Andrew Pinette - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

WILLIAMS LAKE — There’s a new kid in town. Of course, at the B.C. Senior Men’s Championship being a ‘kid’ is a relative kind of thing.

The rookies at this championship are 55 years old and one of them has the first-round lead at Williams Lake Golf & Tennis Club. Surrey’s Andrew Pinette fired a two-under 69 — the only sub-par round of the day — to grab a two-shot lead on a course that brings back lots of memories.

Pinette doesn’t just have an age advantage on much of the 155-man field. He also has more than a little inside information on the golf course.

View From Capilano GC's 14th Tee - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2023

West Vancouver, B.C. – Capilano Golf and Country Club in West Vancouver, B.C. (Canada), will host many of the top amateur golfers in the world this week for the 56th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship.

Hosted by British Columbia Golf, the championship will be played from July 25-28, 2023. Hosting previously in 2003 and 2013, this marks the third time the championship has been held at Capilano Golf and Country Club.

Vancouver's Stuart Macdonald - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It’s turning into quite the summer for Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald, who won the PGA Tour Canada’s Commissionaires Ottawa Open in a four-hole playoff.

The win is undoubtedly the highlight, so far, of Macdonald’s professional career. But the 28-year-old has an even bigger moment coming in about three week’s time.

Macdonald’s wife, Carly, is due to deliver the couple’s first child in mid-August.

Doug Roxburgh Will Be Going For Senior Title Number 6 In Williams Lake - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Defending champion Sandy Harper of Nanaimo will be joined by five other past champions at the B.C. Senior Men’s Championship, which is being played July 25-27 at Williams Lake Golf & Tennis Club.

Norm Bradley of Kelowna (2020), John Gallacher of Burnaby (2007, 2015), Harry Ferguson of Invermere (2016), Michael Kennedy of North Vancouver (2021) and five-time champion Doug Roxburgh of Vancouver (2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019) are part of the 156-player field.

Many of them will be seeing Williams Lake Golf & Tennis Club for the first time, but Dennis Williams and Rob Yaworksi are more than a little familiar with the par-71 layout. Williams is a member of the grounds crew at the course and Yaworski is the club’s general manager. Both are playing in the event.

James Lepp Tees Off In The 2006 RBC Canadian Open - Image Credit Graig Abel Photography/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Bryan Adams sang about the Summer of ’69. James Lepp occasionally reminisces about the Summer of 2003. After all, those were the best golfing days of his life.

Lepp got to thinking about them just the other day when he joined some friends and played Capilano Golf & Country Club in West Vancouver.

The scenic Stanley Thompson gem was a big part of that special summer.

Canada's Brooke Henderson Is A Big Fan Of Playing Golf In The Pacific Northwest - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Brooke Henderson has won twice in Portland, picked up another victory in Seattle and now figures it’s time to add Vancouver to her list of West Coast triumphs.

Henderson made a quick visit to Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club last week to help promote next month’s CPKC Women’s Open. She referenced her past success in the Pacific Northwest.

“I love this area, I love the Pacific Northwest and having won in Portland and Seattle I feel the next stop has to be here in Vancouver,” she said.

Cooper Humphreys Holds The Bostock Trophy After His BC Amateur Victory  - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

July 14, 2023 - (PARKSVILLE, BC) - One of the first real clues that Cooper Humphreys might turn into a special player came at the 2019 B.C. Amateur Championship at Big Sky Golf Club in Pemberton when he was just 14 years old.

Humphreys shocked everyone that week when he tied for third. You kind of knew at that point that this was a kid worth watching. He hasn’t disappointed.

Vernon, BC's Cooper Humphreys Will Take A 3-Shot Lead Into The Final Round Of The 2023 BC Amateur At Morningstar GC In Parksville - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

July 13, 2023 - (PARKSVILLE, BC) - Cooper Humphreys has his game plan all figured out for the fourth and final round of the B.C. Amateur Championship.

It’s quite simple, really. Just play the way he did in the second and third rounds and it should be smooth sailing.

The 18-year-old from Vernon has bounced back very nicely after what he called a lousy start to the 121st playing of the B.C. Amateur at Morningstar Golf Course.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Four new inductees, each with a long list of playing accomplishments, will be welcomed this fall into the B.C. Golf Hall of Fame.

Craig Doell of Victoria, Brian DeBiasio of Qualicum, Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay and the late Ron Willey of Nanaimo will be inducted at a dinner Oct. 26 at Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver.

Doell, DeBiasio and Stouffer all expressed delight at being selected to join the Hall of Fame. “I am thrilled to be selected to the B.C. Golf Hall of Fame and to have my name in there with so many great players is amazing,” said Stouffer. “I never played golf as a junior, so to be recognized now for my accomplishments is pretty cool.

It is with great pleasure the Board of Directors announce the 2023 Inductees into the Golf Hall of Fame of BC.

