Vancouver Golf Tour Kings Links Open in Review

MARKETPLACE IGA - VANCOUVER GOLF TOUR

2010 KINGS LINKS OPEN

Monday, April 19th
Kings Links by the Sea GC
Boundary Bay, BC
6,865 yards Par 72

‘SHIN AND BERNAKEVITCH SHARE THE CROWN’

VGT Professionals John Shin and Lindsay Bernakevitch prevailed at the 2010 VGT Kings Links Open today, both shooting rounds of 4-under par 68 for a shared victory at Vancouver Golf Tour’s fourth event of the year. Both Shin and Bernakevitch took home $1,025 each for their win and moved to 3rd place and 7th place respectively in the 2010 CLEVELAND GOLF/ SRIXON CANADA Order of Merit. Seymour Creek’s Bryn Parry was one shot back in a four way tie for 3rd, maintaining a solid lead in the Race for the $5,000 PGA Q-School Entry with 3,550 points.

Heading up the Championship Amateur field was 26-year old Marine Drive Member Geoff Butt with a fine score of 3-under par 69 and a one shot victory over Northview’s Derek Wray. Butt took home a Cleveland Launcher 3-wood and a $100 Marketplace IGA Gift Card for his victory.

Butt has been working hard on his game of late, attempting to acquire his Canadian Tour card last fall in Toronto and this spring in California. He has plans to make a 3rd visit to the Canadian Tour Q-school later in May at Morningstar Golf Club and with today’s amateur victory, he will no doubt take a more confidence going forward. Butt plans to stay local and sharpen his game in a few more VGT events this spring against some of BC’s top Amateurs and Professionals. Derek Wray’s 2nd place finish vaults him within 400 points of the Amateur Order of Merit Leader Adam Cornelson of Vancouver Golf Club.

The Amateur Flight A Title was won by Seong-Jin Min of Burnaby with a score of 75 and a one shot victory over Jesse Forster. Min won a Cleveland Golf carry bag and $100 Gift Card to Marketplace IGA. In Flight B action, Dave Woodsford of Greenacres Golf Club shot a gross score of 79 to win by won shot over 16 year-old North Vancouver golfer Aaron Tham. Woodsford also took home a Cleveland Bag and $100 gift card for Marketplace IGA.

Please find a copy of the Official Prize Results here http://www.vancouvergolftour.com/

2010 Canada Bread BC Match Play Final Results

2010 CANADA BREAD

BC MATCH PLAY FINALS

36 Hole Match Results
Sunday, April 18th

Northview Golf Club
(seedings in brackets)
Winning Team Listed First

Dave Zibrik/ Kevin Hogg (19)
9 & 8
Mark Burke/Mewail Kidane (1)

Congratulations to 2010 CANADA BREAD BC MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONS DAVE ZIBRIK and KEVIN HOGG for their fine play at today’s 36 Hole Finals at Northview’s Ridge Course. Westwood Plateau Academy’s New Head Professional (Zibrik) and Swan-e-set Amateur (Hogg) were too strong a force for the Defending Champions Mark Burke/Mewail Kidane of the Golf Institute at Fraserview, blazing a total of 12 birdies and one eagle on their card over the duration of the match (28 holes).

Hogg and Zibrik fed off each other nicely the whole day, first Hogg setting the tone with a 9 iron on the 1st hole to 4 inches for the tap-in birdie. An unforced bogey on #3 from Burke/Kidane and a routine up-and-down to 2 feet for bird on #4 and Zibrik/Hogg took a 3-up lead early in this match. A win from Burke/Kidane on the par-3 fifth put the match back to 2-up, but only momentarily. Zibrik/Hogg’s steady team play continued on the par 4 sixth, with partner Hogg in for a solid par, Zibrik knocked down his 8 foot birdie for another win to go back to 3-up after six. Back-to-back birdies on #7 (Kidane) & #8 (Burke) kept the defending champions in the match thru the turn as both teams took par on the 9th to keep the match 1 up Zibrik/Hogg at the turn.

