BC Golf News and Canadians On Tour

April 7, 2003

PGA TOUR

If you are going to win for the first time on the PGA TOUR in front of millions of viewers it doesn’t hurt to do it in memorable fashion. Enter Ben Crane from Portland, OR, who just turned 27, playing his second year on TOUR, so new the TOUR didn’t have his picture posted on their massive web site. It’s there now.

Crane was T59th after the first round of the Bell South Classic in Duluth, GA and made the cut by only a single stroke after 36 holes. Then a miracle began to unfold. He carded eight birdies for a 64 Saturday to go from last to T7th.

“I kept reciting scripture verses to myself,” said Crane during an interview on TV when asked if he was nervous during Sunday’s (6-4-03) final round. “I remembered Ephesians 3:20 and that helped settle me.”

After recording five birdies on the back-9 Crane had a 2-shot lead standing on the par-5 18th tee, then the 5-foot-10 165-pounder unleashed a 357-yard drive, followed by a 190-yard 7-iron approach shot that rolled 20 feet past the hole. Crane sank the putt for eagle, finishing (73-72-64-63—272) 16-under par, four shots in front of Bob Tway. Among other benefits, the win was worth $720,000 to Crane, who now is only $14,000 shy of one million for the season.

Canadian Glen Hnatiuk (72-71-80-74—297) tied for last but came away with $7,600. Mike Weir opened with a 4-over 76 for his worst of round of the season and, like Richard Zokol, was cut

LPGA TOUR

In the nicest way possible, Annika Sorenstam did to Se Ri Pak at the Office Depot Championship Sunday what Se Ri Pak did to Annika Sorenstam one year earlier. Sorenstam won her first tournament of 2003 and in doing so prevented Pak from defending the title she claimed last year when Pak prevented Sorenstam from defending her 2001 crown.

Sorenstam lost by one shot last year but this time her 5-under par (68-72-71—211) score was four strokes better than Pak (73-71-71—215), Pat Hurst (75-68-72—215) and Heather Bowie (72-70-73—215). It also earned Sorenstam $225,000.

Only four players from the field of 70 managed to finish under par and Canadian Lorie Kane was not one of them. The PEI native T10th and was (72-73-74—219) 3-over, winning $28,387, Dawn Coe-Jones and Nancy Harvey were cut while Gail Graham, playing this season on a special TOUR exemption, was entered but withdrew.

AISIAN TOUR

Former Walker Cup star Edward Loar won his first professional golf tournament and became the first lefthander to win on the Asian PGA Tour by scoring a resounding 5-stroke victory in the Thailand Open. Despite playing in oppressive heat in Bangkok, Loar posted an unbeatable (67-66-67-69—267) 19-under par, worth $24,225.

Canadian Rick Gibson succumbed to the weekend heat but still managed to finish 12 shots back at (69-66-72-72--279) 9-under and T15th, earning $2,115.

Loar started the final round almost as hot as the weather, which reached a high of 37 degrees, with a pair of eagles on the front nine.

"This is awesome - this is my first win as a professional and it’s special. It’s something I’ll look back on," said Loar, who lost a play-off last season.

Gibson remains among the top 10 Asian Tour money winners with over $75,000.

EUROPEAN SENIORS PGA TOUR

Australia's Terry Gale closed with a seven under par 65 to claim his second European Seniors Tour victory in succession at the Tobago Plantations Seniors Classic at the Tobago Plantations Golf and Beach Resort.

Canadian John Irwin T51 at (72-75-76—223) 7-over par, 20 shots behind Gale and one stroke in front of fellow Countryman Bill Hardwick who T58.

FUTURES TOUR

A new driver has given St. Catharines’ Liz Early a new lease on her golf career and helped put some money in her bank. The former LPGA member drove her way into 3rd place at the Tampa Bay’s Next Generation Future Tour’s Classic by finishing (71-67-74—212) 4-under par and earning a cheque for $4,875. Early was the second round leader but faltered Sunday as Floridian Colleen Cashman of Florida came in at (68-70-71—209) 7-under par to claim the title, narrowly beating Kristen Bloomer (70-71-69—210) of Moberly, MO. Cashman won $9,100 and Bloomer $6,500.

