By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

All Jared du Toit wanted was a fair fight and the Kimberley native didn’t feel like he got it at a DP World Tour first-stage qualifying school site in northern Italy.

Du Toit, along with fellow British Columbians Kaleb Gorbahn of Smithers and Stephen Thomas of Vancouver, were on the outside looking in when the 72-hole event was abruptly shortened to 36 holes due to heavy rain.

“I am probably the most angry I have been after a tournament,” du Toit said over the phone from Italy. “At least if you get to play a full event you know you have given it your all and you kind of had a fair shake at it.

“A 36-hole sample is just not a full sample for a golf tournament. This has certainly left a bitter taste in my mouth, that’s for sure. And it’s not just me. I was talking to guys on the putting green who were five-over (par) and were just as upset as me. Those 22 guys who got through are all quiet as a mouse, while the other guys are up in arms over it.”

Du Toit was two shots outside the qualifying number when the tournament was called after 36 holes. He felt like he had an excellent chance to move onto the second stage of Q-school if the two final rounds had been played.

“I wasn’t playing great, but I wasn’t playing bad,” he said. “I was playing how you are supposed to play in a Q-school, I was keeping the ball in front of me and not really making any big mistakes. I was within striking distance. I was talking with my caddie and if after two days you are six or seven back of the leader, you can have two good days and be the medalist. It’s kind of crazy.”

Du Toit was three-under through 36 holes and tied for 27th when play was called. Gorbahn was tied for 49th at even-par, while Thomas was tied for 55th at one-over. With the Bogogno Golf Resort soaked by heavy rain, tournament officials had set the course up as a par 62 for the third round. But play was called before du Toit was scheduled to tee off.

“No. 12 was a 500-yard par 5 and they made it an 84-yard par 3,” du Toit said. “It was getting a little Mickey Mouse at that point.”

Du Toit said the non-qualifying players feel like they didn’t get a fair shot and noted that players spent much more than the 2,500-Euro entry fee. “I could rant all day, but all these guys are coming from places like Argentina, Canada, Asia, all over,” he said. “It’s expensive and for it to end this way, it feels like there has been an injustice.”

Du Toit has signed up for the Korn Ferry Tour qualifying school and will play his first-stage site Oct. 17-20 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Scott Kerr of Vancouver and Aidan Goodfellow of Parksville are both scheduled to compete Oct. 3-6 at a DP World Tour first-stage qualifying school site in Moliets, France.

GETTING CLOSE: Merritt’s Roger Sloan inched closer to sealing his return to the PGA TOUR, but still has work to do at the Korn Ferry Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship. Sloan tied for 18th at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio, and that moved him up two spots to 31st on the Korn Ferry Tour’s points list. He needs to move inside the top 30 to earn his 2024 PGA TOUR card. The Korn Ferry Tour Championship goes Oct. 5-8 in Newburgh, Ind.

OH BROTHER: The Bjornson brothers led the way as Simon Fraser University won the Saint Martin’s University Bishop Invitational at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash., for the second straight year. Justin Bjornson (three-under par) and brother Bailey Bjornson (two-under par) finished eighth and ninth respectively to lead the Red Leafs. SFU finished the 54-hole competition with a team score of four-under par, six shots better than CSU East Bay. The University of B.C. finished third. University of the Fraser Valley finished eighth, University of Victoria was 11th and UBC-Okanagan placed 12th in the 13-team event.

UFV’s Jackson Jacob, Zach Ryujin of Victoria and UBC’s Mackenzie Bickell tied for third at five-under par in the individual competition. The Women’s Bishop Invitational was played earlier last week and UBC-Okanagan finished third, just five shots behind the winning team from George Fox University. SFU finished fourth, UVic was ninth and UFV was 10th. SFU was led by sophomore Meera Minhas of Burnaby, who tied for third at three-over par.

TITLE DEFENCE: Nanoose Bay’s Shelly Stouffer defended her PNGA Senior Women’s title in fine style. Stouffer’s 54-hole total of five-over par beat the field by 10 shots at Twin Lakes Golf & Country Club in Federal Way, Wash. Stouffer will defend her U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur title Sept. 30-Oct. 5 at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

TOUR CHAMP: Langley Golf Centre’s James Allenby fired rounds of 65 and 68 and won the Vancouver Golf Tour’s Boyd Autobody & Glass Tour Championship at Meadow Gardens Golf Course in Pitt Meadows. Allenby’s 36-hole total of 11-under par was good for a two-shot win over Jake Lane of Meadow Gardens. Allenby earned $2,500 for the win, while Lane took home $1,525.

CHIP SHOTS: Two-time B.C. Women’s Amateur champion Leah John of Vancouver tied for seventh at the Lady Paladin Invitational in Greenville, S.C. John, a senior at the University of Nevada, finished the 54-hole event at two-under par. . .The PGA of BC Women’s Championship goes Sept. 25 and 26 at Victoria Golf Club. Ashley Zibrik is the defending champion and a three-time winner of the event. . .Ashely’s husband, Dave Zibrik, won his second Club Professional Championship. Zibrik, the head pro at Point Grey Golf & Country Club, won the event on his home course by one shot over Jamie Moran of Crown Isle Golf Resort.