By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Ellie Szeryk began the final round of the GolfBC Group B.C. Women’s Open with a seven-shot lead and didn’t quite know how to handle it. “I have never had a lead like that before,” Szeryk said.

“In college, I would have a one-shot lead and I would have Ingrid Lindblad, the world No. 1, right behind me. So it was a little nerve-wracking today just dealing with some emotions. It was a really big learning experience for me.” And one the 22-year-old handled with relative ease.

After opening the 54-hole event at Pitt Meadows Golf Club with rounds of 68 and 66, the birdies were harder to come by the final day. She made only one of them en route to a four-over 76, but still managed to finish four strokes clear of longtime Team Canada teammate Brooke Rivers.

“I just treated it like match play where you just try to play conservative and let the other person make mistakes,” Szeryk said of her final-round strategy. Szeryk’s first win comes just a month into her pro career. She earned a $15,000 paycheque and a noteworthy bonus — a spot in the LPGA Tour’s CPKC Women’s Open late next month in Calgary.

“That was a really big thing for me,” Szeryk said. “The Canadian Women’s Open is a such a big tournament.” A dual Canadian-American citizen, Ellie and her older sister Maddie have been big parts of Golf Canada’s national program the past few years. Maddie has some status on the LPGA Tour and Ellie, who recently concluded her collegiate golf career at Southern Methodist University in Texas, is hoping to follow in her sister’s footsteps.

The Pitt Meadows event was part of the 'She Plays Golf' festival, which includes three tournaments with $60,000 purses for young professionals and top amateurs. The first tournament, the Glencoe Invitational, was held earlier this month in Calgary, and the final event, the ORORO PGA Women’s Championship of Canada, goes July 2-5 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.

The three-event series is being complemented by She Plays Golf Festivals which feature inclusive programming for women and girls who are recreational golfers or exploring the sport for the first time. The hope is the series can grow into something akin to the former Canadian Women’s Tour.

“It’s awesome,” Szeryk said. “There is really not that many mini-tours for the ladies. There’s so many for men. My fiance is a professional and I know all the different tours they have and different routes they can take. So the fact there are three tournaments in Canada with good purses and two exemptions every week is amazing.”

Rivers made her pro debut at Pitt Meadows after spending one year at Wake Forest University. She made $8,500 for her second-place finish and also earned an exemption into the CPKC Women’s Open. Szeryk won with a total of six-under par. She and her sister now both have British Columbia championships on their resumes. Maddie won the 2017 B.C. Women’s Amateur at Vernon Golf Club.

“I remember that one quite well,” Ellie said. “She kind of challenged me, like you’re next. I then won the Ontario Amateur that same year.”

LOW AMATEUR: Ha Young Chang of Surrey tied for third overall at Pitt Meadows and was the low amateur at three-over par. That was two shots better than Burnaby’s Luna Lu. Delta’s Amanda Minni, a recent Oregon State University graduate, was fifth in her pro debut and made $3,500. Vancouver’s Phyllis Laschuk won the 36-hole senior division.

ON TO EDMONTON: Richmond’s Chris Crisologo was the top British Columbian at The Beachlands Victoria Open, the first event of the North American swing of the PGA Tour Americas circuit. Crisologo completed the tournament at Uplands Golf Club at 11-under par and tied for 30th. Frederik Kjettrup of Denmark won with a score of 21-under. Victoria’s Jeevan Sihota tied for 48th at seven-under. The tour moves this week to the Edmonton area for the ATB Classic at Northern Bear Golf Club. British Columbians in the field include Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver, Lawren Rowe of Victoria and Justin Towill of Kelowna.

BIG PAYDAY: Surrey’s Adam Svensson had a top-20 finish at the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Ct. Svensson tied for 16th at 14-under par. That was eight shots behind Scottie Scheffler, who beat Tom Kim in a playoff. Svensson earned $310,000. Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin tied for 27th at 11-under and made $144,000. Fellow Abbotsford product Nick Taylor tied for 42nd at seven-under and took home $75,000. Svensson and Merritt’s Roger Sloan are in the field for this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit. Hadwin, who lost in a three-man playoff at last year’s Rocket Mortgage, is not in the field.

MOVING ON UP: Lauren Kim’s win at last week’s Glencoe Invitational in Calgary moved the Surrey native up five spots to No. 34 in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings. Kim remains the highest-ranked Canadian. Ontario’s Monet Chun, at No. 59, is the only other Canadian woman currently ranked in the top 100. Kim has joined her University of Texas teammates and is playing in this week’s R&A Women’s Amateur Championship at Portmarnock Golf Club in Ireland. Vancouver’s Anna Huang moved up 61 spots in the WAGR to 302nd after finishing second at Glencoe. Langley resident Amy Lee moved up 30 spots to 312th after winning the B.C. Women’s Amateur at Balfour Golf Course. Lee competes as a South Korean.

MAKING THE CUT: Vancouver’s Leah John made her first Epson Tour cut at the weather-shortened Island Resort Championship in Harris, Mich. The event was cut to 36 holes and John, a two-time B.C. Women’s Amateur winner, tied for 52nd at one-under par. Her first professional cheque was $964. John recently turned pro after finishing her collegiate career at the University of Nevada.

TULSA TIME: Vancouver’s Victoria Liu has played her way into the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. Liu, who just finished her junior year at Princeton University, shot a four-under 68 to win a qualifier at Glencoe Golf & Country Club in Calgary. The U.S. Women’s Amateur goes Aug. 5-11 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

CANADA SEVENTH: Canada finished seventh at the rain-shortened Toyota Junior World Cup in Japan. Richmond’s Alex Zhang tied for 18th in the individual competition at one-over par. The event was cut to 54 holes because of weather. Isaiah Ibit of Orleans, Ont. (T11) and Alex Long of Toronto (T26) were the other Team Canada members.

CHASING POINTS: Kimberley’s Jared du Toit tied for 47th at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Compliance Solutions Championship in Norman, Okla. Du Toit dropped one spot and now stands 118th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list. He needs to finish inside the top 75 to remain exempt for 2025.