By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Call it a slightly disappointing ending to a brilliant collegiate career. Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart and his Barry University Bucs were knocked out in the semi-finals of the NCAA Division II championship tourney at Avalon Lakes Golf Club in Warren, Ohio.

Ewart, of course, was hoping to end his career with an NCAA Championship, but can reflect on a remarkable four years at the Miami-area school where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in communications with a sport management minor.

“What we went through in Ohio was heart-breaking,” Ewart said. “All of us struggled and it was disappointing. But I am personally thankful for all the opportunities over the last four years. I am thankful for all the great people I’ve met down here, my coaches, teammates and other varsity athletes, even some of my professors, although we butted heads from time to time.”

Ewart won 14 individual titles during his four years at Barry, where he broke a number of school records.

He’s now about to start his professional career, which will begin June 6-9 at the PGA Tour Canada qualifying school at Crown Isle Golf Resort in Courtenay. “To be honest I haven’t given it much thought,” Ewart said.

“For the past couple of months my mind has just been wrapped around this last tournament. But I will turn the page and look forward to what is coming up.”

COMEBACK KIDS: The Simon Fraser University men’s team staged a huge comeback in the final round of stroke-play competition to make it to the match play round at the NCAA Division II Championship. The Red Leafs made up a nine-stroke deficit and then won a three-team playoff for the eighth and final spot in match play. SFU had an early lead in their quarter-final match with top-seeded Oklahoma Christian but fell 3-1-1. Michael Crisologo won his match and Ryan Hodgins earned a tie for the Red Leafs. Nova Southeastern University of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., upset Oklahoma Christian 3-2 to win the national championship.

CLOSE IN COLOMBIA: Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald birdied his final hole and finished solo third at the PGA Tour Latinoamerica’s Colombia Classic. Macdonald had the lead early on the back nine, but three straight bogeys starting on the 14th hole dropped him back. Macdonald closed with a two-under 70 to finish the event at 17-under par, two shots behind winner Walker Lee of Houston. Macdonald moved up 11 spots and now stands 17th on the PGALA points list. He’ll remain in Colombia for this week’s Inter Rapidisimo Golf Championship in Bogota.

SIX-PEAT: Team B.C. made it six straight wins at the North Pacific Junior Ladies Team Matches. The B.C. squad of Rose Chen, Ha Young Chang, Rebecca Kim, Dana Smith, Amy Lee, Chelsea Truong, Brooke Tombs, Malaina Sidhu, Claudia Zhang, Clara Ding, Cadence Ko and Elsa Wu defeated a team of Washington and Oregon state juniors 21-15 in the two-day matches played at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore. The B.C. team was captained by Michelle McCann, Patrick Lago and Amanda Minni.

DUCK CALL: This week’s Canadian University/College Championship is the University of B.C. swansong for Sonja Tang of Victoria. Tang has two years of Covid eligibility left and is transferring to the University of Oregon. “We are very proud of her,” said UBC coach Chris Macdonald. “Oregon is one of the top two or three programs in the U.S. for women’s golf and she is heading there. We wish her nothing but the best because she has done so much for us and has developed into such a good player with us.”

Macdonald, whose men’s and women’s teams both recently won NAIA national championships, has been named NAIA coach of the year. His teams will try and repeat as champions at the Canadian championships this week at FireRock Golf Club in Komoka, Ont. Twenty men’s teams and 12 women’s teams are competing at FireRock. Other B.C. squads competing include the University of Victoria, UBC-Okanagan and the University of the Fraser Valley.

TURNING PRO: Amateur sensation Rose Zhang, who recently announced she is leaving Stanford University to turn pro, has been given a sponsor’s exemption and will play in the CPKC Women’s Open this summer at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in Vancouver. In her two years at Stanford, Zhang won 12 individual titles, including two NCAA championships. Her amateur wins include the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Girls’ Junior, World Amateur Team Championship and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She has been the world’s top-ranked female amateur for the last 141 weeks.

DUBLIN DUO: Surrey’s Adam Svensson and Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin are in the field for this week’s Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. Svensson and Hadwin are returning after a one-week break. Hadwin tied for 18th at last year’s Memorial, which is now one of the PGA TOUR’s designated events with a $20-million purse. Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor, who missed the cut at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Tex., is taking the week off.

OPEN SEASON: North Vancouver’s Taylor Durham warmed up for his upcoming appearance at the RBC Canadian Open by winning the Marine Drive Amateur on the weekend. Durham, a Marine Drive member, shot rounds of 65 and 73 to finish at two-under par and claim the Stan Leonard Trophy. Adam Karim finished one shot back of Durham and won the Johnny Johnston Trophy for low net score.
Durham, a commercial realtor, earned a spot in the Canadian Open by winning a recent regional qualifier at Ledgeview Golf Club in Abbotsford. The Canadian Open goes June 8-11 at Oakdale Golf & Country Club in Toronto.

PARSONS PAYDAY: Delta’s Mary Parsons earned the biggest cheque of her young pro career with a second-place finish at the Women’s All Pro Tour’s Beaumont Emergency Hospital Open in Texas. Parsons finished the 72-hole event at 15-under par, six shots behind winner Ou Olankitkunchai of Thailand, and earned $6,300.