The Combo Of Chris Crisologo And Caddy Alisha Lau, Both Accomplished Players Who Have Represented British Columbia On Numerous Occasions, Teamed Up For A Stellar Performance In The Freedom 55 Financial Open At Point Grey G&CC This Week - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

American Lee McCoy Wins Season-Opening Event On Mackenzie Tour By 8 Shots At Point Grey

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It wasn’t a banner weekend for Canadians at the Freedom 55 Financial Open, but at least one of them was smiling when the season-opening event of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada circuit concluded Sunday at Point Grey Golf & Country Club.

And he didn’t even cash a cheque.

Richmond amateur Chris Crisologo, teeing it up in his first pro event on a sponsor’s exemption, played like a seasoned veteran at Point Grey. The 21-year-old rising star of Simon Fraser University’s golf team closed with a two-under 70 Sunday to finish the 72-hole event at seven-under par.

Stephen Ames Added His Name To The List Of Those Questioning Bernhard Langer’s Putting Stroke When Asked About It At The Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship Media Day - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

VICTORIA -- Stephen Ames says Bernhard Langer is the talk of the PGA Champions circuit and not just because of his recent back-to-back victories at senior majors.

No, Ames and many of his colleagues on the 50-and-over tour are spending considerable time chatting about Langer’s putting stroke. More specifically, they are questioning whether the soon-to-be 60-year-old German is breaking the rules by continuing to anchor his long putter.

The Freedom 55 Financial Open Is The First Event Of The 2017 Mackenzie Tour Schedule And Will Also Be The Pro Debut For Vancouver's Stuart Macdonald (R) Shown Here With Teammate Lawren Rowe Of Victoria After Winning The Peruvian International Amateur Championship - Image Credit Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Stuart Macdonald practically grew up on the fairways of Vancouver’s Point Grey Golf & Country Club and during many of the “hundreds and hundreds” of rounds played there he would find himself dreaming about becoming a touring pro.

What he never dreamed of was making his pro debut at his home course.

Having Won His First PGA TOUR Event At The Valspar Championship This Year, Adam Hadwin Now Has His Eyes On Another Very Special Trophy - The Claret Jug - Image Credit Kelly Murray

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It wasn’t the finish he was looking for, but Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin still had reason to celebrate after Sunday’s final round of the Dean & DeLuca Invitational in Fort Worth, Tex.

Hadwin tied for 53rd spot at Colonial Country Club, but more importantly he remained inside the top 50 in the latest Official World Golf Ranking and clinched a spot in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

Saskatchewan's Graham DeLaet Poses With The Kids At The 2016 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship Junior Clinic for Kids - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

VICTORIA, B.C. – Tournament Organizers have announced that the 2017 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship Junior Clinic for Kids will take place on Saturday, September 16, from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The clinic will be held at The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa — the site of the PGA TOUR Champions event, and will be hosted by one of the PGA TOUR Champions players competing in the tournament.

Freedom 55 Financial Open Tournament Director David Lee Fay Addressed The Assembled Media At Point Grey Golf Club Prior To The Upcoming Web.com Event - Image Credit British Columbia Golf

Season-Opening Freedom 55 Financial Open Tournament Announces Canucks For Kids Fund Charity Ball Hockey Classic And Sponsor Exemptions 

(May 25, 2017 – Vancouver, B.C.) – The Freedom 55 Financial Open is set to open the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season next week at Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver.

In addition to the 72-hole tournament, the first of 12 Mackenzie Tour events this season that will see players compete to earn status on the Web.com Tour, the Freedom 55 Financial Open has incorporated a Canucks for Kids Fund Charity Ball Hockey event to raise both awareness and donations for the charity, along with the second annual Freedom 55 Financial Open Charity Walk.

Children between the ages of 8 – 12 will have the opportunity to participate in a ball hockey game, which will be coached by Canucks stars Daniel and Henrik Sedin, on the Sunday of tournament week, leading into the golf tournament’s exciting Sunday finish.

The tournament also announced six sponsor exemptions, adding to a field of 156 players from nearly 20 countries for the $175,000 event.