The start of the back nine went much the same as the front with Hogg making the first charge with a 20 footer for birdie on #10 and then stiffing his tee-shot on #11 to 8 feet over the water, ultimately free-ing up Zibrik on his tee-shot, which he stuck to 4 feet and made yet another birdie. Burke had his own 7 footer to make the half, but failed to capitalize and the match was back to 3-up thru 11. With Zibrik’s putter the only one to catch fire from 15 feet on #12, the match became 4 up thru as many holes. And after two consecutive halves on holes 14 and 15, Zibrik nailed another iron shot to 8 feet on the downhill 16th and capitalized for the team’s 7th birdie on the day to go 5-up through 16.

After Burke and Kidane failed to get their pitches up and down for par on the 17th, Zibrik/Hogg took an even bigger lead in this match to 6-up through 17. Birdies on 18 from both Zibrik and Burk kept the match at 6-up thru 18 holes.

After the lunchtime break, the players convened for the second half of the match. And it didn’t take long for Zibrik and Hogg to show that they were not interested in relinquishing their lead whatsoever. First it was Zibrik who drained a 12 footer for his birdie to halve the hole after Burke followed him in for birdie from 7 feet. Then it was his partner who took the turn on the next hole, chipping in for birdie from 20 feet to extend the match to 7 up through 20 holes.

With a lengthy birdie on the 21st from Burke it looked like for a moment there might be a glimmer of a comeback in the making, but only one hole later it was Zibrik back to his tricks on the putting green, holing yet another 12 footer for birdie to solidify their lead to 7-up thru 22.

Some great up and downs were made on hole 23 for pars by Zibrik and Kidane and some even greater second shots on the 24th hole by Zibrik and Burke left some 6-8 feet for birdie, which both failed to capitalize on and halves were made. More fine drives and second shots on the par 5- 25th hole left Zibrik and Burke sitting 15 feet and 10 feet for eagle. Although both players missed their eagles, they did tap-in for their birdies, and the match remained 7-up Hogg/Zibrik thru 25.

As outstanding as Zibrik played the first 25 holes of the finals, the icing on this match came from his amateur partner Kevin Hogg when he eagled the short par-4 26th from 5 feet and ultimately sealing the fait of the match with his 15 footer for birdie on the 28th hole to close the match 9 and 8.

At the end of the day, the team of Zibrik and Hogg had too much fire-power for the 2009 BC Match Play Champions, something they had showcased to past opponents through the course of the match play draw. In their last four matches alone, Zibrik/Hogg amassed an amazing better-ball score of -41 and showed to everyone in the field that they were truly deserved Champions! For their victory, Zibrik cashed a $1,800 winner’s cheque and Hogg received a $1,000 gift card. Runners-up Burke and Kidane received $1,000 each for their fine play for reaching the finals. To see the detailed match play results, please click here: http://www.vancouvergolftour.com/index.html 

At the conclusion of the event, VGT Commissioner Fraser Mulholland paid tribute to some very important partners in the co-ordination of the 2010 BC Match Play event:

BC MATCH PLAY TITLE SPONSOR – CANADA BREAD. Special thanks to Roger Antoniazzi for his continued support of this event the past three years!

VGT’S TITLE SPONSOR – MARKETPLACE IGA. Thanks for supporting BC Golf Development for the fourth straight year!

BC MATCH PLAY VOLUNTEERS: Thanks to all of you who helped us organize and make this event a special tournament for the competitors who start their year with this as their first ‘MAJOR’ of the year.

ALL HOST GOLF COURSES – Special thanks to all the golf courses on our 2010 BC Match Play rotation. Once again, without your support, this 65 year storied event would not continue to live on each year!

VGT TEAM MEMBERS – Thanks for all your devoted work throughout this event and all the VGT events that were jammed in between the weekend matches. Great work team!!

