By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf (July 22, 2024)

Mary Parsons’ first professional win came with a bonus she really wasn’t expecting. Along with the $10,000 first-place cheque for winning the Kathy Whitworth Championship in Trophy Club, Tex., on the Annika All Women’s Pro Tour, Parsons knew she was also getting a spot in an Epson Tour event in late August.

But the Delta native is also receiving something much bigger than that. Parsons was informed after her win that she has a spot in this week’s LPGA Tour event, the CPKC Women’s Open in Calgary. “I am very thrilled,” Parsons said over the phone. “It will be my second LPGA start. I played back in 2019 as an amateur. It will be exciting to play an LPGA event as a pro now. I will try to keep it rolling and see what I can do.”

Parsons won the Texas event in impressive fashion, beating the field by six shots with a 72-hole total of 13-under par. “My ball-striking for the most part was pretty solid,” she said. “And I rolled it really well. I gave myself a lot of looks and I was able to convert a few of them.”

Parsons is the second straight British Columbian to win on the Annika Women’s All Pro Tour. Port Coquitlam’s Yeji Kwon won the tour’s previous event, the Genesis of Conway Central Arkansas Open. A first pro win always brings with it some emotions and Parsons said her victory felt extra special because not that long ago she wasn’t certain if golf would be in her future.

“After having surgery in 2022 on my wrist, I wasn’t quite sure where golf would be,” she said. “I turned pro early last year and so to now get my first win is something you can only dream of.”

After this week’s event in Calgary, Parsons will head to Wichita, Kan., for the Annika tour’s season-finale, the Heritage Classic. She and Kwon, who tied for fourth in the Texas event, have lots to play for. The top five players on the season-long points race get an exemption into the second stage of LPGA Tour qualifying school and their entries paid.

Kwon now sits third on that points list, while Parsons is sixth. Players finishing sixth through tenth get their way paid into the first stage of Q-School. “With one more event to go, hopefully I can squeeze into the top five,” said Parsons, who won the 2016 B.C. Junior Girls Championship and played her collegiate golf at Indiana University.

Three other British Columbians — Lauren Kim of Surrey, Anna Huang of Vancouver and Leah John of Vancouver — are also in the field at this week’s CPKC Women’s Open at Earl Grey Golf Club in Calgary.

EPSON TOP 10: John received the final Golf Canada exemption after she birdied four of her final seven holes and recorded her best Epson Tour finish, a tie for eighth, at the Twin Bridges Championship in Guilderland, N.Y. The two-time B.C. Women’s Amateur champion finished the 54-hole event at one-under par, eight shots behind winner Lauren Stephenson of Lexington, S.C. John earned $4,632.

OPEN AND SHUT: The Abbotsford duo of Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin both missed the cut at the Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland. “Sucks heading home early from The Open,” Hadwin posted on X (formerly Twitter). “Just wasn’t good enough this week. Couple days off to recharge (and adjust) and then up to Minnesota and 3M.” Hadwin has had some past success at the 3M. He tied for sixth in 2021 and was solo fourth in 2019. Surrey’s Adam Svensson and Merritt’s Roger Sloan are also in the field for this week’s 3M Championship. Sloan missed the cut at last week’s Barracuda Championship in Truckee, Calif.

BEST OF B.C.: SCOREGolf has released its 2024 Top 100 list and 15 British Columbia courses made the grade. Capilano in West Vancouver was judged to be the top B.C. course, coming at No. 5, with Victoria (No. 13), Sagebrush (No. 17) and Greywolf (No. 19) the other B.C. courses in the top 20. Shaughnessy (No. 21), Tobiano (No. 29), Predator Ridge-Ridge course (No. 33), Royal Colwood (No. 34), Big Sky (No. 46), Vancouver (No. 57), Talking Rock (No. 73), Bear Mountain-Valley (No. 82), Point Grey (No. 90), Predator Ridge-Predator (No. 92), and Eagle Ranch (No. 94) are the other B.C. courses on the list. Cabot Cliffs in Inverness, N.S., was selected as the top course in Canada.

SENIOR MOMENT: A new champion will be crowned at this week’s B.C. Senior Men’s Championship at Revelstoke Golf Club. Surrey’s Andrew Pinette, who won last year’s event held at Williams Lake Golf & Tennis Club by four shots, is not able to compete in Revelstoke. Former champions in this week’s field include Norm Bradley, Sandy Harper, John Gallacher, Harry Ferguson, Michael Kennedy and five-time champion Doug Roxburgh.

MARINE MOMENT: Reigning B.C. Women’s Amateur and B.C. Junior Girls champion Amy Lee of Langley headlines a strong British Columbia contingent at this week’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship at Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver. Lee won her second straight B.C. Junior Girls Championship earlier this month at Gallagher’s Canyon in Kelowna, where she beat the field by 18 shots. Lee, Ha Young Chang of Surrey and Victoria’s Chelsea Truong will represent B.C. in the inter-provincial team competition at the Canadian Junior. Eileen Park of Red Deer, Alta., is the defending champion. She beat Burnaby’s Luna Lu, who is also in this week’s field, by seven shots.

ON TO OTTAWA: It was a tough week for British Columbians at the Bromont Open in Quebec on the PGA Tour Americas circuit, where Stuart Macdonald, Jeevan Sihota, Chris Crisologo, Justin Towill and A.J. Ewart all missed the cut. The tour heads to Ontario this week for the Commissionaires Ottawa Open at Eagle Creek Golf Club.

CHIP SHOTS: Finley Dober of Kelowna, Manny Lalh of Nanaimo, Alex Zhang of Richmond and Jason Yu of Vancouver are all in the field for this week’s U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. . .Vancouver’s Elaine Liu made it to the Round of 32 at last week’s U.S. Junior Girls Championship in Tarzana, Calif.