It’s not every day you get to walk a hole on the golf course alongside a pro.
As part of the PGA Tour Americas’ Fortinet Cup Championship, students from South Surrey’s Rosemary Heights Elementary as well as other area schools had the chance to watch the pros golf, learn about the golf course and even, walked the entire 18th hole at Morgan Creek Golf Course with AJ Ewart, a Canadian golfer from B.C. who grew up in Coquitlam.
During the RBC Pro-Am Wednesday (Sept. 24), the young students also had the chance to participate in a skills clinic, an RBC Community Junior Golf initiative, with some of the other professional golfers set to compete for the cup — and a chance to make it into the PGA’s Korn Ferry Tour — Thursday through Sunday (Sept. 25 to 28) at the beautifully maintained golf course.
Ewart, 26, is fresh off setting a record with a career-low 11-under 59 in the second round to set a new course record at Uplands Golf Club in Victoria last weekend, carding 12 birdies and one bogey. He entered the tournament 12th on the PGA Tour Americas’ Fortinet Cup points list, and if he can move up at least two spots, he will receive one of the 10 2026 Korn Ferry Tour cards that will be handed out after Sunday’s final round.
But making it to the top 10 isn’t Ewart’s only goal.
“Every time you play in a tournament, your goal is to win. So that’s my my plan this week is to play to win, and not necessarily to just get into the top 10,” Ewart said Wednesday, while walking the fairway after teeing off at Morgan Creek’s 18th hole.
He chatted with the elementary students between shots, talking about golf and his dad Brad, who teaches golf in Burnaby.
“It’s really nice being back in B.C. … getting to stay at home and just being comfortable with the environment, and still getting to hang out with friends and and family during a tournament week, which is rare so … it’s very comforting to be home,” Ewart said.
Constanza, 10, one of the elementary school students at the course Wednesday, was excited to be there.
“Walking with a pro is a great opportunity. And looking at every shot like they take as well,” she enthused, adding that she enjoyed learning about how the golf course’s greens, fairways, rough and landscaping is maintained from Morgan Creek’s agronomy team.
A golfer herself, she was interested in how the pros maintain their focus, especially with so many people watching — in person and on TV.
“I really like all my clubs and like how I hit them,” she said, admitting she doesn’t have a current “favourite.”
“I really like the confidence I’m gaining … but If I were playing here and there (was an audience) clapping, I couldn’t concentrate!”
Ewart said he likes to give back and connect with local kids when he’s able.
“It’s neat to connect with the kids like this … I was once a kid too, and I’d come out to these tournaments, and getting to interact with pros or getting a ball is huge,” he said with a grin. “So I want to make them feel how I’d want to feel — special.”
After giving one of the students pointers at the 18th hole, the student landed a putt, to cheers from the gathered spectators, with Ewart making sure all the kids who walked the hole with him got a golf ball as a keepsake.
A $150,000 sport tourism grant from the City of Surrey helped make the tournament happen, a city release said Wednesday, which noted the tournament is also benefitting two Surrey-based charities, with $5 from every ticket sold going to the tournament’s official charity partners: the C.H.I.L.D. Foundation and Sources Community Resource Centre’s Foundry South Surrey Program.
Tickets for the championship are available at fortinetcupchampionship.com
Read more on Nanaimo News Bulletin
