CRANBROOK — Three weeks. Three British Columbia Golf championships. How is your July going? Probably not as well as Austin Krahn’s.
The 17-year-old phenom from Christina Lake completed a remarkable run as he won his third straight B.C. Indigenous Championship at the St. Eugene Golf Resort in Cranbrook.
The win followed last week’s triumph at the B.C. Amateur Championship at Bootleg Gap in Kimberley and his second straight B.C. Junior Boys title the previous week at Quilchena Golf & Country Club in Richmond.
Krahn made it look easy as he closed the 36-hole Indigenous Championship with a four-under 68 to finish at 10-under par. That was eight shots better than John Monture of the Six Nations reserve in Ontario.
Krahn is believed to be the first person to hold three B.C. Golf championships at the same time. The fact he won them in consecutive weeks makes the accomplishment even more remarkable.
“It’s been a special three weeks,” Krahn said. “Three provincial championships in a year is phenomenal, let alone in a span of three weeks. It’s really, really special. I am not sure how many people have done that.”
Told no one, Krahn smiled and said, “It’s pretty special to be in that position and have that honour, so I am very grateful.”
Krahn called his final round at St. Eugene eventful. “Honestly, it was a weird round of golf,” he said. “We hit it all over the place, saw a lot of the golf course, missed some really short putts, made an eagle, made lots of birdies. It was pretty interesting.”
Monture, who began the day five shots behind Krahn, made a bit of a run on the front nine and briefly cut Krahn’s lead to two shots. “I was kind of struggling on the front nine,” Krahn said. “I think I made three bogeys in the first eight holes. I think he was at three-under so he was making a bit of run and got to within two, I think, and then I eagled nine and that kind of opened it up again.”
Krahn now takes his act on the road, where he will be chasing a couple of national championships. He will compete in the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, which goes July 28-31 at Royal Ottawa Club, and the Canadian Junior Boys Championship, which will be played Aug. 12-15 at Gowan Brae Golf & Country Club in Bathurst, N.B.
He will head east knowing his game is in good shape. “It’s hard not to be feeling good right now,” he said. “I am playing great golf and I think for the last three tournaments I am 38-under par. When you hear a number like that over any span of time it’s pretty good. I’d like to maybe work out a couple things with the putter the next couple of days, but the game is in a great spot.”
Krahn was joined at St. Eugene by his whole family, his dad Gene, mom Vicky and brothers David and Mitchell, who also played in the event. “It’s so special to come out here as a family,” he said. “We were all camping in a trailer so it’s so much fun even after the golf to hang out. And then the people at this event are so special and important to us. To meet them all again and catch up is so great.”
Krahn plays in the Indigenous championship to honour the native heritage of his ‘Nana,’ his maternal grandmother who lives in the Okanagan. “I was playing for her this week and through that to show my love for my heritage and for her,” Krahn said.
Monture, who won the inaugural Ontario Indigenous Championship in 2023, shot his second straight one-under 71 to finish second. “I am happy to go home with a medal,” said Monture. “I believe I am the first to ever win in Ontario and B.C. That’s a goal I set coming here. I said as long as I get a medal I am happy and I’m going home with a silver medal.”
Cody Bailey of Prince George finished third at three-over par, Dillon Paquette of Dawson Creek was fourth at five-over and Jerome Thorne of Radium Hot Springs was fifth at six-over.
As the top four British Columbia finishers, Krahn, Bailey, Paquette and Thorne qualify to play for B.C. in the Indigenous team matches with Ontario in September.
The top four net Stableford finishers also qualified for Team B.C. Josh Charles of Victoria won the Stableford event with 80 points. Caden Oliver of Coldstream was second with 76 points. Monture was third with 74 points and David Krahn of Christina Lake and Joel Hunt of Kelowna tied for fourth with 72 points.
Click HERE for complete final round scoring.
CHIPS SHOTS: Les Furber, who designed St. Eugene along with so many other B.C. courses, came out to watch the final round. Furber now lives in Kimberley.