We look forward to hosting the 2011 BC MATCH PLAY event for all competitors and would like to wish our 2010 Champions good luck in defending their title next year!!!
Fraser Mulholland
Commissioner
VGT

Golf Course Review - University Golf Club

I had a chance to play University Golf Club a couple of weeks ago for the first time this year. Myself and a dozen other local Club Pros were playing in our monthly skins game which is always great fun and it is good to catch up with everyone and see how their year has gone.

Jeff's Opinion: I always like going to UGC, in part because of its close proximity to downtown, we always have a memorable and fantastic experience. On the golf course side it is a fun layout, not overly difficult and always in good shape. This day was no exception, while they had a tough start after an unusual spring and suffered some damage to their fairways, they have completely recovered and have been in excellent condition for most of the summer. The greens, as always, were in terrific shape and rolled very true. I will admit I do have a hard time putting there; it seems that there are some subtle but hidden breaks in every putt. The staff are fantastic and do a really great job in all departments, which is one of the reasons we always stay for a meal and seem to leave with a purchase from the Golf Shop every time.

Tara's Opinion: I did not play golf on this day, in fact I have not yet played at the course even though I seem to be there at least on a monthly basis. We do attend quite a few events at the golf course but it is also our favorite course in the city to visit to use the range, dine in the restaurant and to shop. As Jeff has mentioned, the main reason for this is the staff. The service level is great in all departments and the food is always good. The menu has enough diversity that you can eat at the facility often and always have something to choose from and the selection and amount of clothing in the golf shop make it my favorite course to shop at.

Overall UGC is an excellent golf operation and we would recommend that you go out and play a round, or even use the range or go for lunch. Oh and yes, I was shut out in the skins game.

BC Golf Hall of Fame to Grow By Four

It was announced today that the BC Golf Hall of Fame will grow by four new Members this year, bringing the total number of inductees to 25. The BC Golf House & Museum Society began recognizing B.C.'s best golfers in 2001 and the Hall of Fame can be visited at the BC Golf House on the grounds of University Golf Club. This year’s induction ceremony will take place on October 22nd.

Leading the list of this year’s nominees is Richard (Dick) Zokel. Zokel is known primarily for his professional accomplishments including two PGA Tour wins, a Canadian PGA Championship and a BC Open along with his 5 appearances on Canada's Dunhill Cup Team and our country's World Team twice. His amateur record is equally impressive with a Vancouver City and District Championship in 1977, a BCGA Invitational victory in 1978 and a Canadian Amateur in 1981. His amateur team record includes being a Member of the Canadian World Amateur and B.C. Willingdon Cup Teams in 1980 and 1981. He also tacked on an NCAA Championship while at Bringham Young in 81. He is currently the visionary, designer and operator of the Sagebrush Golf and Sporting Club in the Nicola Valley, which has recently been named Canada's Best New Golf Course by SCOREGolf Magazine for 2009.
Alison Murdoch, who has only been a B.C. resident since 2000, plays out of the Victoria Golf Club and has one of the most unbelievable 10 year records in all of amateur golf. In addition to her perfect record of 10 BCGA Zone 5 Senior Women's Championships she also has 5 BCGA Zone 5 Women's Championships which go along with 4 Canadian Senior Women's Titles, 3 Irish Senior Women's victories and a British Women's Senior Championship. She also has victories at the PNGA Senior Women's and Mid-Amateur Championships.
Jackie Little's induction to the Hall of Fame seems particularly well timed as she has just wrapped up her title defence at the Canadian Senior Women's Amateur making her 2 for 2 since becoming eligible for the event. She has 5 BCGA Women's Amateur titles, the first dating back to 1992, the last in 2003 along with 3 B.C. Women's Mid-Amateur titles. She has won the Zone 2 Amateur 10 times, the Zone 6 title twice and the Zone 6 Senior Women's Amateur once to go along with 11 appearances on the B.C. Women's Amateur Team, 4 times on the B.C. Mid-Amateur Team and twice playing on the B.C. Senior Women's Team.
Steve Berry has a pile of championships from the 70's through the 90's! His list of victories is almost as long as his list of runner-up finishes. He has victories in the B.C. Junior, B.C. Amateur, BCGA Invitational, B.C. Mid-Amateur, Vancouver City Match Play, Vancouver City and District and the Vancouver Island Match Play. He is an 11 time Willingdon Cup B.C. Team Member, a two time Member of the BCGA Mid-Amateur Team, three times a Member of B.C. Senior’s Teams and three times a Member of PNGA Morse Cup Team.
Tickets for the B.C. Golf Hall of Fame dinner are available through the BC Golf House & Museum by calling 604-222-4653 and are $125 each or a table of 8 for $900. The B.C. Golf Hall of Fame was created and is administered by the BC Golf House & Museum Society and can be visited on the web at http://bcgolfmuseum.org or in person on the grounds of University Golf Club on the corner of 10th Avenue and Blanca streets.

