Akari Hayashi Leads British Columbia Junior Girls By 4 Strokes Over Michelle Kim At Cordova Bay
Twelve-Year-Old Akari Hayashi Shot Under Par For The Second Straight Day At The British Columbia Junior Girls Championship At Cordova Bay. Hayashi Holds A Four-Stroke Lead Over Women's Amateur Champion Michelle Kim - Image Credit Alfie Lau
by Alfie Lau
Pressure doesn’t seem to faze 12-year-old Akari Hayashi.
One day after shooting a (-1) round of 72 at Cordova Bay, Hayashi went another stroke better, shooting a second round (-2) 71 to put herself in the lead by four strokes at the British Columbia Junior Girls Championship at Cordova Bay.
Hayashi and Kathrine Chan of Quilchena carded the low rounds of the day, but the story was all about the only player to have two straight under-par rounds.
“My irons were pretty good,” said the Grade 7 student at Selkirk Montessori in Victoria. “My putting wasn’t very good today. I missed a lot of birdie putts.”
Hayashi’s scorecard would be evidence of that, as she alternated bogeys with birdies from the 4th to the 9th holes and then made birdies at 13 and 14 to get to (-3) 143 for the tournament.
Hayashi also admitted that having played Cordova Bay at least four or five times, these were the first two times she’s broken par at the challenging track. In addition, as a junior member at Uplands Golf Club, she hasn’t broken par there yet, but her current form indicates that will happen very soon.
Hayashi’s older sister Mirai couldn’t be happier for Akari. “She’s been playing really well this year and she’s been practicing so much more than I have,” said Mirai. “I’m definitely cheering for her.”
There was definitely a need for celebration in the Hayashi household, as the sisters won the Zone Competition and are currently leading the Best Ball Competition. Akari Hayashi will play in the final group with current British Columbia Women’s Amateur Champion Michelle Kim, who Hayashi hasn’t even met yet. Kim’s second-round 78 has her at (+1) 147. “She’s so good,” said Hayashi. “It’s nerve-wracking for me.”
Kim had a tough front nine on Wednesday, carding a (+6) 43 that included a triple bogey on the 8th hole and three other bogeys. After another bogey on 10, Kim made birdies at 12 and 14 to get her game back on track. “Nothing really worked well for me on the front,” said Kim. “I missed a lot of fairways, the putts weren’t rolling.”
image credit alfie lau
Seventeen-Year-Old Michelle Kim Had A Tough Day At Cordova Bay On Wednesday, Shooting A (+5)Round Of 78, But She's Still Only Four Strokes Behind Leader Akari Hayashi Of Uplands Golf Club
But Kim knows there’s a long way to the trophy presentation on Friday afternoon. “We’ve only played two of four rounds,” she said. “That’s like playing only nine of 18 holes. I’m definitely still in it.”
Kim has heard about Hayashi’s exploits on the golf course. “She’s playing very well,” said Kim. “I’m looking forward to playing with her.”
Chan, who moved up the leaderboard with her 12-stroke improvement over Day 1, said she’s impressed by Hayashi. “Wow, she’s good,” said Chan. “I’m really surprised that we both shot under par.”
As for her own game, the 15-year-old J.N. Burnett (Richmond) student is happy she turned her game around. “I’m really satisfied with how I played. I got over that first round pretty quickly and I had fun out there.”
In third place in the tournament is Euna Han of Meadow Gardens, who stands at (+3) 149, six strokes behind Hayashi.
The third round of the British Columbia Junior Girls Championship at Cordova Bay starts just after 7 a.m. on Thursday. Spectators are welcome to attend this free event and cheer on the next wave of great British Columbia golfers.
The cut to low 30 and ties will be made after 54 holes on Thursday.
BEST BALL COMPETITION
Akari and Mirai Hayashi lead Gloria Choi and Michelle Kim by two strokes at the halfway point of the Best Ball competition. The Hayashi sisters sit at (-10) 136 after their second straight round of (-5) 68. Choi and Kim are at (-8) 138 while Alisha Lau and Hannah Lee are another stroke back at 139.
ZONE TEAM COMPETITION
In the 36-hole Zone Team competition, the Zone 5 team of the Hayashi sisters finished at (+12) 304, three strokes ahead of the Zone 6 team of Shirin Anjarwalla and Abigail Rigsby, who finished at (+15) 307.
For full results from Cordova Bay, please click here