FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2024

University Place, Wash. – Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., will host many of the top amateur golfers in the world this week for the 57th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship.

Hosted by Washington Golf, the championship will be played from July 23-26, 2024. Having previously hosted the event in 2017 and 2021, this marks the third time the championship has been held at Chambers Bay.

Leah John top-10s on Epson Tour and also gets CPKC exemption; New B.C. Senior Men’s champion to be crowned in Revelstoke: Marine Drive plays host to Canadian Junior Girls Championship

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf (July 22, 2024)

Mary Parsons’ first professional win came with a bonus she really wasn’t expecting. Along with the $10,000 first-place cheque for winning the Kathy Whitworth Championship in Trophy Club, Tex., on the Annika All Women’s Pro Tour, Parsons knew she was also getting a spot in an Epson Tour event in late August.

But the Delta native is also receiving something much bigger than that. Parsons was informed after her win that she has a spot in this week’s LPGA Tour event, the CPKC Women’s Open in Calgary. “I am very thrilled,” Parsons said over the phone. “It will be my second LPGA start. I played back in 2019 as an amateur. It will be exciting to play an LPGA event as a pro now. I will try to keep it rolling and see what I can do.”

Yeji Kwon gets first pro win; Nathan Ward seeks to defend title at B.C. Mid-Amateur Championship; Hadwin, Taylor head to Open Championship

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

DELTA, B.C. (July 15, 2024) - Shelly Stouffer saved her birdies for when she really needed them in the final round of the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship.

The Nanoose Bay resident began the final round with a three-shot lead — thanks in no small part to a four-under 68 in the second round — but that cushion had evaporated by the time she and American Catherine Matgranga had reached the 16th tee at Crown Isle Golf Resort in Courtenay.

Matgranga, a Fort Worth, Tex., resident had birdied the 14th and 15th holes to pull even. Stouffer hadn’t made a birdie all day. The momentum seemed to be on the Texan’s side.

B.C. All-Abilities Champion Matt Hallatt (R) Is Shown In This BC Golf File Photo

Popert and Bish Go Wire-to-Wire at Sand Creek Station

By JC Sites, USGA

Newton, KAN. (July10, 2024) - The first day of the 3rd U.S. Adaptive Open saw the lowest scores in the history in the men’s and women’s divisions of the championship, recorded by Kipp Popert (65) and Bailey Bish (69), respectively.

 On the final day of the championship, Popert and Bish followed through on those record rounds by claiming victory at Sand Creek Station.

The following Canadians were winners of their respective categories: 

Chris Willis, Canada (Upper Limb Impairment, men);  Natasha Stasiuk, Canada (Intellectual Impairment, women), Kiefer Jones, Canada (Vision Impairment, men),

Third place in his respective category went to Kurtis Barkley, Canada (Short Stature, men)

CLICK HERE to see complete story and results on USGA website. 

Click HERE to read about B.C.s' Dustin Boydell's story in the Abbotsford News.

Humphreys in good form as he readies for B.C. Amateur title defence; Barker wins Ogopogo in record-setting fashion; Stinson prevails at Chilliwack Open

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Victoria’s Jeevan Sihota recorded the biggest win of his young pro career at the Mickelson National Invitational in Calgary.

The 20-year-old earned a $30,000 payday after finishing the 54-hole event at 12-under par, one shot better than runner-up Brady McKinlay of Lacombe, Alta. “It’s been a while since I had my last win, so it feels good,” Sihota said in a telephone interview.

Sihota was tied for the lead heading into the final round and after bogeying his first hole, he played flawlessly the rest of the way. He closed with a six-under 66.

B.C.'s Dustin Boydell Is One Of The Canadian Qualifiers For The U.S. Adaptive Open - BC Golf File Photo

Courtesy: Scott MacLeod/flagstick.com

The U.S. Adaptive Open continues to grow. The event conducted by the United States Golf Association entertained 278 entries for 2024. This growth was the impetus for some changes to deal with the demand.

For the first time 18 hole qualifiers were conducted by Allied Golf Associations (AGAs) at six sites across the United States to fill the spots not already held by exempt players. The championship is open to both male and female professional and amateur golfers with a World Handicap System™ Handicap Index of 36.4 or less and an eligible impairment confirmed by a WR4GD Pass.

The impairment categories are as follows:  

• Upper Limb Impairment 
• Intellectual Impairment 
• Lower Limb Impairment 
• Multiple Limb Amputee 
• Neurological Impairment 
• Seated Players 
• Short Stature 
• Vision Impairment 

Ultimately there are 96 players now finalized to compete at Sand Creek Station in Newton, Kansas, from July 8-10. The competitors will come from 32 states and 11 countries.

One of those nations represented wil be Canada who has nine citizens taking part in this ground-breaking tournament.

To see full list of Canadians taking part and read complete story on the U.S. Adaptive Open please click HERE to go to Flagstick.com.

Included in the nine is Chilliwack, B.C.'s Dustin Boydell - please clck HERE to see the amazing comeback story of Dustin in the Abbotsford News.

Sloan T31 at Rocket Mortgage; Parry, Kim win PGA of BC titles;
                                              Towill makes 1st PGA Tour Americas cut                                                

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

A solid freshman season at the University of Tennessee was followed by just a so-so sophomore campaign and Angela Arora felt like she needed a change. A fresh start.

So the soon-to-be 20-year-old from Surrey decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal and see what happened. The former B.C. Junior and Juvenile Girls champion feels like she hit a jackpot of sorts by accepting an offer to join the University of Arizona in Tucson.