Little Wins Back-To-Back Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Senior Championships

Diane Williams wins super-senior division

Bridgewater, N.S. (RCGA) – Jackie Little of Port Alberni, B.C., fired a final-round 8-over par 80 Thursday to win the Royale Cup Canadian Senior Women’s Championship held at Osprey Ridge Golf Club in Bridgewater, N.S.

Little finished the tournament at 4-over (70-70-80-220), to reclaim the Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Senior Championship title.

“Winning this year feels just as good as last year!” said an elated Little. “Winning a national championship is always an accomplishment. With good players like we had this year, you always have to be on top of your game. But I played pretty solid, and it feels awesome.”

Little headed into her final round with an impressive 7-stroke lead, but struggled against Thursday’s windy conditions.

“The wind was tough today,” said Little. “It came across every hole and it made for a lot of second guessing. The shots I thought were right just weren’t.”

With her win, Little caps off a successful season. Earlier this season, Little captured the Alberta Women’s Senior championship title and was the low medalist at the United States Senior Women's Amateur sectional qualifier at Willamette Valley Golf Club in Canby, OR. Little also placed fourth in the British Columbia Senior Championship and T8 at the BC Women’s Amateur Championship.

Lynda Palahniuk of Kelowna, B.C., finished second at 8-over (75-76-73-224), while third place honours went to Kathy Powers of Hammonds Plains, N.S., who finished at 10-over (73-74-79-226).

In the Women’s Super Senior championship, Calgary’s Diane Williams clinched her victory after she fired a final-round 80 to finish at 16-over, thirteen-strokes ahead of runner-up Gloria Sinclair of Georgetown, Ont., who finished at 29-over. Third place went to Jane Kirkpatrick of Woodbridge, Ont., who finished 32-over.

The Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Senior Championship is open to women who have reached their 50th birthday by the first scheduled day of the championship, August 25, 2009. Corresponding with the championship is the Super Senior competition, open to female amateurs who have reached their 60th birthday by the first scheduled day of the championship, August 25, 2009.

A complete list of players, starting times and post-round results for the 2009 Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Senior Championship can be found at www.rcga.org/Championships.

The following are final results for the 2009 Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Senior Championship:

1. Jackie Little, Port Alberni, BC, 70-70-80-220 +4
2. Lynda Palahniuk, Kelowna, BC, 75-76-73-224 +8
3. Kathy Powers, Hammonds Plains, NS, 73-74-79-226 +10
4. Holly Horwood, Vancouver, BC, 75-76-77-228 +12
4. Alison Murdoch, Victoria, BC, 77-75-76-228 +12
6. Louise Boivin, Repentigny, QC, 78-76-77-231 +15
7. Diane Williams, Calgary, AB, 76-76-80-232 +16
8. Cheryl Van Dornick, Camrose, AB, 78-75-81-234 +18
9. Teri deLuis, Brockville, ON, 78-77-80-235 +19
9. Karen Pultz, Surrey, BC, 78-75-82-235 +19
11. Phyllis Laschuk, Vancouver, BC, 76-81-80-237 +21
12. Cheryll Damphouse, Amherstburg, ON, 78-76-84-238 +22
12. Debbie McDonald, Claremont, ON, 78-77-83-238 +22
14. Kathy Grebenc, Bathurst, NB, 81-83-77-241 +25
15. Karen Saarimaki, Geraldton, ON, 80-83-79-242 +26
15. Ginny Marshall, Waterloo, ON, 80-81-81-242 +26
15. Ivy Steinberg, Cedar Valley, ON, 79-78-85-242 +26
18. Lynn Kuehn, Lacombe, AB, 77-90-76-243 +27
18. Susan Pearl, Ottawa, ON, 78-79-86-243 +27
20. Vicki Torbet, Richmond, BC, 80-84-80-244 +28