Don't Look Now, But Nick Taylor Is Movin' On Up In The FedEX Cup Points Race - Image Courtesy VGT

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Very quietly, which is kind of his style, Nick Taylor is putting together a solid year on the PGA TOUR.

This past weekend in North Carolina, the Abbotsford native finally got the top-10 result at the Wells Fargo Championship that he felt he should have had at both the Valero Texas Open and the RBC Heritage tourneys in April.

Taylor closed with a one-under 71 at the Wells Fargo, birdieing the 72nd hole to finish inside the top 10 in a tie for eighth place.

VICTORIA, B.C. (May 2, 2017) – Pacific Links International and the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship Tournament Organizers are pleased to announce that Help Fill a Dream, a Victoria based charitable organization, will once again be the Official Charity Partner of the PGA TOUR Champions Event.

After a successful partnership through the 2016 Event, raising over $80,000, both parties were keen to continue the relationship and build upon what was accomplished last year.

Kelowna's John Mlikotic Is One of 15 British Columbians Who Will Tee It Up This Week In The Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada Q-School At Courtenay's Crown Isle Resort - Image Courtesy VGT

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The goal is to treat it like any other golf tournament, which of course is easier said than done. After all, Q-School is not any other tournament. Play badly here and you don’t move on and play the next week. You don’t play at all.

John Mlikotic knows this, but hopes he can keep those thoughts out of his head when he tees it up in Tuesday’s first round of the fifth and final Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada qualifying school at Crown Isle Resort in Courtenay.

The Winning Trophy Design For Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship Reflects A Strong West Coast Theme - Image Courtesy SportBox PR

VICTORIA, BC (April 18, 2017) - The Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship announced today the winner of the Event’s 2017 Trophy Design Contest. Tournament Organizers received many amazing submissions, making it a difficult choice to narrow down the designs to three finalists.

Following the initial finalists selection, the trophy design contest was opened to the public to decide on the winner based on the majority of fan votes. After voting closed on April 12, it was determined that Patrick Belanger of Vancouver Island was the winner.

Kelowna's Samantha Richdale Continues To Swing Toward Her Dream Of Playing Regularly On The LPGA Tour - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)/British Columbia Golf 

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

MESA, Ariz. -- The long and winding road that has been Samantha Richdale’s professional golf career stopped earlier this month in Arizona, where the Kelowna native made a little Symetra Tour history.

Richdale tied for 12th place at the tour’s Gateway Classic at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa and the $1,624 she earned pushed her into the top spot in Symetra Tour career earnings.

No one has made more on the Symetra Tour -- the official developmental tour of the LPGA Tour -- than the $227,670 Richdale has pocketed since turning pro in 2006.

PGA TOUR Champions Member Miguel Angel Jimenez On The 18th Green At Bear Mountain Resort In Victoria During The Final Round Of The 2016 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship - Image Credit Bryan Outram/ British Columbia Golf

Jimenez, McCarron, Sluman, And Browne Comment On 2017 Event

VICTORIA, BC (April 5, 2017) - Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship Tournament Organizers announced today that tickets are now officially available for purchase for the PGA TOUR Champions event.

An exciting addition to the current ticket offerings is the new travel ticket package - a joint initiative from Pacific Coastal Airlines and the Tournament to make the Event more accessible to fans from the mainland.

The all inclusive travel ticket will consist of three different tournament pass options, as well as round trip flights into Victoria for the Event from Vancouver, Kelowna or Prince George and tournament transportation from Victoria International Airport (YYJ) to Bear Mountain Golf Resort.

By Gord Montgomery (iG)

If ever there was a classic case of an understatement, Adam Hadwin delivered it during a recent media conference call: “March has been a pretty busy month!” he declared.

Well, yeah. Besides, winning for the first time on the PGA TOUR at the Valspar Championship not only got him an invite to The Masters, it moved him into the top-five of the Fed-ExCup standings and top-10 on the international President’s Cup roster. Add to that his recent marriage and buying a house, and yes, March has been a hectic time for the B.C. golfer.

