Ziemer’s B.C. Golf Notes: Hadwin Earns Open Spot; Allenby Takes Positives from MC; Little Set to Defend Sr. Title; Parsons 4th at Porter Cup
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- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2019-06-14
By BRAD ZIEMER, British Columbia Golf
He did not get the ultimate prize, but Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin did earn something else of note with his solo sixth-place finish at the RBC Canadian Open.
Hadwin claimed one of three spots that were up for grabs at Hamilton Golf & Country Club into the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Hadwin also hoisted his fourth Rivermead Cup as low Canadian in the Canadian Open. He had high hopes of ending the long Canadian victory drought when he began the final round just one shot out of the lead.
But no one was going to catch Rory McIlroy, who closed with a nine-under 61 to finish 22-under, seven shots clear of the field.
Hadwin shot an even-par 70 to finish at 12-under. He earned a cheque for $273,600 and moved up 11 spots on the FedEx Cup points list to 44th. He was disappointed at not finishing in the top three and earning a berth into this week’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
“My sole focus today was getting to the top three to get into the U.S. Open,” he said. “Actually, to be honest, kind of forgot about that little caveat there with the RBC Canadian Open being in the (Open Championship) Qualifying Series this year. Disappointed as I am, it’s nice to get into another major this year. We’ll rest up, prepare and get ready to go for that.”
Fellow Abbotsford product Nick Taylor, who began the day inside the top 10, dropped into a tie for 27th after closing with a two-over 72 to finish at 6-under par. Taylor, who will tee it up at the U.S. Open, moved up four spots on the FedEx Cup points list to 107th. Roger Sloan of Merritt tied for 56th at one-under par and remains 114th on the FedEx points list.
PLENTY OF POSITIVES
He missed the cut, but Langley’s James Allenby took plenty of positives out of his first PGA TOUR start at the RBC Canadian Open. Allenby fired two straight rounds of even-par 70 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club to fall two shots short of the cutline.
“I am good enough to compete out here, if anything this experience has taught me that much,” Allenby said in a weekend post to his Instagram account. “I deserved the scores I shot, however. My irons weren’t crisp enough and I didn’t roll in enough putts to be in contention. Forget just making the cut, that’s not why I’m here. Loved every minute. This week has fueled my already intense desire to compete on this tour on a regular basis.”
Allenby has been given a sponsor’s exemption to compete in this week’s GolfBC Championship at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf & Country Club in Kelowna as the PGA Tour Canada-Mackenzie Tour circuit completes its three-event British Columbia swing.
LITTLE & THE LEGENDS
Jackie Little should be well prepared to defend her title at this week’s B.C. Senior and Super-Senior Women’s Championship at St. Eugene Mission Golf Resort in Cranbrook. Little was one of three top amateurs from the Pacific Northwest invited to play in last week’s Legends Tour event in Kingston, Wash.
Little shot rounds of 79 and 78 and finished tied for 27th at 11-over par in the 40-player field at the Suquamish Clearwater Legends Cup at Whitehorse Golf Club. The event featured Juli Inkster, Liselotte Neumann, fellow Canadian Lorie Kane and many other former LPGA Tour stars.
Inkster beat the field by four shots with a score of 15-under par. Little’s score beat the likes of former LPGA Tour winners JoAnne Carner, Cindy Rarick and Kelowna’s Gail Graham. The 61-year-old Little, who now lives in the Kootenay Lake community of Procter, will be seeking to win her seventh B.C. Senior Women’s title. Last year, she also won her first Super-Senior title for players 60 and older. The 54-hole tournament runs Tuesday through Thursday at St. Eugene Mission.
PARSONS FOURTH
Delta’s Mary Parsons tied for fourth at the Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston, N.Y. Parsons, the reigning B.C. Women’s Amateur champion who just completed her sophomore year at Indiana University, finished the 54-hole competition at four-under par. That was four shots behind winner Jackie Rogowicz of Yardley, Penn.
Brigitte Thibault of Rosemere, Que., finished third at the Porter Cup. Earlier this month, Thibault and Parsons were selected to represent Canada this August at the Pan-Am Games in Lima, Peru.
ASSISTANTS CHAMP
Andrew Rasmussen of Delta Golf Centre shot rounds of 68 and 71 and his five-under total was good for a one-shot win at the PGA of BC Assistants Championship at Seymour Golf & Country Club in North Vancouver. The win was worth $3,000 to Rasmussen. Reigning PGA of BC champion Kevin Stinson of Cheam Mountain and Cory Renfrew of the Canadian Junior Golf Association shared second place.
Phil Jonas won the Seniors Championship for the third time. His two-over total was good for a two-shot win and earned Jonas, who operates the Phil Jonas Golf Academy at Hazelmere Golf Course in Surrey, a cheque for $1,400. Scott Rodgers (Morgan Creek Golf Course), Doug Hastie (British Columbia Golf) and Alan Kristmanson (Whistler Golf Club) shared second place.
TOP 5 FINISH: Kelowna’s Norm Bradley tied for fifth place at the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Senior Men’s Amateur Championship in Florence, Ore. Bradley finished the 54-hole event at five-over par. That was six shots behind winner Pat O’Donnell of Happy Valley, Ore. In the Super-Senior category, Burnaby’s John Gallacher finished fifth and Gudmund Lindbjerg of Port Moody tied for sixth place.
WHEELDON WINS
Riley Wheeldon of Comox shot a pair of 66s to win the Vancouver Golf Tour’s Whistler Open at Nicklaus North Golf Course. Wheeldon’s 10-under total over 36 holes was two shots better than Evan Holmes, the former UBC Thunderbird who now calls Vancouver home. Wheeldon, a Mackenzie Tour regular, earned $2,500 for the win.
Surrey’s Aram Choi won the women’s division by one shot over Karishma Thiagaraj of Meadows Gardens Golf Course with a two-round total of one-over par. Mike Aizawa of Richmond Country Clubwas the low amateur winner at even par.
LIFE OF BRIAN
Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club has appointed their new general manager and they found him quite close to home. Brian Mossop, the current General Manager at Pitt Meadows Golf Club, will begin his new duties as GM and chief operating officer at Shaughnessy on July 1.