ABOUT IRVING TISSUE AND THE ROYALE BRAND
Irving Tissue, the makers of Royale, is proud to be the official title sponsor of all three of the Canadian Women’s amateur competitions; Royale National Junior Girl’s Championship, Royale Cup National Women’s Amateur Championship and the Royale National Women’s Senior Championship.

Irving Tissue is a family run, privately owned company which began in 1998 and since then has grown to become one of North America’s leading tissue manufactures. The Royale brand is owned and proudly manufactured by Irving Tissue. Royale has been trusted by generations of Canadian families and traces its roots back to 1932. The product line-up includes kitten soft bathroom tissue, facial tissue, napkins and paper towels. For more information on Royale products, visit www.royale.ca

ABOUT THE ROYAL CANADIAN GOLF ASSOCIATION
The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) is the governing body of golf in Canada, representing 377,000 members at 1,600 clubs across the country. Recognized by Sport Canada as the National Sports Organization (NSO) for golf in this country, the RCGA’s mission is to grow participation in and passion for the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. The RCGA conducts programs and services to help shape the future of golf in Canada. High performance athlete development, CN Future Links, Canada’s national junior golf program, turfgrass and environmental research, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum, Rules of Golf and amateur status, handicapping and course rating are only some of the initiatives the association leads for golf in Canada. In addition, the RCGA conducts Canada’s most prestigious golf championships. The RBC Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women’s Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while regional junior and national amateur championships showcase the best in Canadian golf.

For further information on what the RCGA is doing to support golf in your community please visit www.rcga.org.

Canada's Nick Taylor Reaches Final of US Public Links Final

Norman, Okla. – Nick Taylor, 21, of Canada and Brad Benjamin, 22, of Rockford, Ill. won their semifinal matches on Friday and will meet in the scheduled 36-hole final on Saturday at the 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship being conducted at the 7,289-yard, par-71 Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.

Nick Taylor is looking to become the first Canadian to win the U.S. Amateur Public Links.

Taylor defeated Phillip Bryan, 23, of Norman, Okla., 3 and 2, in the first semifinal. Benjamin birdied the 18th hole to defeat Brandon Crick, 21, of McCook, Neb., 1 up, in the second semifinal.

Taylor, who recently tied for 36th and was the low amateur at the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park, arrived in Norman as one of the pre-championship players to watch, fresh off a victory at the Sahalee Players Championship – a prestigious amateur event held at the site of the 2010 U.S. Senior Open, Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash. Taylor will be a senior at the University of Washington.

“To make it to the final to any match play tournament, it's so difficult,” said Taylor. “You've got to be lucky a little bit and you’ve got to play well too. It’s going to be exciting tomorrow and I'm going to be pumped to play.”

In his match against Bryan - the assistant golf coach at the University of Oklahoma and a former four-year member of the team - Taylor was seemingly up against more than just an opponent. The largest crowds of the championship filled the fairways and ringed the green around the Taylor-Bryan match, cheering Bryan throughout. Though Bryan had his chances on a golf course he has played an estimated 300-400 times, it was the combination of a cool putter and consistently steady play from Taylor that ended his hopes of a hometown victory.

Taylor took advantage of a birdie miss by Bryan on the par-5 13th hole to record a birdie of his own and grab a 4-up lead with five holes to play. With the match on the line, Bryan hit a utility club to 10 feet on the 281-yard, par-3 15th hole, made the putt for birdie and extended the match. On the 16th hole, Taylor closed out Bryan with a par to win, 3 and 2.

