Bishop’s Super Summer Paying Dividends
The Future Is Looking Up For Victoria's Willy Bishop - Image Courtesy Fairways Golf Video Screen Capture
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
When he won the B.C. Junior and Juvenile Boys Championships last summer, Victoria’s Willy Bishop hoped it might lead to some opportunities to further advance his game. That wish has certainly come true.
In November, Bishop was rewarded with a spot on Golf Canada’s national junior team.
His two wins last summer also created considerable interest from collegiate coaches and Bishop recently committed to join Kent State University’s golf program in the fall of 2022.
Needless to say, the 17-year-old Bishop is excited. “The Junior team has been great,” Bishop says. “I am really happy with the other kids who are on the team. There are no jerks. Everyone likes each other.
“And having the experience of playing with the best kids in Canada is great for my development. It’s nice to see where I am against them and see where I need to improve.”
Bishop put together a YouTube video last fall to highlight his interest in securing a golf scholarship. That video was posted on a college recruitment site. It got lots of views, but Bishop thinks it was his stellar play last summer that allowed him to secure an offer from Kent State.
Bishop won the B.C. Junior Boys title at Okanagan Golf’s Bear Course in Kelowna by one shot with a total of three-under par. Less than a month later, he added the Juvenile Boys title at Cowichan Valley Golf & Country Club when he fired three rounds in the 60s to win by four shots.
Willy Bishop Holds The Winner's Trophy And Gold Medal After His Victory In The B.C. Junior Boys In 2020 - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf
“The video was a bonus,” Bishop says. “I got a lot of views from it. But it was more having a great summer that put me out there.”
Bishop, a Victoria Golf Club junior member, is beyond excited to have Kent State in his future. The Ohio-based school has a strong Canadian connection and a great golf pedigree that has produced several PGA TOUR players.
Head coach Jon Mills, a former PGA TOUR regular, and assistant coach Ryan Yip are both Canadians. “Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners both went there and are out on the PGA TOUR,” Bishop says. “I want to try and follow in the footsteps of the Canadian players who came out of there. I want to play on the PGA TOUR one day and I think that would be a really good school to guide me there.
“Also,their facilities are amazing. They have a really cool golf facility, they have a massive putting green and three hitting bays, so it will be great to practice there and get my game going.”
Right now, Bishop is focused on his school work. He’s in Grade 11 at Claremont High School. “I have been working hard on my game but I also have school to deal with, I have been working on my SAT prep and getting my grades where I want them to be.”