The 2023 Inductees will join 44 honoured members plus 2 teams presently in the Golf Hall of Fame of BC at a dinner on October 26th at Marine Drive GC. The 2023 Inductees are listed below:

Jackson Rothwell Is Seen Here With His Dad As His Caddy During His 1st BC Amateur Triumph At Big Sky GC In Pemberton In 2019 - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Jackson Rothwell insists he isn’t thinking about a possible hat trick. The Victoria native is instead looking forward to competing relatively close to home and seeing some familiar faces at the 121st playing of the B.C. Amateur Championship at Morningstar Golf Club in Parksville.

One of those familiar faces will be his dad, Alex, who always caddies for his son at the B.C. Amateur. That, Rothwell said, is a big part of what has made his two B.C. Amateur wins so special.

“It’s a fun week for me because my dad takes the week off and he is on the bag for me,” the 22-year-old Rothwell said in a phone interview from Calgary, where he was competing in an event at Mickelson National Golf Club.

Amy Lee's Win Completed Her 'Triple Crown' Of BC Junior Golf  - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PRINCE GEORGE — Amy Lee began the day three shots back and by the time she arrived at the 17th tee she had a three-shot lead and seemed to have the B.C. Junior Girls Championship in her back pocket.

But a double-bogey on that par 4 17th hole at Prince George Golf & Curling Club made for a tense finish to the championship for the 15-year-old from Langley.

“No. 17 really got me startled, I have to admit,” said Lee, who rebounded nicely with a birdie on the final hole and won the championship by three shots.

James Lee Successfully Defended His BC Junior Boys Championship - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PRINCE GEORGE — His tournament ended, appropriately, with a birdie on the par 5 18th hole at Prince George Golf & Curling Club.

James Lee went wire-to-wire to defend his B.C. Junior Boys Championship and his play on the par 5s was the key. Lee absolutely feasted on the 5s, playing them 16-under for the tournament.

“Obviously, I did the bulk of my scoring there,” Lee said of his dominance on the par 5s. “The par 3s are a little more tricky here, so it was nice to have some short par 5s you could take advantage of.”

James Lee Takes A Five-Shot Lead Into The Final Round Of The BC Jr. Boys Championship - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PRINCE GEORGE — The birdies didn’t come quite as easily in the third round, but James Lee is still on track for what could be a record-setting performance at the B.C. Junior Boys Championship.

Lee fired a three-under 68 and sits at 15-under par. He is five shots clear of Vernon’s Ryan Vest heading into the final round at Prince George Golf & Curling Club, which was set up more difficult than the previous two days.

Campbell River's Dana Smith Is The Halfway Leader In The BC Junior Girls Championship - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PRINCE GEORGE — Dana Smith is wrapping up her junior golf career this summer and preparing to begin her collegiate golf journey at Simon Fraser University this fall.

The 18-year-old Campbell River native can’t think of a much better way to end this phase of her golfing life than with a win at this week’s B.C. Junior Girls Championship. Smith is halfway there as she leads the tournament at Prince George Golf & Curling Club through two rounds.

“I am hoping I can put together two more nice rounds so that I can finish off my junior career strong,” said Smith, who is even-par through 36 holes.

BC's Megan Osland - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Kelowna’s Megan Osland not only had to beat her opponents, she had to beat the heat to win the Oscar Williams Classic on the Women’s All Pro Tour. The 72-hole event was held in Anna, Tex., during what has been an epic heat wave in parts of the southern U.S.

“I would say most of the days it was between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius, plus the humidity,” Osland said over the phone. “I had a 7 a.m. tee time one day, so I got to the course just before 6 a,m. and I got out of the car and I just started sweating. At 6 a.m.! It was crazy. The heat was definitely a battle in itself.”

Capilano Golf & Country Club Entertained A Prospective New Member Recently - Twitter Screen Grab

At British Columbia Golf we are staunchly in support of 'diversity & inclusion' in golf and indeed in all sports. We might have some 'safety of environment' concerns in this specific instance, however.

Jeremy Watt posted this video on Twitter of an 'uninvited' guest at the venerable golf club in West Vancouver.

Prince George Golf & Curling Club Hosts The 2023 BC Junior Championships - Image Courtesy PGGCC

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The B.C. Junior Boys & Girls Championships are heading north to Prince George Golf and Curling Club and that brings back some memories for general manager John Swanson.

The last time the B.C. Juniors was held in northern British Columbia was 20 years ago when the 2003 Junior Boys competition was played at Dawson Creek Golf Club.

Swanson happened to be general manager at Dawson Creek at the time and that field had some interesting names that included Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin and Roger Sloan, who all went on to play on the PGA TOUR.

BC's Lauren Kim (R) Posed With LPGA Legend Betsy King Before The 2022 U.S. Women's Open At Pine Needles In North Carolina - Image Credit Kevin Kim

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Before she heads to the University of Texas to begin her collegiate golf career, Surrey’s Lauren Kim has a busy summer ahead of her.

Kim, who just graduated from Earl Marriott Secondary, has qualified to play in three major United States Golf Association events this summer.

In addition to the Women’s Amateur, Kim has also qualified to play in the U.S. Women’s Open and the U.S. Junior Girls Championships.

Playing golf from the appropriate set of tees is a great way to derive a lot more enjoyment from the game.

At the same time, how do we really know how to determine credibly what those tees should be for each of us?