Ziemer's B.C. Golf Notes: SFU, UBC Sweep Respective Conference Championships
More Ziemer's Notes: Leah John qualifies for U.S. Women’s Open; Taylor, Hadwin finish strong again in New Orleans; Dylan Bercan wins Pacific West Conference Championship; Future of Maple Ridge Golf Course in jeopardy
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
(April 28, 2025) - A round of golf is seldom completed without some adversity and for Meera Minhas that came at the start of the back nine at Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Club when the Simon Fraser University junior made three straight bogeys. It was at that point Minhas had a little talk with herself. “I made three birdies in a row after bogeys on 10, 11 and 12,” she said.
“I fought my way back and was telling myself ‘you are not going to let this go, you are going to really grind it out.’ So that’s what I did.”
Minhas’s gritty comeback on the back nine earned her the individual title at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship. More importantly, it helped the Red Leafs win their third straight GNAC title and earn a spot in the NCAA Division II Regionals.
To celebrate, Minhas and her teammates continued a tradition. They all jumped in Lake Coeur d’Alene to celebrate. Minhas is still trying to warm up. “It was really cold,” the Burnaby native said with a laugh. “It must have been two degrees, maybe one. We did this the past two years when we won. Last year didn’t seem as cold because it was much warmer outside when we were playing. This year it was cold again, it was hailing and everything.”
The individual win was meaningful for Minhas. She won a tournament last spring in Pueblo, Colo., but had to share that title with another player as their playoff had to be abandoned after four holes due to weather. “To me this one means a little more because I am the only name on the top,” said Minhas, who won by one shot after rounds of 76 and 71.
“It means even more because the team won as well and the men’s team, too. It just makes it that much sweeter for us.”
SFU’s two-round team score of 607 beat Western Washington by four shots. The Red Leafs will travel to Amarillo, Tex., to play their regional tourney May 5-7. The top five teams in the 12-team field will advance to the Division II national championships May 13-17 in Boulder City, Nev. “As a team we haven’t made it to nationals, so that is the goal this year,” Minhas said.
“I think honestly in the three years I been here this is one of the better teams we have had because there is so much more depth on the team. It’s been so much harder for the coaches to make picks because everyone has been playing well. It is a good problem to have.”
SFU’s Dana Smith, who won last year’s GNAC Championship, tied for third this year. Junior Izzy Ferguson was fifth.
A day after the women’s win, the SFU men clinched their GNAC championship at Coeur d’Alene. The Red Leafs’ three-round team total of seven-over par was 10 shots better than runner-up Western Washington. Max Corcoran and Denby Carswell both tied for second in the individual competition for SFU. The SFU men now head to their NCAA Regional tourney May 8-10 in Riverside, Calif.
T-BIRDS SOAR: The University of B.C. Thunderbirds also swept their Cascade Conference Championships in impressive style. After a so-so first round, the UBC men played the final 36 holes at Geldoveer Golf Club in Portland, Ore., with a team score of 23-under. Their 21-under total was good for a 16-shot win over Lewis-Clark State.
Leading way for UBC was senior Aidan Schumer, who shot a nine-under 64 in the second round en route to winning the individual title. Schumer’s 54-hole total of nine-under was four shots better than three other players, including teammate J.P. Kahlert.
Schumer’s 64 matched a Cascade Conference record and came after he opened the tourney with a five-over 78. He said a talk with his coaches after that round helped him bounce back. He started his second round with six straight birdies. “We were just talking about playing like a kid again,” Schumer said.
“After my (first) round I went to the chipping green and I just hit some shots without thinking about it too much and it kind of reminded me of when I was young and still getting a lot better at the game. I just took some of that out to the course today.”
Schumer said the win was special for a team that is losing five players to graduation. “You are just taking all the moments in and relishing them knowing you only have a limited amount of time with my teammates,” he said. “It’s a pretty great feeling to perform well at a tournament I am not going to be back for next year. So it was great to get some handshakes and high-fives from the guys afterwards.”
Next up for the T-Birds is the NAIA championship tourney that goes May 20-23 at TPC Deere Run in Silvas, Ill.
The UBC women continued their dominant season with a 20-shot win over Oregon Tech. UBC’s Elizabeth Labbé won the individual title by three shots with a 54-hole score of seven-under par. Teammates Una Chou (third), Jessica Ng (sixth) and Grace Bell (seventh) all finished inside the top 10. The No. 1-ranked T-Birds now head to the NAIA Championships, which go May 13-16 at Eagle Crest Golf Club in Ypsilanti, Mich.
LOVING THE BIG EASY: The Abbotsford duo of Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin had another solid result at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where they tied for 12th in the two-man team event. That followed a 10th-place finish last year and a second-place finish in 2023. Taylor and Hadwin completed this year’s event at 22-under par, six shots behind the winning team of Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin. Hadwin and Taylor each earned $170,967.
