After Her Biggest Win, Parsons Had To Pass Another Test

Mary Parsons Is Shown Teeing Off At The CN Future Links Pacific Championship At The Dunes In Kamloops. She Went On To Win By Four Shots -  Image Courtesy Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Mary Parsons is apparently driving well on and off the golf course. The big-hitting 16-year-old Delta resident used her length off the tee en route to an impressive four-shot win at the CN Future Links Pacific Championship in Kamloops this past weekend.

Then after that win -- the biggest of her young golf career -- Parsons returned home and passed her driver’s test on Monday morning. “It has been a great few days,” she said with a laugh in an interview Monday night.

Parsons joked that she was perhaps even more nervous about the driver’s test than she was about holding onto her lead in Sunday’s final round at The Dunes in Kamloops. “I was a little nervous at the start, but after I got going I was okay,” she said of the driver’s test.

Parsons said much the same thing about her final round in Kamloops, where she closed with a one-under 71 for a 54-hole total of 10-under par 206. “The last day, I felt a little anxious to start my round, but once I was out there I was fine. I had my course notes and stuck to my plan and played it like my first two days.”

Parsons, a Grade 11 student at St. Thomas More in Burnaby, went wire-to-wire to win the opening event of the CN Future Links season. The entire field was chasing her after Parsons opened the tournament with a sizzling six-under 66.

She credited a hot putter for that round, which set the women’s course record at The Dunes. “I was just trying to get the ball close to the hole and two-putt it,” she said. “But the putts were just dropping that day. I had no clue why I was sinking all the puts. It was just an unreal feeling.”

That round included eight birdies and an eagle, as well as two bogeys and a double-bogey. She followed it up with a solid three-under 69 in Saturday’s second round.

Parsons, who plays out of Mayfair Lakes in Richmond, said her play in Kamloops sets her up for a great summer. After all, it came against a field that included many of the top juniors in the country. “It’s definitely one of the first big tournaments where I’ve played like that,” she said. “And it’s one I will remember. I think it will be a confidence-booster for the rest of the summer.”

The win is also a step toward Parsons achieving one of her big goals this year. She wants to make one of Golf Canada’s national teams. “That is one of the goals for the season,” she said. “This season has been going pretty well so far and I just wanted to push myself the extra distance and I think it would be good prep for university golf the following year -- travelling by myself and with the team, especially.”

Image Credit Chuck Russell/Golf Canada     Mary Parsons Will Attend Indiana University In The Fall Of 2017

Parsons has already committed to Indiana University, where in the fall of 2017 she will join West Vancouver’s Alix Kong as a Hoosier. “Alix will be a senior when I start at Indiana. She really enjoys it there. The coaches seem interested in me and have been very supportive. I went for an official visit and the course is pretty close to the campus. I really liked the atmosphere that I felt.”

Parsons credits her coach, Taronne Atley, and the rest of the team at the Zone Golf Academy in Richmond with helping her make steady progress with her game.

Last summer, Parsons tied for 14th at the B.C. Junior Girls Championship and tied for seventh at the B.C. Junior Girls. She also finished inside the top 20 at the B.C. Women’s Amateur. 

“Last summer, after the first three rounds I was inside the top 10 at the B.C. Amateur and I had a little bit of a rough fourth day. But since then I have gradually been getting better and this year I’ve really made a huge step forward. I’ve seen a lot of lower scores this year and I’m hoping to continue that for the rest of the summer.”

Parsons said she has begun to use her length to her advantage. She hits the ball about 250 yards off the tee, “maybe even 270 in the summer.” “My coach has helped me to use my strength on the par 5s, where I will definitely go for the greens and not lay up the way a lot of the other girls have to.”

Parsons, who will head east to play in the Future Links Ontario Championship next week, was not the only British Columbian to play well in Kamloops. Euna Han, a 13-year-old from Coquitlam, matched Parsons’ course record with a 66 of her own on Sunday. Han rebounded nicely from an opening round of 84 that included a 13 on a par 3 to finish tied for 11th.

Sumie Francois of Burnaby, Amanda Minni of Delta, Abigail Rigsby of Courtenay, Tiffany Kong of Vancouver, Jayla Yoongi Kang of Surrey, Alisha Lau of Richmond and Ye Ji Lim of Langley all placed inside the top 10 at The Dunes.

On the boys’ side, where Tony Gill of Vaughan, Ont., won by 10 shots with a score of 16-under, the top B.C. finisher was Gavin Ciulla of Surrey, who finished sixth. Isaac Lee of Richmond and Thomas Verigin of West Vancouver tied for seventh, while Po Su of Surrey tied for ninth.