By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Back in the fall of 2020, Adam Niles finished second in his first event at Western New Mexico University and remembers thinking that maybe collegiate golf wasn’t going to be as tough as he thought it might be.

The 21-year-old Kamloops native chuckled as he recalled that memory following his first collegiate win at last week’s RJGA Palm Valley Classic in Goodyear, Ariz.

“It has been a long time coming,” Niles said in a phone interview. “As a freshman I came second in my first event and that kind of set the expectations pretty high. After that, it was like, okay, maybe I can actually do this and compete with the guys out here. I have just been trying to get better each day I have been here.”

The timing of Niles’ win made it especially sweet. “This was the last event of my career before the post-season, so it’s pretty special to finally get one,” he said. “And my parents were down in Phoenix to watch me play a collegiate event for the last time, so it was nice to get the win.”

Niles, a 21-year-old who grew up playing Rivershore Golf Links in Kamloops, won with a three-round total of 13-under par. He fired rounds of 67, 66 and 70 and edged Ron Kidall of Fort Lewis College by a single shot.

Niles took a peek at the live tournament scoring on his phone as he stood on the 18th tee during his final round. “When I got to the 18th tee I kind of needed to know where I was,” he said. “So I took a look and saw that I was one ahead and we were playing an into-the-wind par five with a lot of water. So that made the nerves go a little bit more once I realized I had a one-shot lead and just needed a par to get the win.”

Niles played that final hole flawlessly and earned a win he wasn’t really expecting. His Western New Mexico team finished second in the team competition, six shots behind Colorado Christian. “I don’t really know what happened,” Niles said.

“I played terrible at the event right before this one. Shot 79-72. I went into the practice round for the Palm Valley event and just tried to slow everything down and swing smoother. I just started hitting it better and started to make some birdies.”

Niles will graduate in early May with a business management degree. As he reflects on the past four years, Niles has nothing but great memories of his time at Western New Mexico, a NCAA Division II school with a student population of about 3,500. “I wouldn’t pick a different school if I could do it again,” he said.

“It was difficult at the start because I came in 2020 and it was Covid time. The dorm situation was different, there were no students on campus, it was kind of just athletes. So I made a lot of relationships with other athletes, made some good friendships. I finally got to do in-person classes the last couple of years. It has just gotten better each year I have been here.”

Niles is now hoping he and his teammates can extend their golf season. They play in the Lone Star Conference Championships on April 22 and hope to earn a spot in the NCAA Division II regionals. He and his Mustangs teammates have become close friends. “Just being on a team has been great,” Niles said.

“Back home in Kamloops there weren’t many golfers my age so I didn’t have people to practise with. Down here, I have a bunch of guys I get to practise with every day and try to get better. Travelling and stuff with the top five, we are very close, it’s like we are a bunch of brothers out there just playing to win and we are having a great time doing it.”

Niles has no plans to pursue a professional golf career, although he is sure the game will remain a big part of his life. “I don’t really want to try and do the pro golf thing. It is pretty expensive and there’s a lot of good players out there. I’m just going to go home and play a few amateur events and start working. Start a life.”

POSITIVE ENDING: Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin finished his Masters on a positive note, closing with a two-under 70 in Sunday’s final round that left him tied for 53rd at 12-over par. After surviving a couple of windy days and making the cut, Hadwin was one of many players to struggle in Saturday’s third round. He shot a 10-over 82. Ontario’s Corey Conners was the only other Canadian to make the cut and tied for 38th at seven-over.

Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor and 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir missed the cut. Hadwin, Taylor and Surrey’s Adam Svensson are all playing in this week’s RBC Heritage tourney in Hilton Head, S.C. Merritt’s Roger Sloan is competing in the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic. Taylor and Hadwin will once again compete as a two-man team at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which goes April 25-28. Taylor and Hadwin finished solo second at last year’s event.

SEEING RED: The Simon Fraser University women’s team ended their regular season in fine fashion by tying for first place at the Sonoma State Spring Invite in Rohnert Park, Calif. SFU senior Kassie Muanyam of Nanaimo earned the individual title. The Red Leafs finished the 36-hole event at Foxtail Golf Club tied with Cal State LA with a team score of 47-over par. Muanyam won the individual title by one shot with a two-round score of seven-over par. SFU now heads to Coeur D’Alene, Idaho for the GNAC Championship, which goes April 22-23.

TOUR TALK: The PGA Americas circuit resumes this week in Rio de Janeiro where British Columbians Stuart Macdonald, Lawren Rowe, Chris Crisologo and Jeevan Sihota are all in the field for the 69th ECP Brazil Open. . .Kimberley’s Jared du Toit is on the road again. He’ll compete in this week’s Saudi Open in Riyadh on the Asian Tour.

FLORIDA BOUND: Three members of the University of British Columbia’s top-ranked women’s team will play in this spring’s PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Jessica Ng, Una Chou and Abigaille Chow will tee it up in the May 6-8 event, which is being played on the Stadium and Dye’s Valley courses at TPC Sawgrass. Former Thunderbird Sonja Tang, who now plays for the University of Oregon, is also in the field.

Thirty teams and 52 individuals are scheduled to compete in the championship, which was created in 1986 to highlight competitive golf programs at the most under-served and under-represented minority-serving institutions in the United States. The individual competition is open to all minority men and women student athletes playing collegiate golf at the Division I, II, III, NAIA and NJCAA level. Former UBC thunderbird Ziggy Nathu of Richmond won the men’s individual competition back in 2019.

CHIP SHOTS: Surrey’s Lauren Kim has moved up three spots to 37th in the latest World Amateur Golf Ranking following her tie for 14th finish at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Ontario’s Monet Chun is the next highest-ranked Canadian at 74th. . .The 34th annual Golf Classic, which benefits the B.C. Golf Museum, goes May 13 at University Golf Club In Vancouver. Cost is $250 per person and includes lunch, dinner, tee gift, team prizes and a shared golf cart. Golf museum curator Mike Riste says any singles or twosomes wanting to play will be placed in a group. Email office@bcgolfhouse.com for more information.