By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Before she heads to the University of Texas to begin her collegiate golf career, Surrey’s Lauren Kim has a busy summer ahead of her.

Kim, who just graduated from Earl Marriott Secondary, has qualified to play in three major United States Golf Association events this summer.

In addition to the Women’s Amateur, Kim has also qualified to play in the U.S. Women’s Open and the U.S. Junior Girls Championships.

“It’s exciting,” Kim said. “It’s the first time playing in all three major championships in the same year so it's a great way to end my junior career. I am in the U.S. Women’s Open again, I’m playing in the U.S. Women’s Amateur for the third time and the U.S. Girls for the second time. I think that’s quite an accomplishment. I am just looking forward to competing well in the championships.”

A USGA spokesman last week said, Kim was the only player who had so far qualified to play in all three of those events, although some U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifying remains to be completed. Kim had to survive a six-hole playoff to earn her spot in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at a recent qualifier in Sundre, Alta.

Kim and two-time B.C. Women’s Amateur champion Leah John of Vancouver both finished two-under par in that qualifier and tied for second place. With only two spots available, they headed to a playoff.
“We both parred the first five holes and then on the sixth hole I made a birdie putt and she missed hers,” Kim said.

The U.S. Women’s Open is first on Kim’s busy schedule this summer. It goes July 6-9 at Pebble Beach Golf Links on California’s Monterey Peninsula. “The U.S. Open at Pebble Beach is quite the combination,” said Kim, who thinks having played at last year’s U.S. Open at Pine Needles Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C., will help her feel more at ease at Pebble Beach.

“Lately I have been practising and just thinking about it and preparing,” she said. “I am not feeling too stressed about it, probably because I have already been to one. I will be a little more used to the environment and I am just excited for it to happen.”

The U.S. Girls’ Junior goes July 17-22 at the United States Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club in Colorado Springs. After that, Kim will compete in the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, which goes Aug. 1-4 at Ashburn Golf Club in Halifax. She’ll then head to the U.S. Women’s Amateur, which will be played Aug. 7-13 at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles.

“Then I will head home for a couple of days and pack to go to Texas,” Kim said with a laugh.

ON TO ALBERTA: Richmond’s Ziggy Nathu Monday qualified his way into one PGA Tour Canada event and then played his way into another. The former UBC Thunderbird tied for 13th at the Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open and that top-20 finish gets him a spot in this week’s ATB Classic in Strathcona County, Alta. Nathu finished the Saskatchewan event at 12-under par, nine shots behind winner Jon Pak of Scotch Ridge, N.J. Kimberley’s Jared du Toit tied for 37th at seven-under par, while Lawren Rowe of Victoria tied for 57th at three-under.

TOUR TALK: Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford and Surrey’s Adam Svensson are both in the field for this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit. Svensson missed the cut at last week’s Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Ct., while Hadwin is returning after taking last week off. On the PGA Tour Latinoamerica circuit, Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald tied for 13th at the Jalisco Open GDL in Guadalajara, Mexico.

He finished the tournament at eight-under par, 12 shots behind winner José de Jesús Rodriguez of Mexico, who won the event for the second straight year. Heading into this week’s PGA Tour LA Tour Championship in Tulum, Mexico, Macdonald stands 17th on the tour’s points list. On the Korn Ferry Tour, Merritt’s Roger Sloan tied for 30th at the Compliance Solutions Championship in Norman, Okla. Sloan now stands 94th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list.

SPIRITED DEFENCE: Team Canada’s boys team made a valiant defence of their title before finishing second at the Toyota Junior World Cup in Japan. The Canadian team consisted of British Columbians Cooper Humphreys of Vernon and Alex Zhang of Richmond, along with Ethan Wilson of St. Alberta, Alta., and Eric Zhao of Toronto. The Canadian boys, who won last year’s championship, finished the 72-hole event at 30-under par, four shots behind the winning team from Japan. The Canadian girls team finished sixth. That team included Yeji Kwon of Port Coquitlam, Michelle Liu of Vancouver and Vanessa Borovilos of Toronto.

JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT: Nanaimo’s Matthew Wilson and Louis Chun of Port Coquitlam have both played their way into this summer’s U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. Wilson, a former B.C. Juvenile Boys champion, fired a three-under 68 to top the field at a qualifier held at Lake Spanaway Golf Course in Tacoma, Wash. Chun shot a two-under 69 and then had to survive a playoff to earn one of the two remaining spots into the Junior Amateur, which goes July 24-29 at Daniel Island Club in Charleston, S.C.

HOST COURSE: Ledgeview Golf Club in Abbotsford will be the site of the Canada West Golf Championships this fall. The University of the Fraser Valley is playing host to the championships, which are scheduled for Oct. 2-3.

ASSISTANTS CHAMP: Steven Lucuyer of the Seymour Creek Golf Centre in North Vancouver won the PGA of BC Assistants Championship at Chilliwack Golf Club. Lecuyer completed the 36-hole championship at nine-under par to edge Cory Renfrew of Modern Golf by one shot. The PGA of BC Senior Championship was played concurrently and Rob Anderson of Kelowna Golf & Country Club won that title in a three-man playoff with Chad McAdie of Cheam Mountain in Chilliwack and Greg Forbes of Black Mountain Golf Club in Kelowna. All three players had finished the event at three-under par.

CHIP SHOTS: Vernon’s Bryce Barker closed with a seven-under 65 to win the Vancouver Golf Tour’s Golden Eagle Open in Pitt Meadows. Barker finished the 36-hole event at nine-under par, one shot better than Richmond amateur Mike Aizawa. Barker earned $2,500 for the win. Kevin Stinson of Cheam Mountain and James Allenby of the Langley Golf Centre tied for third at three-under par.