Karen Zhang Leads Bantam Girls, Bryan Lee Leads Novice Field, 5 Players Tied For B.C. Bantam Boys Championship

Karen Zhang Leads The BC Bantam Girls Championship With One Round To Go At Two Eagles In West Kelowna - Image Credit Alfie Lau

by Alfie Lau

Karen Zhang of Quilchena Golf & Country Club shot the low round of the day, a (-2) 63 at the par-65 Two Eagles Golf Course & Academy on Monday. Zhang leads Akari Hayashi of Victoria by one stroke, as the two girls were the only players to shoot under par in the Bantam Boys and Girls competition.

The 36-hole tournament at Two Eagles will also determine the Bantam Boys Champion and the Novice Boys Champion. The tournament began Monday morning under smoky skies, as winds carried smoke from American wildfires into the Okanagan.

“I wish I could have made more putts,” said Zhang after her round. “I think I could have been even lower if I had made some putts.”

Zhang made four birdies and just two bogeys, including a bogey on her last hole. “I’m going to play one shot at a time and see if some of my putts go in,” said the Richmond teenager.

Zhang will have to overcome a charge from Hayashi, who finished runner-up to Michelle Kim at the BC Junior Girls earlier this summer. “My chipping has been good and my recovery shots have been good,” said Hayashi. “I didn’t play well in this tournament last year, but this year has been much better.”

Hayashi was also part of the victorious BC team at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship in Saskatchewan and those successes have given Hayashi a lot of confidence. Hayashi also played in the BC Juveniles at Spallumcheen last week and stayed in the Interior with her family to relax.

“My sister and I went shopping and every day, we’ve gone into the pool at our hotel,” said Hayashi. “I think I’m going into the pool as soon as we get back to the hotel.”

Zhang played in a solid group which included Claire Lovan, who shot (+1) 66 and Julie Ju, who shot (+2) 67. Alyssa Chang is T3 with Lovan, while Ju is solo fifth.

On the boys side, it’s anybody’s guess whose name will go on the Harry White Trophy as five players are currently tied for first after Round 1 of the 2015 B.C. Bantam Boys Championship.

Michael Crisologo of Marine Drive GC, Peter Zhang of the Lab@Northview, Andy Jang of the Wolfpack, Jeevan Sihota of Gorge Vale GC and Sean Buckles of Seymour Golf & Country Club all shot (+1) rounds of 66.

Crisologo shot 31-35 and said he needs to work on his short game before the final round on Tuesday. “I was hitting the ball really well, but my putting’s a bit off,” said Crisologo, who works with coach Rob Houlding.

image credit alfie lau

Bryan Lee Leads The BC Novice Championship After Recording 52 Points In The Stableford Scoring System

Zhang shot 32-34 and knows he has to work on his putting as well. “I had two three-putts on the back nine,” said Zhang. “My approaches were good, but I didn’t putt well enough.

Zhang, 14 and an Elgin Park student, said his coach, Matt Palsenbarg, has worked with him on his short game and that’s where Zhang was headed after his round.

Jang, 14, is a Walnut Grove Secondary student who works with David Park out of The Redwoods. Jang shot 32-34, including a closing birdie which got him into the five-way tie at 66. “I didn’t hit the ball that well at the Juveniles last week (at Spallumcheen), so I went back to the Redwoods to work on fixing my swing,” said Jang. “I think I found a fix and I’m looking forward to playing tomorrow.”

Jeevan Sihota is only 11 and started strongly, with a (-2) 30 on the front before a 36 on the back 9. “I’m happy with everything today,” said Sihota, who works with coach John Randle. “I think I have to make sure I don’t make any bogeys tomorrow. I just want to have fun and play well.”

Buckles played a consistent round, shooting 33-33 for both his nines. “I played well last week at the Juveniles, finishing 11th, so I came here with a lot of confidence,” said the North Vancouver native who also took time to go south and play Gamble Sands in Brewster, WA.

“This course is shorter than what I played last week, so I can reach a lot of the par-4s and par-5s. I think if I hit a lot of fairways, make birdies on the easier holes and make pars on the hard holes, I’ll be OK.”

Past winners of the BC Bantam Boys Championship include Eugene Wong, who won three straight titles from 2002-2004; Adam Svensson, who won back-to-back in 2006-07; Kevin Kwon in 2008; Jordan Lu in 2010; AJ Ewart in 2011; Roy Kang in 2013; and Andrew Spalti in 2014.

Past winners of the BC Bantam Girls Championship include Jessica Wallace in 2003; Sue Kim, who won in 2004 and 2005; Anica Yoo in 2006; Jisoo Keel in 2007; Alix Kong in 2008 and 2009; Naomi Ko in 2011; Kathrine Chan in 2012; Alisha Lau in 2013; and Euna Han in 2014.

Novice Championships

The Novice division was added to the Bantam in 2014 for competitors with less experience in provincial competition. Bryan Lee of Seymour Golf & Country Club shot a (-3) round of 62, but more importantly, recorded 52 points in the Stableford scoring system to lead the Novice Championships. Lee leads Xander Bankes of Rossland by five points, with two other players another 5 points back.

“This is my first British Columbia Golf tournament and I didn’t have a lot of confidence coming into this, so that’s why I decided to play in the Novices,” said the 14-year-old who works with coach Colin Lavers. “My confidence is growing after this round. I think I’ll relax a bit today, take a bit of a mental break before my round tomorrow.”

For full results from Two Eagles, please click here