"I'm using a new driver this week and it is making the par four holes very short," laughed Earley, winner of last year's Denver FUTURES Golf Classic. "It has taken a while for me to get comfortable and I felt a little rusty for the first few tournaments.

I feel very relaxed and enjoy being out on the golf course. This is what I love doing."

Other Canadians in the money: Kareen Qually, Olds, AB T10 (72-73-71—216) $1,552; Jennifer Greggain, Calgary, AB T21 (70-72-77—219) $748; Marie-Josee Rouleau, St. Lambert, PQ T28 (72-77-71—220) $547; Nisha Sadekar, Toronto, ON T33 (72-77-77—221) $421; Kimberly Adams, Fredericton, NB T42 (76-74-73—223) $298; Lanie Cahill, Brockville, ON T47 (72-76-76—224) $263.

IN THE ROUGH: . . . . It wasn’t exactly the best-kept secret but at least now it is official. The 101st Canadian Open will be played in Vancouver at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club September 1-4, 2005. The announcement by the RCGA coincided with news that Bell Canada has renewed title sponsorship of the Bell Canadian Open for three more years through to 2006 . . . . Shaughnessy opened for play in 1960 and just six years later played host to the last Canadian Open championship held in Western Canada. Texan Don Massengale beat Puerto Rican Chi Chi Rodriguez by three strokes. Twelve years earlier at neighboring Point Grey G&CC Pat Fletcher of Saskatoon became a legend by becoming the last Canadian to win the Open . . . . Reigning BMO Canadian Ladies’ Open champion Meg Mallon T57th at the Office Depot event in Tarzana, CA before catching a flight to Vancouver to meet the media Monday at Point Grey . . . . The scripture Ben Crane recited to himself - - - Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”




