VICTORIA — Amy Lee is always playing to win, but acknowledges having some extra motivation as she attempts to defend her title at the B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship.
“This is the Amateur, it’s not like a little tournament, so I always try my best,” Lee said. “But defending my title definitely gives me extra motivation.”
The 17-year-old Langley resident got her title defence off to a positive start as she opened the 120th playing of the championship with a tidy, one-under par 71 at Victoria Golf Club, that gave her a one-shot lead.
“It’s really nice to be back every year because there are so many familiar faces, players and staff, and everyone is so nice and it just kind of makes me want to get back to it and bring last year’s spirit back on,” Lee said.
Lee, who is also the reigning B.C. Junior Girls champion, birdied two of her first three holes to get her round off to a nice start. “I had a pretty good front nine and on the back I had a lot of opportunities that I wasn’t able to capitalize on.”
With storied Victoria Golf Club as the site, this year’s event has attracted an especially strong field. Lee, who just finished Grade 11 at Walnut Grove Secondary in Langley, knows defending her title won’t be easy.
“It is a strong field and there are a lot of college players compared to last year,” said Lee, who is heading to the University of Texas to play her collegiate golf in the fall of 2026.
It didn’t take long for Lee to determine that figuring out the wind will be one of the keys to success at the scenic oceanside layout. “Once it gets windy it’s definitely a challenge,” Lee said. “In my practice round it was really windy. We played at 3 p.m. and it was really blowing, especially on the ocean holes. Those holes are really tough.
"We teed off early this morning so it wasn’t that windy, but it definitely could get really bad out there. The greens, too, are a challenge. There is so much slope and tiers that are really challenging if you get on the wrong side of the hole.”
Una Chou, who just finished her collegiate career at the University of B.C., is one shot back at even-par. Her round included two birdies and a double. “I didn’t make a lot of birdies today, but I made some nice par saves,” Chou said. “It was kind of like a slow, steady round.”
One of her birdies came on the par 4 18th hole, where Chou stuck her 6-iron approach shot from 145 yards to within seven feet of the hole. This is a bit of an unusual event for Chou, who is working as an intern for British Columbia Golf this summer. She’s both working at the event and playing in it.
“It’s interesting because usually after the round I can go back to the hotel and rest or whatever,” she said with a laugh. “Now I have to go to work and am stuck here for another few hours.”
Three of Chou’s former UBC teammates — Jessica Ng of Vancouver, Bo Brown of Vancouver and Sienna Harder of Langley — are also playing this week. So are two members of the Simon Fraser University women’s team, Dana Smith of Campbell River and Meera Minhas of Burnaby.
The B.C. Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master championships are also being contested this week. The Mid-Am is open to players aged 25 and older, while the Mid-Master is open to players aged 40 and older.
Defending champion Aram Choi of Surrey is tied for the Mid-Am lead with Nonie Marler of Vancouver and Veronica Ivy of Saanichton after they all opened with one-over 73s. Marler and Ivy share the Mid-Master lead.
Click HERE for complete opening round scoring in the BC Women's Amateur.
CHIP SHOTS: The top three finishers this week will represent British Columbia in the inter-provincial team competition at this summer’s Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, which will be played July 22-25 at Riverside Country Club in Saint John, N.B.