By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

PGA Tour Canada has released its 2023 schedule and as expected it includes only one British Columbia event, the season-opening Royal Beach Victoria Open which goes June 15-18 at Uplands Golf Club.

B.C. has had as many as three PGA Tour Canada events in the past. But the former tournament held at Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver was last played in 2019.

And the Kelowna stop at Gallagher’s Canyon in Kelowna ended after last summer’s event when GolfBC chose not to renew its sponsorship of the tournament.

This year’s schedule includes nine full-field events and the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship, which is scheduled for Sept. 7-10 at Country Hills Golf Club in Calgary and will feature the top 60 players.

For the second straight year, PGA Tour Canada is holding one of its full-field events south of the border. The CRMC Championship is being played Aug. 31-Sept. 3 in Brainerd, Minn.

POSITIVE FINISH: The Abbotsford duo of Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin each earned a victory in their final match at the Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Tex. After both dropped their opening two matches, Taylor beat K.H. Lee 3&2 and Hadwin downed Adam Scott by the same margin. Surrey’s Adam Svensson, who had managed a tie in one of his two opening matches fell 5&4 to Victor Perez in his final match. Taylor and Hadwin each earned $113,761, while Svensson took home $74,857.

Taylor and Hadwin both hoped to use the Match Play to play their way into the upcoming Masters tournament. They needed to make the semi-finals to move inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf ranking and receive a Masters invitation. Svensson has already qualified for what will be his Masters debut with his win at last fall’s RSM Classic. The PGA Tour stays in the Lone Star State for this week’s Texas Open in San Antonio. Hadwin and Svensson are taking the week off, but Taylor will tee it up at the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio.

T-BIRDS SOARING: This year’s UBC’s women’s golf team is playing a lot like last year’s squad, which went undefeated en route to winning both NAIA and Canadian University championships. The current UBC squad won its seventh tourney in eight starts this year at last week’s Primm Battle in Nipton, Calif. The T-Birds, who have won five straight events, combined for a two-round score of 26-over and won by 12 shots over second-place Texas Wesleyan University. First-year player Jessica Ng of Vancouver led the way for UBC. She tied for top spot with Madison Chanthapanya of Texas Wesleyan at four-over par.

ROOKIE IMPRESSES: Simon Fraser University rookie Sueah Park of Langley tied for third at the Pack Classic in Pueblo, Colo. The Red Leafs finished fifth in the 36-hole event hosted by Colorado State Pueblo. Park shot rounds of 75 and 72 to finish at three-over par, just one shot behind co-winners Yoomin Archer and Kylie Severin of the host school.

EWART A WINNER: Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart, a senior at Barry University in south Florida, fired rounds of 70 and 65 and won the Bobcat Invitational in Valdosta, Ga. His two-round total of five-under par was one shot better than Florida Southern’s Clay Tucker. Barry finished third in the team competition.

FIRST START: Richmond’s Chris Crisologo will get his first start of the season on the Korn Ferry Tour at this week’s Astara Chile Classic in Santiago. Merritt’s Roger Sloan is also in the field. Sloan tied for 31st at last week’s Club Car Championship in Savannah, Ga. Sloan, who flirted with the lead through 36 holes, finished at eight-under par. That was nine shots behind winner David Skinns of England.

TOP-20 FINISH: Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald tied for 16th at the PGA Tour Latinoamerica’s Roberto de Vicenzo Memorial tourney in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Macdonald closed with a three-under 68 to finish at seven-under par, 10 shots behind winner Chandler Blanchet of Gainesville, Fla. Macdonald has a spot in this week’s PGA Tour LA event, the JHSFT Alberto do Brasil tourney in Porto Feliz, Brazil.

NEW PROS: Ledgeview Golf Club in Abbotsford has named Luke McKenzie as its new head professional. McKenzie joins Ledgeview after serving eight years as director of golf at Eaglequest Coquitlam. . .Jamie Moran, most recently director of golf at Belvedere Golf Club in Charlottetown, P.E.I., is the new head professional at the Crown Isle Golf Resort in Courtenay...Ledgeview has other news to report as it will play host to this summer’s PGA Seniors Championship of Canada, which goes Aug. 9-11. Victoria’s Jim Rutledge is the defending champion and will be looking to match Moe Norman’s record of eight PGA Seniors Championship of Canada titles.

BACK TO NINE: Westwood Plateau’s executive course in Coquitlam is shrinking from 12 holes to its original nine-hole rotation. The first, second and third holes of the 12-hole rotation that has been in play for the past 10 years will now be available as rentable practice holes. They can be booked for hour-long increments for $12, which includes a shag-bag of practice balls.

CHIP SHOTS: Kelowna’s Megan Osland won her third Cactus Tour event of the season, registering a three-shot win at Apache Creek Golf in Apache Junction, Ariz. Osland closed with a five-under 67 to finish the 54-hole event at 12-under par and three shots clear of the field. . .Jesse Moussa of Campbell River Golf Club fired a three-under 67 at Victoria Golf Club to win the season-opening event of the Vancouver Island Club Professional Tour.