	CANADIANS ON TOUR by Barry Sharpe April 7, 2003 PGA TOUR If you are going to win for the first time on the PGA TOUR in front of millions of viewers it doesn’t hurt to do it in memorable fashion. Enter Ben Crane from Portland, OR, who just turned 27, playing his second year on TOUR, so new the TOUR didn’t have his picture posted on their massive web site. It’s there now. Crane was T59th after the first round of the Bell South Classic in Duluth, GA and made the cut by only a single stroke after 36 holes. Then a miracle began to unfold. He carded eight birdies for a 64 Saturday to go from last to T7th. “I kept reciting scripture verses to myself,” said Crane during an interview on TV when asked if he was nervous during Sunday’s (6-4-03) final round. “I remembered Ephesians 3:20 and that helped settle me.” After recording five birdies on the back-9 Crane had a 2-shot lead standing on the par-5 18th tee, then the 5-foot-10 165-pounder unleashed a 357-yard drive, followed by a 190-yard 7-iron approach shot that rolled 20 feet past the hole. Crane sank the putt for eagle, finishing (73-72-64-63—272) 16-under par, four shots in front of Bob Tway. Among other benefits, the win was worth $720,000 to Crane, who now is only $14,000 shy of one million for the season. Canadian Glen Hnatiuk (72-71-80-74—297) tied for last but came away with $7,600. Mike Weir opened with a 4-over 76 for his worst of round of the season and, like Richard Zokol, was cut LPGA TOUR In the nicest way possible, Annika Sorenstam did to Se Ri Pak at the Office Depot Championship Sunday what Se Ri Pak did to Annika Sorenstam one year earlier. Sorenstam won her first tournament of 2003 and in doing so prevented Pak from defending the title she claimed last year when Pak prevented Sorenstam from defending her 2001 crown. Sorenstam lost by one shot last year but this time her 5-under par (68-72-71—211) score was four strokes better than Pak (73-71-71—215), Pat Hurst (75-68-72—215) and Heather Bowie (72-70-73—215). It also earned Sorenstam $225,000. Only four players from the field of 70 managed to finish under par and Canadian Lorie Kane was not one of them. The PEI native T10th and was (72-73-74—219) 3-over, winning $28,387, Dawn Coe-Jones and Nancy Harvey were cut while Gail Graham, playing this season on a special TOUR exemption, was entered but withdrew. AISIAN TOUR Former Walker Cup star Edward Loar won his first professional golf tournament and became the first lefthander to win on the Asian PGA Tour by scoring a resounding 5-stroke victory in the Thailand Open. Despite playing in oppressive heat in Bangkok, Loar posted an unbeatable (67-66-67-69—267) 19-under par, worth $24,225. Canadian Rick Gibson succumbed to the weekend heat but still managed to finish 12 shots back at (69-66-72-72--279) 9-under and T15th, earning $2,115. Loar started the final round almost as hot as the weather, which reached a high of 37 degrees, with a pair of eagles on the front nine. "This is awesome - this is my first win as a professional and it’s special. It’s something I’ll look back on," said Loar, who lost a play-off last season. Gibson remains among the top 10 Asian Tour money winners with over $75,000. EUROPEAN SENIORS PGA TOUR Australia's Terry Gale closed with a seven under par 65 to claim his second European Seniors Tour victory in succession at the Tobago Plantations Seniors Classic at the Tobago Plantations Golf and Beach Resort. Canadian John Irwin T51 at (72-75-76—223) 7-over par, 20 shots behind Gale and one stroke in front of fellow Countryman Bill Hardwick who T58. FUTURES TOUR A new driver has given St. Catharines’ Liz Early a new lease on her golf career and helped put some money in her bank. The former LPGA member drove her way into 3rd place at the Tampa Bay’s Next Generation Future Tour’s Classic by finishing (71-67-74—212) 4-under par and earning a cheque for $4,875. Early was the second round leader but faltered Sunday as Floridian Colleen Cashman of Florida came in at (68-70-71—209) 7-under par to claim the title, narrowly beating Kristen Bloomer (70-71-69—210) of Moberly, MO. Cashman won $9,100 and Bloomer $6,500. "I'm using a new driver this week and it is making the par four holes very short," laughed Earley, winner of last year's Denver FUTURES Golf Classic. "It has taken a while for me to get comfortable and I felt a little rusty for the first few tournaments. I feel very relaxed and enjoy being out on the golf course. This is what I love doing." Other Canadians in the money: Kareen Qually, Olds, AB T10 (72-73-71—216) $1,552; Jennifer Greggain, Calgary, AB T21 (70-72-77—219) $748; Marie-Josee Rouleau, St. Lambert, PQ T28 (72-77-71—220) $547; Nisha Sadekar, Toronto, ON T33 (72-77-77—221) $421; Kimberly Adams, Fredericton, NB T42 (76-74-73—223) $298; Lanie Cahill, Brockville, ON T47 (72-76-76—224) $263. IN THE ROUGH: . . . . It wasn’t exactly the best-kept secret but at least now it is official. The 101st Canadian Open will be played in Vancouver at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club September 1-4, 2005. The announcement by the RCGA coincided with news that Bell Canada has renewed title sponsorship of the Bell Canadian Open for three more years through to 2006 . . . . Shaughnessy opened for play in 1960 and just six years later played host to the last Canadian Open championship held in Western Canada. Texan Don Massengale beat Puerto Rican Chi Chi Rodriguez by three strokes. Twelve years earlier at neighboring Point Grey G&CC Pat Fletcher of Saskatoon became a legend by becoming the last Canadian to win the Open . . . . Reigning BMO Canadian Ladies’ Open champion Meg Mallon T57th at the Office Depot event in Tarzana, CA before catching a flight to Vancouver to meet the media Monday at Point Grey . . . . The scripture Ben Crane recited to himself - - - Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”