B.C. Golf Notes: Sagebrush Not Rushing Its Re-opening
Sagebrush Golf Course Is Getting Closer To It's Much Anticipated Re-opening - Image Courtesy Facility
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Sagebrush will re-open. It’s just taking a little longer than the new owners of the highly regarded Merritt-area course had hoped. James Cronk, president of Newmark Properties’ Golf Group, said rather than rushing the re-opening of Sagebrush, the company is determined to do it right. And if that means taking some extra time, so be it.
“What we have been telling people is that we have a lot of construction going on to get Sagebrush to the level of experience that we’re excited about and we just don’t want to show it before it’s ready,” Cronk said in an interview.
Sagebrush did not open for play in 2015 and was purchased by Langley-based Newmark last fall. Newmark had initially hoped to open the course in late May or early June. Cronk still is not sure when Sagebrush will open for regular play. “We’re not really quite ready for any kind of official announcement of dates or anything like that,” he said.
“We are probably about two weeks away from getting a good sense of how close the finish line is. We are going to reassess at that point and either have an opening at some point in August or September or we might just end up having some special guests and people up to take a look at it and hear the story. We want to get it to the point where people are going to get a real idea of the finished product.”
The golf course is ready to go and has already received very limited play from a few groups that had been committed to previously. But there is lots of other construction work going on that Newmark wants completed before it shows off the new Sagebrush.
That work includes a new restaurant and clubhouse as well as a complete renovation of the former Hideout on the 13th tee, which will now be called The Tap House. Work will also begin soon on a driving range. “We’re moving along, but construction and renovations and permits and all that stuff takes time,” Cronk said.
The company does have Sagebrush’s new website up and running. It’s at sagebrushlife.com.
ON TO THE OPEN: After making the cut in her LPGA Tour debut, Victoria amateur Naomi Ko now heads to this week’s U.S. Women’s Open in San Martin, Calif. The 18-year-old Ko survived the cut at the Cambia Portland Classic thanks to a solid three-under par 69 in Friday’s second round. She shot weekend rounds of 78 and 73 to finish in 71st place.
Ko will be joined at the U.S. Open at CordeValle Golf Club by Surrey’s Taylor Kim, who also qualified for the event. Kim, who recently completed her collegiate career at Kent State University in Ohio, has recently turned pro.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor made six birdies on Sunday, but three double-bogeys proved costly in the final round of the PGA TOUR's Barracuda Championship in Reno, Nev. The tournament uses the Stableford scoring system and those doubles took away nine of the 12 points Taylor had earned for his birdies. He finished tied for 32nd spot with 22 points. Australian Greg Chalmers won with 43 points.
TIME OFF: Taylor and fellow PGA TOUR regular Adam Hadwin both have this week off as the Greenbrier Classic, the scheduled tourney this week, was cancelled because of flooding in West Virginia. For Hadwin, that means the longest break of his short PGA TOUR career.
Hadwin, who won Sunday’s Vancouver Open at Pagoda Ridge in Langley, hasn’t teed it up on the PGA TOUR since missing the cut at the Quicken Loans National late last month. He won’t play again until the RBC Canadian Open, which goes July 21-24 at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. “I was supposed to be heading to the Greenbrier yesterday,” Hadwin said Sunday. “It was great that the Vancouver Open was this weekend. It gave me a perfect opportunity to play.”
ANOTHER TOP 20: Langley’s Jessica Wallace earned her fourth top-20 finish of the season on the Symetra Tour on Sunday, tying for 18th place at the Tullymore Classic in Canadian Lakes, Mich.
Wallace closed with a one-under 71 to finish the 54-hole event at four-under par.
That was eight shots behind winner Paola Moreno of Colombia. Wallace earned $1,299. Kelowna’s Megan Osland closed with a three-under 69 to finish tied for 23rd at three-under par. That was the best finish of Osland’s rookie year on the Symetra Tour. She earned $1,040.
TOP 10 IN CHINA: North Vancouver’s Eugene Wong closed with a five-under 67 and finished tied for ninth Sunday at the PGA Tour China circuit’s PingAn Private Bank Wanda Open. Wong’s 72-hole total of four-under par was six shots behind winner Taewoo Kim of South Korea. Wong earned about $6,500 Cdn. Justin Shin of Maple Ridge finished tied for 28th at one-over par after closing with a four-over 76 on Sunday.