PITT MEADOWS — One month after the biggest win of his young golfing life, Owen Beaulac earned an even bigger one.
The 14-year-old Victoria resident followed up last month’s B.C. U15 Championship with an impressive win Thursday at the Canadian U15 Championship at Pitt Meadows Golf Club. “It feels great, there’s no feeling quite like this,” Beaulac said.
“I was pretty steady throughout the tournament. I had a couple of birdies roll in early today and got the job done, so I’m really happy.”
Beaulac, who is heading into Grade 9 at Claremont Secondary, began the day three shots shy of the lead. When the final round was over, he was three shots clear of the field. A provincial championship followed by a national title. Not a bad summer.
“It means a lot,” Beaulac said of his two big wins this summer. “It makes me believe that I can play golf at an extremely high level. I’m just so thankful.”
Beaulac closed with a three-under 69 to finish the 36-hole event at five-under par and three shots better than his Victoria buddy, Luke Bernakevitch.
Beaulac and Bernakevitch also finished one-two at last month’s B.C. U15 Championship at Burnaby Mountain Golf Course. Bernakevitch got a measure of revenge by winning last week’s B.C. U17 Championship at Arbutus Ridge Golf Course in Cobble Hill.
Bernakevitch was waiting beside the 18th green to congratulate his friend. “We have a friendly rivalry,” said Beaulac, who plays out of Gorge Vale Golf Club. “He’s a great player. He’s won a lot of tournaments, I’ve won a couple, so it’s always good playing against a familiar face.”
A fast start to his final round was a key to Beaulac’s win. He knew he had ground to make up and began his round with three birdies on the first four holes. He finished the day with six birdies.
“I hit a bad tee shot on 1, but kind of the got the momentum rolling with a couple of putts,” he said. “I think I stayed mentally happy. When I am mentally in it I feel like I am at my best. I think I had that this week.”
Jayden Arnold of Calgary and Bennett Love of Red Deer, Alta. tied for second at even-par. Tiger Xie of Surrey, Ryu Shiina of Courtenay and Jayden Hx Zhu of Surrey were among five players tied for fifth place at one-over par.
The tournament was scheduled to conclude Friday with a half-day educational summit for players, parents and coaches. Topics included sport psychology, physical training for young golfers, parenting high-performance athletes and talent development research.
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