Merritt, BC's Roger Sloan (R) Shown Here At A Media Event At Bear Mountain Golf Resort In Victoria Last Year, Moved 84 Places Up The World Golf Ranking This Past Week - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

Courtesy Golf Canada

It was another stellar week for BC golfers in the Top 10 Weekly rankings as published by Golf Canada. Merritt's Roger Sloan and Victoria's Lawren Rowe both made signifcant gains in the OWGR while Abbotsford's Adam Hadwin, now solidly inside the Top 50 Professional Male Ranking in the world took some time off to get married ahead of his first appearance in next week's Masters at Augusta, GA.

Outside of the 'Top 10' some other very impressive gains by Canadians were also made, including Coquitlam's Euna Han whose victory in the CJGA Western Canadian Junior Championship in some very difficult conditions at Surrey's Northview GC vaulted her 315 places up the world standings for amateur women.

Coming Soon To A Professional Golf Tour Near You, The Use Of Distance Measuring Devices. Here You See Abigail Rigsby (L) And Shirin Anjarwalla (R) Of Team British Columbia At The 2016 North Pacific Junior Ladies Team Matches At Pitt Meadows GC Using The Devices En Route To Helping BC Win The Annual Event - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)/ British Columbia Golf

Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Canada, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica allowing at four events

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (March 28, 2017) – The PGA TOUR has announced that it will begin testing the use of distance measuring devices during competition at select tournaments this year on the Web.com Tour, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica.

Each of the three Tours will allow use of the devices by players and caddies at four consecutive tournaments, including Monday qualifiers. For these events, the PGA TOUR will temporarily enact a Local Rule in accordance with Decision 14-3/0.5 of The R&A/USGA Rules of Golf, which stipulates the device can be used to measure distance only (use of functions to measure slope, elevation or wind will not be allowed).

The 2017 Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Season Kicks Off At Vanvouver's Point Grey Golf & Country Club On May 29th - Image Courtesy Point Grey G&CC

(March 27, 2017) – Oakville, Ont. and Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) – The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada schedule will feature 12 events from May to September in 2017 as players look to make the next step on the path to the PGA TOUR.

The season will once again begin in May with the Freedom 55 Financial Open (May 29-June 4) at Point Grey Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, B.C., with purses of $175,000 (CA$) for the first 11 events and a $200,000 purse for the season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship (Sept. 11-17) at Highland Country Club in London, Ont.

Stuart Macdonald Turned It On Late To Secure Himself Status On The Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada Circuit At Q-School In California - Image Credit Bernard Brault/ Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Birdie. Birdie. Birdie. That’s how Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald finished his first qualifying school Friday to secure status on this year’s Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada circuit. That would be your textbook definition of clutch.

The 22-year-old member of Point Grey Golf & Country Club, who is a member of Canada’s national amateur team, finished the 72-hole Q school at the Country Club at Soboba Springs in San Jacinto, Calif., tied for ninth place at three-under par. That guarantees him the first four starts of the Mackenzie Tour season and means he won’t be an amateur much longer.

MLA For Vancouver-Fraserview, Suzanne Anton Was On Hand At Point Grey G&CC To Announce A $100,000 Investment By The Province Of B.C - British Columbia Golf Image

For Immediate Release

The Province of British Columbia is investing $100,000 in the BC Golf Swing to help welcome top golfers and fans from around the globe to B.C., announced Suzanne Anton, MLA for Vancouver-Fraserview, on behalf of Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour.

The announcement was made today in front of assembled media and golf industry officials at the host club for the Freedom 55 Financial Open, Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver.

Stuart Macdonald Looks To Begin The Transition To His Professional Career With A Good Week At Q-School - Image Credit PNGA

by Brian Decker/PGATOUR.com

Vancouver, B.C.'s Stuart Macdonald is looking to earn Mackenzie Tour status this week a Q-School. The member of Golf Canada's National Amateur Team plays out of Point Grey Golf and Country Club, host of the Freedom 55 Financial Championship, and recently finished his collegiate career at Purdue University.

MacDonald plans on competing as an amateur into this summer, but has eyes on his next steps and professional future this week in California.

The Freedom 55 Financial Open will take place at the prestigious Point Grey Golf & Country Club the week of May 29 – June 4, 2017. They are looking for people that are interested in volunteering time to assist in implementing this great event.

This year’s charity recipient is the Canucks for Kids Fund.