Ziemer's B.C. Golf Notes: Redwoods enters pipeline hibernation; UBC women continue impressive streak; Hadwin, Svensson team up in New Orleans; Record round for Ewart; Kwon, Humphreys shine in junior qualifier
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Doug Hawley and his staff couldn’t help but get a little emotional as the final shots were struck Easter Monday at Redwoods Golf Course.
The Langley course is being forced to close for a few months due to construction of the TransCanada pipeline. Hawley, Redwoods’ managing director, knows the course he has run for the past 28 years will emerge better than ever. But he acknowledges it’s going to be tough to watch some of the fairways get ripped up for the pipeline project.
“You spend 30 years making fairways and growing grass and it just gets completely destroyed,” Hawley says. “It’s like watching a natural disaster happening. It’s kind of heart-wrenching, but once the restoration work is done it will be better than it was. . .When we re-open it will be in the best shape it’s ever been in the past 28 years.”
Hawley doesn’t know exactly when the course will re-open. He’s hoping to be back up and running Sept. 1. “Have you ever dealt with the government,” he says with a laugh.
The pipeline will run through holes 9, 10, 11, 13, 15 and across No. 5. Fairways will be completely re-sodded once the pipeline work is done. None of Redwoods’ greens are being affected.
Hawley said course superintendent Peter Szarka and his crew will take the opportunity to do some other renovation work while the course is closed. “We are going to rebuild some tee decks and work on some drainage in some of our wetter areas,” Hawley says.
Redwoods is the second Fraser Valley course to be impacted by the pipeline. Ledgeview in Abbotsford has had to shorten and re-route its course to remain open during pipeline construction. That work is expected to be completed by the end of April. Redwoods is keeping its driving range and clubhouse banquet operations open during pipeline construction.
NINE STRAIGHT: The University of B.C.’s women’s team keeps winning, but isn’t having much luck with the weather. The Thunderbirds ran their record to a perfect nine straight wins this season at the Corban Spring Invitational in Salem, Ore. For the second straight week, the UBC women had their final round cancelled due to poor weather. They had built a 23-stroke lead after their first round after shooting a team score of 300.
Elizabeth Labbe’s two-over 74 was the tournament’s low score. The UBC men got two rounds in on the first day and finished second when their third round was washed out. Next up for the UBC teams is the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship, which goes April 25-26 in Eagle Point, Ore. Simon Fraser University’s men’s team tees it up this week at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
ADAM AND ADAM: Surrey’s Adam Svensson and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford will team up for this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Svensson and Hadwin both tied for 26th at last week’s RBC Heritage tournament in Hilton Head, S.C., and earned $54,844 apiece. Merritt’s Roger Sloan tied for 59th and made $17,680, while Nick Taylor of Abbotsford missed the cut. Taylor and Sloan are not playing this week in New Orleans, where the Australian duo of Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman will defend their title. The current positions in the FedEx Cup points race for B.C.’s four PGA TOUR regulars: Hadwin (39th); Svensson (104th); Taylor (112th) and Sloan (155th).
TEAMING UP: The Vancouver Golf Tour and GolfBC are teaming up to offer two new events this season. The JM Media VGT Island Open goes May 2-3 at Olympic View Golf Club in Victoria. Prizes worth $10,000 will be available for a field of 100 amateurs, while 60 professionals will compete for a $25,000 purse. The 2022 BC Women’s Open presented by GolfBC goes June 4-5 at Mayfair Lakes Golf & Country Club in Richmond. The tournament features a $20,000 purse and the winner will receive a free entry and complimentary airfare to play in the Monday qualifier for this summer’s CP Women’s Open in Ottawa.
RECORD ROUND: Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart closed with a bogey-free eight-under 64 to tie for top spot at the Sunshine State Conference Championship in Lakeland, Fla. Ewart, the No.1-ranked player in NCAA Division II, subsequently lost a three-man playoff to Barry University teammate Nicolas Quintero. Barry won the event by 13 shots to claim their fifth conference championship.
Ewart’s 64 was a conference tournament scoring record. He had opened the 54-hole event with rounds of 72 and 73. “It was a good day, my game finally all came together in one piece,” Ewart said. “I felt like every day I played well but one thing was missing and today it all came together.” Barry’s next event is the NCAA Super Regionals, which goes May 5-7 in Valdosta, Ga.
JUNIORS ADVANCE: Canada’s boys and girls teams both earned spots in this year’s Toyota Junior World Cup at a qualifier held at Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria. Port Coquitlam’s Yeji Kwon closed with a six-under 66 to lead the way for the Junior Girls squad, which beat Mexico by 15 shots in the 54-hole event. Vernon’s Cooper Humphreys also closed with a six-under 66 as Canada edged second-place Mexico by five shots. Humpheys finished at even par, one shot behind Gabriel Palacios of Guatemala and Manuel Barbachano of Mexico. The Toyota Junior World Cup is scheduled for June 21-24 in Japan.
FOUR-BALL FUN: Vancouver’s Michelle Liu and Angela Arora of Surrey will partner at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. The event goes April 20-24. Liu and Arora, both members of Canada’s national junior team, topped the field at a qualifier for the event last fall in Salem, Ore.
BIRDIE BINGE: Kimberley’s Jared du Toit topped the field at the Outlaw Tour’s Western Skies tourney in Gilbert, Ariz. Du Toit made 25 birdies in the 54-hole Modified Stableford Scoring event to finish with 48 points. He shot rounds of 60, 63 and 64 on the par-70 layout at Western Skies Golf Club and earned $5,000 for the win. Du Toit is scheduled to compete in the final PGA Tour Canada qualifying tournament of the season April 26-29 at Crown Isle Golf Resort in Courtenay.
CHIP SHOTS: Kevin Stinson of Cheam Mountain shot a three-under 69 and beat the field by five shots at a G&G Tour event at Richmond Country Club. . .Richmond’s Chris Crisologo shot a four-under 68 and won the Vancouver Golf Tour’s Green Tee Open in Langley. . .PGA Tour Canada announced that Fortinet, a California-based cybersecurity firm, will sponsor a season-long points race competition for the next five years. The winner of the Fortinet Cup will receive a $25,000 bonus.