BC's Mandur, Thoroughgood Place 2nd In Canadian Junior/Juvenile Boys Championship
Tristan Mandur (L) Finished Second At The Canadian Junior Boys Championship While Fellow Vancouver Island Resident Nolan Thoroughgood R) Placed Fourth And Was The Runner-Up In The Juvenile Division - Images Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKam Photos)/British Columbia Golf
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Tristan Mandur and Nolan Thoroughgood both had to settle for silver on Thursday. Next week, they’ll try to strike gold. Mandur finished second at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship that wrapped up Thursday at Cataraqui Golf & Country Club in Kingston, Ont. Thoroughgood finished second in the Juvenile division for players 16 and under. He was solo fourth overall in the Junior championship.
It was a terrific result for the two Vancouver Island golfers, who next week will be part of an all-southern Vancouver Island B.C. team at the Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg.
Mandur, of Mill Bay, had a tough task on Thursday. He entered the final round seven shots behind Calvin Ross of Fredericton. N.B. Mandur, the 2016 B.C. Junior Boys champion, cut that lead to four shots early on the back nine, but could get no closer.
“I fought pretty hard in the beginning and it was getting close and then he made a nice birdie on 16 and I fell back with a bogey,” Mandur said. “That kind of hurt a bit.” Mandur finished the 72-hole event at two-under par after firing a one-over 71 on Thursday. Ross, who also closed with a 71, ended up winning with the seven-shot margin he started the day with.
This was the last of four Canadian Junior Championships for Mandur, who is about to begin his sophomore year at the University of Utah. He is looking forward to next week’s Summer Games in Winnipeg. “I can’t wait,” Mandur said. “I played in the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games (in Fort McMurray, Alta.) and had so much fun. Now, this is a bit of a step up. I've been looking forward to it since the beginning of the year, basically. It should be such a good event.”
Thoroughgood finished just one shot behind Juvenile champion Christopher Vandette of Beaconsfield, Que., who was playing in the final group behind him. “I kind of had an idea of where he was at,” the 16-year-old Victoria resident said. “I was watching the scoreboard in behind me and I gave myself lots of chances to try and make up that gap. I just never converted.”
One opportunity came on the 16th hole, one of only two par 5s on the par-70 Cataraqui layout. “I hit a perfect tee ball right down the middle and had 244 yards in, which would be a perfect hybrid,” Thoroughgood said. “I pushed it into the bunker and couldn’t get it up and down. So that kind of cost me. I left myself every possible chance, but in the end wasn’t able to make them.”
Thoroughgood, the 2016 B.C. Amateur champion, shot a one-under 69 Thursday to finish at even-par. He and Mandur were joined in the top 10 of the Junior competition by Khan Lee of Langley (T5 at one-over) and B.C. Junior Boys Champion Christian Zalli of Vancouver (T8 at two-over par).
Like Mandur, Thoroughgood can’t wait to represent British Columbia at the Summer Games.“It will be a blast,” said Thoroughgood. “Not just the golf tournament but just the fact it’s a multi-sport event. It will be a wicked experience.”
Mandur and Thoroughgood will be joined on that team by Keaton Gudz of Victoria. Gudz missed the cut by one shot at the Junior Boys tourney.
Other British Columbia players who made the cut in Kingston included Callum Davison of Duncan (T12), Andy Kim of Langley (T20), A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam (T25), Jeevan Sihota of Victoria (T25), Keenan Flemming of Sechelt (T37), Joel Veenstra of Smithers (T47), Andy Jang of Langley (T53), Aidan Goodfellow of Parksville (T57), Cole Wilson of Victoria (T57), Willis Lee of Langley (T57) and Sean Buckles of North Vancouver (T62).
For complete final scoring CLICK HERE