A pair of golfers with Kelowna ties have earned exemptions for the GolfBC Championship later this month at Gallagher’s Canyon.
Garrett Kucher and Conner Kozak will play in the third event on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada schedule, from June 14 to 17 in Kelowna.
Kucher turned pro three seasons ago and has since played professional golf in Europe, Spain, Arizona and on the Vancouver Golf Tour. Kucher, who recently joined Predator Ridge as their Golf Ambassador, has won a number of other tournaments, including last year’s Ogopogo Invitational at the Kelowna Golf and Country Club.
Kozak, an assistant pro at the Okanagan Golf Club and Vernon native, played for the UBC men’s golf team, helping lead the Thunderbirds to numerous national championships. Some individual varsity highlights included two first-team NAIA All-American awards (2013, 2014), All-Regional Champion in 2014, and being named to the Canadian FISU World University Championship team (2014).
Joining Kucker and Kozak at the GolfBC Championship is Lake Cowichan’s Jimmy Jones, who recently completed his final year of NCAA eligibility at the University of South Florida. Jones was a NCAA Div. 2 first team All-American in 2015-16 and finished tied for 13th at the 2017 Canadian men’s 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.
Another exemption will be granted to the 2018 Zone 2 Junior Tour Order of Merit winner, who will be determined this weekend at the two-day Tour Championship at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf Club.
The fifth and final exemption will come from the Interior PGA Tour, with the selection of that representative to be named shortly.
Four-day tournament passes for the GolfBC Championship are $35 each, with the daily passes going for $15.
For ticket or other tournament information, go to golfbcchampionship.com