“I am excited, I am very excited,” Arora said in an interview. “I just decided to go on the portal and honestly I was talking to a bunch of schools and Arizona stood out.”

Svensson top-20s at Travelers; Crisologo top British Columbian at PGA Tour Americas’ Canadian opener; Lauren Kim tees it up in British Women’s Amateur

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Ellie Szeryk began the final round of the GolfBC Group B.C. Women’s Open with a seven-shot lead and didn’t quite know how to handle it. “I have never had a lead like that before,” Szeryk said.

“In college, I would have a one-shot lead and I would have Ingrid Lindblad, the world No. 1, right behind me. So it was a little nerve-wracking today just dealing with some emotions. It was a really big learning experience for me.” And one the 22-year-old handled with relative ease.

Nanaimo’s Manpreet Lalh And Jason Yu Of Vancouver Earn Spots In U.S. Junior Amateur

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Luna Lu fired her career-low competitive round and that meant everyone else was playing for second place at a U.S. Junior Girls qualifier at Riverway Golf Course in Burnaby.

Lu, a former B.C. Junior Girls champion, shot a bogey-free six-under 66 to win the qualifier by five shots and earn a spot in the U.S. Junior Girls Championship, which goes July 15-20 at El Caballero Golf Club in Tarzana, Calif.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

His first qualifying school was everything Justin Towill thought it might be, a nerve-wracking, emotional roller-coaster that left him physically and mentally drained.

It was the longest four days of Towill’s golfing life and it wasn’t quite over when the Kelowna native holed his final putt at Crown Isle Golf Resort in Courtenay. Towill now had to watch the leaderboard and wait.

The 23-year-old had finished the 72-hole test at seven-under par and stood solo 10th. The top nine players earned exempt status for the North American swing of the PGA Tour Americas circuit.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Adam Hadwin’s third-place finish at the Memorial Tournament booked him a spot in next month’s Open Championship at Royal Troon and also put Hadwin in great position to join fellow Abbotsford native Nick Taylor at the Summer Olympics in Paris.

Canada’s two-man Olympic golf team will be determined by the Official World Golf Ranking after this week’s U.S. Open Championship in Pinehurst, N.C.

Leah John Is Set For Her Pro Debut On The Epson Tour  

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

With a kinesiology degree in her back pocket and loads of great memories of her time at the University of Nevada, Vancouver’s Leah John begins a new chapter of her golfing life this week as she makes her first start as a professional.

“I am really excited,” says the two-time B.C. Women’s Amateur champion. “It’s kind of like the feeling you have before going to the best concert of your life.”

With the 2024 Women's Golf Day celebrations getting underway in several locations, it seems appropriate to share this WGD 'sizzle reel' with everyone. 

Click HERE to watch on YouTube.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It has been a tough few years for Bald Eagle Golf Club, the Point Roberts layout that was forced to close during the Covid pandemic, then re-opened in 2022 only to close again for the 2023 season.

It is now scheduled to re-open sometime early this summer with a new, but familiar name and a new owner. The course is returning to its former name, Point Roberts Golf & Country Club, and has targeted June 15 as a re-opening date, although there is a good chance it could be a week or two after that.

The 2024 Women's Golf Day celebration, with events being held in various locations from May 28th - June 4th this year, is now underway.

British Columbia Golf is pleased to direct anyone wishing to take part at a facility event to the posters below. We will add more as they become known.

Meanwhile, everyone can find out information on the WGD website HERE.

UBC's Women's Golf Team Finished 3rd At This Year's NAIA Championship

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

You can’t win them all, which the University of B.C. women’s golf team discovered last week in Illinois. The Thunderbirds entered the NAIA national championship tourney at TPC Deere Run looking for what, officially, would have been a three-peat.

Unofficially, they were attempting to win their fourth straight title. In addition to their 2022 and 2023 crowns, the T-Birds also won the national championship in 2019. The event was not played in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic and UBC was not permitted to travel to the tournament in 2021.

Doug And Janet O’Mara Crossed The Century Mark Of Their Epic Golf Journey Deep In The Amazon Rainforest In Manaus, Brazil

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Doug and Janet O’Mara really didn’t set out to play golf in 100 different countries. It kind of just happened.

The Whistler couple love to travel and are also avid golfers. After a number of different trips to all corners of the globe, it suddenly occurred to them that they had played a lot of golf in a lot of different places. So they started counting.

Victoria, BC's Jeevan Sihota - Image Credit: Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The Latin American portion of the PGA Tour Americas circuit concludes at this week’s Inter Rapidisimo Golf Championship in Bogota, Colombia, where Victoria’s Jeevan Sihota must make the cut to secure his playing privileges for the tour’s North American swing.

Sihota enters the tournament ranked 61st on the Fortinet Cup points list. The top 60 players after this week’s event will be exempt for the nine Canadian events and one U.S. tournament on the North American swing that begins next month in Victoria.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It was a day later and Una Chou was still thinking about the putt that won her the individual women’s title at the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship at the famed Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass.

“It still feels surreal,” said Chou, who is completing her third year as a member of the UBC Thunderbirds golf team. “I have been looking back at that putt I made on 18 and saying, ‘How did I make that putt?’ It was like a six-foot slider and I knew I needed to make it for the win. I just tried to trust my routine. I was thinking, 'if it goes in, great, if it doesn’t it’s fine.'”

It went in, of course, and Chou picked the ball out of the cup and looked up toward the heavens. “I just felt so relieved,” she said. “It was just like a big sigh of relief.”