over for Team British Columbia in its quest for a ‘five-peat’ in the North Pacific Junior Ladies Team Matches. 

It was way back in 2019 that British Columbia won its fourth straight title in the annual competition that features junior teams from B.C., Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

B.C.’s drive for five was put on hold when the 2020 and 2021 matches were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, finally, the matches are a go and scheduled for May 28-29 at The Home Course in Dupont, Wash.

Nanoose Bay's Shelly Stouffer Won Her Singles Match Over 3-Time Reigning U.S. Senior Women's Amateur Champion Lara Tennant 4&3 In The 2022 Lamey Cup - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

To say Shelly Stouffer was looking forward to her singles match with Oregon’s Lara Tennant at the PNGA Lamey Cup would be something of an understatement. 

Quite simply, it was a match Stouffer had wanted since learning she would be a part of Team British Columbia at the 15th playing of the Lamey Cup at Bellingham Golf & Country Club. 

On Thursday, Stouffer got her wish and delivered in a big way, defeating Tennant 4&3 in cool, wet conditions. “She’s the three-time reigning U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion,” Stouffer said after her win. “Why wouldn’t you want to play her?”

Proctor, BC's Jackie Little - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Jackie Little and Shelly Stouffer wouldn’t want to change a thing after their two matches Wednesday at the PNGA Lamey Cup team competition at Bellingham Golf & Country Club. Well, maybe one thing. 

Little and Stouffer won both of their matches in convincing fashion after something of a scare just prior to their morning four-ball match. That’s when a cart attendant plowed into Little’s push cart, which then banged her and sent the British Columbia Golf Hall of Famer flying into a rock wall.

Little, who now lives in the small Kootenay community of Procter, played both matches with a sore lower back, but you never would have known it.

Courtesy PNGA

Tacoma, Wash. – The 2022 Pacific Northwest Golf Association’s (PNGA) championship season kicks off this week as 48 of the top amateur golfers in the region prepare to square off in the 15th PNGA Lamey Cup, to be held May 4-5 at Bellingham (Wash.) Golf and Country Club.

Due to the pandemic, and due in particular to the U.S.-Canada border closure during this time, the competition was canceled in 2020 and 2021, with this year marking the first time since 2019 that the event will be held.

Mid-Amateur Champions Craig Doell & Shelly Stouffer Head Up BC Golf's PNGA Lamey Cup Team

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The PNGA Lamey Cup is named in honour of Dr. Jack Lamey, a former president of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association who started the Ryder Cup-style team competition featuring players representing the Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia golf associations 16 years ago.

Kelowna’s Norm Bradley, a former B.C. Senior Men’s champion, considers it his good fortune to have played in nine of them. He’ll make his 10th appearance in early May when the Lamey Cup resumes after a two-year Covid-induced hiatus at Bellingham Golf & Country Club.