Surrey’s Adam Svensson and partner Cam Davis of Australia were poised for a solid result after shooting an 11-under 61 in the third round. But Svensson and Davis struggled to a six-over 78 in the alternate-shot final round and finished tied for 32nd among the 36 teams that made the cut. Svensson earned $38,456.
Svensson is the lone British Columbian playing in this week’s PGA TOUR stop, The CJ Cup Bryon Nelson tourney in suburban Dallas.
BIRDIES GALORE: Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald and Roger Sloan of Merritt can attest to the fact that the Korn Ferry Tour’s Veritex Championship in Arlington, Tex., was a real birdie-fest. Macdonald finished the event at 14-under and finished 65th. Sloan was 11-under and finished 70th. Johnny Keefer of San Antonio, Tex., won with a score of 30-under par.
RAIN-SHORTENED: The PGA Tour Americas’ KIA open in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito was cut short to 54 holes because of rainy weather. Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart tied for 42nd at six-under par, 10 shots behind winner Jay Card of Shelter Island, N.Y. Richmond’s Chris Crisologo tied for 63rd at three-under, while Lawren Rowe of Squamish tied for 69th at one-under.
Ewart, Crisologo and Rowe are all in the field for this week’s Diners Club Peru Open. Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald, now a regular on the Korn Ferry Tour, won last year’s Peru Open in Lima.
OPEN SEASON: With three straight missed cuts on the Epson Tour, the 2025 season had not started quite the way Vancouver’s Leah John had hoped. But the two-time B.C. Women’s Amateur champion got her game back on track in a big way last week by qualifying to play in this spring’s U.S. Women’s Open. John was co-medalist at a qualifier in Sacramento with a 36-hole score of seven-under par.
She’ll compete in her first U.S. Women’s Open May 28-June 1 at Erin Hills Golf Course in Wisconsin. “I am over the moon and so excited, I have not been able to sleep, it’s been tough to focus,” John told Golf Canada in an interview.
John shared medalist honours with Gabby Kano, a former University of Nevada teammate. John followed up that result with her first made cut of the season at the Epson Tour’s IOA Championship in Beaumont, Calif., where she finished 66th.
DYLAN DELIVERS: Vancouver’s Dylan Bercan won the individual title and helped his University of Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans to the Pacific West Conference Championship in Nevada. Bercan, who transferred to Hawaii-Hilo from Utah Valley for his senior year, finished the event at seven-under par and then beat Michael Sorber of Jessup University in a sudden-death playoff. Hawaii-Hilo will compete at the same West Regionals site as Simon Fraser University.
TEAM BRITISH COLUMBIA: The 18th playing of the PNGA Lamey Cup goes April 30-May 2 at Oswego Lake Country Club in Oswego, Ore. The Ryder-Cup style competition features 12-person teams representing the regional golf associations that make up the Pacific Northwest Golf Association. Teams comprised of eight men and four women in three different age groups play four-ball, foursomes and singles matches to determine a champion.
Representing Team B.C. at this week’s competition will be Wyatt Brook of Heffley Creek, Stephen Connor of Vancouver, Matthew Cavelti of North Vancouver, James Fahy of Vancouver, Gary Pike of Victoria, Brooks Lancaster of Kaleden, Neil MacLeod of Burnaby, Steve Wheeler of Whistler, Nonie Marler of Vancouver, Jamie Oleksiew of Surrey, Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay and Jackie Little of Procter.
Team B.C. will compete against teams from the Washington, Oregon and Idaho golf associations. Washington is the defending champion. B.C. last won the event in 2014.
COURSE IN JEOPARDY: The City of Maple Ridge plans to close and redevelop Maple Ridge Golf Course, a popular nine-hole track that is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The city plans to convert the course into baseball diamonds and sports fields, according to a story in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News. The city wants to close the course, which is operated by a lease-holder, after the 2026 season. A meeting has been scheduled for May 3 at Maple Ridge Elementary to allow for public input into the proposed changes. Opponents have launched an online petition at change.org.
FOUR STRAIGHT: Victoria’s Jeevan Sihota continued his brilliant run on the Vancouver Golf Tour with a win at the Sandpiper Open in Harrison Mills. Sihota opened the 36-hole event with a seven-under 65 and closed with a four-under 68. His 11-under total was good for a three-shot win over Khan Lee of Langley. Sihota, who earned $2,500, has now won four straight VGT events.
ON TO FINALS: Vernon’s Bryce Barker topped the field with a five-under 66 at a U.S. Open local qualifier at Druids Glen Golf Course in Covington, Wash. Barker was one of five players to advance to final qualifying in early June. The 125th playing of the U.S. Open goes June 12-15 at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.