PITT MEADOWS — It was a roller-coaster round that ended on an exhilarating high for Richmond’s Maggie Zhang.
After making a mess of the par 4 17th hole at Pitt Meadows Golf Club during the final round of the Canadian U15 Girls Championship, Zhang was reeling as she walked to the 18th tee. Her double-bogey on 17 had turned a one-shot lead into a one-shot deficit.
“After 17 I told myself I’m even, she’s one-under, I need to make a birdie on this hole,” Zhang said. She went one better than that, chipping in for eagle on the par 5 18th hole to win the championship in dramatic fashion. Zhang had trouble believing it actually happened and that she was a Canadian champion.
“I was shocked it went in,” she said. “I didn’t believe it for a second and was like, wait, did it actually go in. I knew birdie would get me in a playoff, I wasn’t expecting an eagle at all.”
Neither was her coach, Jimmy Han, who went absolutely bananas greenside when Zhang’s chip rolled into the hole. “He was much more excited than I was,” Zhang said with a smile.
Zhang closed with an even-par 72 to finish the 36-hole event at two-under par. She edged Toronto’s Riviera Lindholm, who had finished her round earlier, by one shot. Kathleen Dunn of Surrey and Kaeleigh Chung of Richmond Hill, Ont. tied for third at one-over par.
Zhang’s eagle came after her second shot, a hybrid from 196 yards, landed short and slightly left of the green. The pin was front left and Zhang had an up-hill chip. It wasn’t a particularly difficult shot, but the circumstances made it much more challenging.
“I was short-sided and in the rough, so not the best possible spot,” Zhang said. “I was pretty confident with what shot I was going to hit. As soon as it landed and started rolling, I was like, that’s a good shot, that’s going to give me a birdie. And then when it went in I was like, oh, wow. It was really special.”
Zhang, 14, was already a B.C. champion. She won the B.C. U15 Championship last summer at Bowen Island Golf Club. She’s proud now to be a Canadian champion. “This is my last year playing this tournament, so I really wanted to win it. It really means a lot to win a Canadian championship, a Golf Canada event.
“I am proud of my mental game. Today was such a roller-coaster and my iron shots were really off. I wasn’t hitting many greens, so I didn’t get a lot of birdie chances. I managed to pull through, so I am pretty proud about that.”
Click HERE for complete final scoring.
CHIP SHOTS: Other British Columbians finishing in the top 10 included Richmond’s Christy Man, who was sixth, Jody Li of Burnaby (seventh), Grace Fan of Vancouver (ninth) and Quorra Mi of Burnaby (10th).