GolfBC Championship announces exemptions

The GolfBC Championship, the third event on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada schedule, awarded five exemptions — including two to Kelowna golfers — on Wednesday ahead of the June 14 to17 tournament at Gallagher’s Canyon in Kelowna.

The following group of players will be directly entered into the GolfBC Championship, thus avoiding the Monday Qualifier.

Garrett Kucher, from Kelowna, turned pro three years ago and has since played in Europe, Spain, Arizona and on the Vancouver Golf Tour. In his second season on the Vancouver Golf Tour, Kucher came second on the money list and order of merit while winning seven times and setting a number of course records last season. Kucher recently joined Predator Ridge as their Golf Ambassador.

Conner Kozak, assistant professional at The Okanagan Golf Club, has competed locally, provincially and nationally since a young age. Kozak played for the UBC men’s golf team, where he helped lead the Thunderbirds to numerous national championships. Some of Kozak’s individual varsity highlights include a Rookie of the Year nomination (2012), two first-team All-American Awards (2013, 2014), NAIA Preview champion (2013), All Regional champion (2014), and being named to the Canadian FISU World University Championship team (2014). Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology, Kozak joined the PGA of Canada.

Jimmy Jones, from Lake Cowichan, recently completed his final year of NCAA eligibility at the University of South Florida. He was the 2017 Tampa Bay Open champion, the 2015 Florida Men’s Amateur champion, a 2015-16 Division II NCAA First Team All-American, and in 2017 finished tied for 13th place at the Canadian Amateur. Jones hopes to pursue his dream of playing professional golf, following in the footsteps of his mother, Canadian Hall of Fame member Dawn Coe-Jones.

The yet to be determined 2018 Zone 2 Junior Tour Order of Merit winner will also gain entry to the GolfBC Championship. The Zone 2 Junior Tour is comprised of a geographic area reaching from Osoyoos to Kamloops. The tour consists of 13 events throughout this region. It began in April and culminates at the two-day Tour Championship held at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf Club on June 9-10. Juniors accumulate Order of Merit points from weekly competitions and they will be playing for double points in the final event, at which time the Order of Merit winner will be crowned.

The final exemption will be decided by the Interior PGA Tour Committee, which will select one of its top players in the coming days to join a strong international field.

Come out to Gallagher’s Canyon to watch the next generation of professional golfers on their trajectory towards the PGA TOUR, or catch any of the special events taking place throughout that week, including the Opening Ceremonies, Long Drive Challenge for Charity and Tee-Off Party on Wednesday, June 13. There will also be a Father’s Day Brunch on the morning of Sunday, June 17 during the final round of play.

Tournament passes for all four days are $35, with individual day passes available for $15.