“I'm having fun,” said Taylor. “At the end of the day, you're having fun but you're also just drained, so it's kind of hard to show how much fun you're having.”

Taylor has still not played in a match that has been extended to the 18th hole this week. He was the stroke-play medalist, recording a 6-under-par 136, four shots better than his nearest competitor. The last medalist to win the U.S. Amateur Public Links was D.J. Trahan in 2000, at Heron Lakes Golf Course, in Portland, Ore.

Taylor defeated Wesley Bryan, 19, of Chapin, S.C., 2 and 1, in Friday morning’s quarterfinal round.

Brad Benjamin is looking to become the second left-hander to win the U.S. Amateur Public Links.

Meanwhile, Benjamin lived to see another day when he won the final two holes of his semifinal match to sneak past Crick, 1 up. Trailing one down on the par-4, 17th, Benjamin stayed alive in the match by curling in a speedy 5-foot putt for par. When Crick lipped out his par attempt from 4-feet, the match was all square.

The recent Memphis graduate laid-up on the 584-yard par-5 18th, and had 145 yards left for his third shot. He hit a 9-iron to about 5-feet and made the birdie putt to win the match.

“He hit a great shot in there, you have to give him a lot of credit,” said Crick. “Brad played really well, it was a battle all the way to the end.”

Benjamin has flown under the radar for much of the week, but was excited and happy to be getting a chance to take on one of the hottest amateurs in the country, and the player who has garnered most of the media attention here in Norman.

“I really like this course. It suits my eye well, and I have a lot of good visuals out there,” said Benjamin, who earned an exemption into the 2009 U.S. Amateur Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla., in August. “But if you change your game plan based on who your opponent is, you probably won’t get the results you’re looking for. So, I’m just going to go out tomorrow, and see what happens. Stick to my game.”

Benjamin is looking to become just the second left-handed player to win the U.S. Amateur Public Links, and the first since Ralph Howe III did it, in 1988 at Jackson Hole G & TC, in Jackson, Wyo. Although Benjamin swings left-handed, he putts right-handed.

Benjamin defeated LSU’s Sang Yi of Carrollton, Texas, 5 and 3, in Friday morning’s quarterfinal round.

The U.S. Amateur Public Links, established in 1922 for bona fide public course players, is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Story written by David Normoyle and Dave Fanucchi of the USGA Communications staff. For questions or comments, contact them at dnormoyle@usga.org or dfanucchi@usga.org.

Norman, Okla. – Results following Friday’s quarterfinal and semifinal rounds at the 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at the par-71, 7,289-yard Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club:

Quarterfinal Round

Nick Taylor, Canada (136) def. Wesley Bryan, Chapin, S.C. (143), 2 and 1

Phillip Bryan, Norman, Okla. (146) def. Sam Lyons, Myrtle Beach, S.C. (145), 1 up

Brandon Crick, McCook, Neb. (149) def. Eddie Olson, Aptos, Calif. (149), 19 holes

Brad Benjamin, Rockford, Ill. (142) def. Sang Yi, Carrollton, Texas (144), 5 and 3

Semifinal Round

Nick Taylor, Canada (136) def. Phillip Bryan, Norman, Okla. (146), 3 and 2

Brad Benjamin, Rockford, Ill. (142) def. Brandon Crick, McCook, Neb. (149), 1 up

Norman, Okla. – Pairing for Saturday’s scheduled 36-hole final match at the 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at the par-71, 7,289-yard Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club:

Final

7:00 am Nick Taylor, Canada (136) vs. Brad Benjamin, Rockford, Ill. (142)

BC Golf Museum and Hall of Fame May Newsletter

The BC Golf Museum and Hall of Fame lanched their May newsletter today! Click here to view it.

Information includes:
The Tradition 2009 at Marine Drive Golf Club
Golf Course History Project
Reflections Back to May 6th, 1989
Peter Young, current Treasurer
Acknowledging our Patrons
What's Happening Around the Museum
Trivia Contest for May