Michelle Kim and Akari Hayashi Tied For Lead After Round 3 Of BC Junior Girls At Cordova Bay
Michelle Kim, In White, Watches As Akari Hayashi, In Purple Tees Off During Round 3 Of The BC Junior Girls Championship At Cordova Bay. Hayashi And Kim Are Now Tied For The Lead, As Kim Made Up Four Strokes On Her Younger Competitor - Image Credit Alfie Lau
by Alfie Lau
12-year-old Akari Hayashi may have blinked, but she’s still tied for the lead with 17-year-old Michelle Kim after Round 3 of the British Columbia Golf Junior Girls Championship at Cordova Bay in Victoria.
Hayashi started the day four strokes ahead of Kim, but after making eight straight pars, she reached the ninth hole in regulation, only to make a disastrous four-putt. A birdie at 12 seemed to right the ship, but going out of bounds on 14 led to a double bogey and another bogey at 15 was erased by Hayashi’s birdie on the par-3 17th hole.
Hayashi would finish with a (+3) round of 76 and now sits at even-par 219, even with Kim, who shot a (-1) round of 72 to catch up with her younger playing partner. “Yeah, it was OK,” said Hayashi. “I just had some missed shots.”
Hayashi said she needs to slow down when the pressure gets to her, especially after a four-putt on the ninth hole and going out of bounds on the par-5 14th hole. “It was me rushing,” said Hayashi. “I want to play better tomorrow.”
As for pressure, Hayashi said she felt it, even as she had a huge smile on her face. “Michelle, she’s so good,” said Hayashi. “I had so much pressure.”
Kim should be feeling the heat, because as the reigning BC Women’s Amateur Champion, she entered the tournament as a big favourite.
Kim had two bogeys on her front nine and had a birdie on the fifth before reeling off three straight birdies from the 12th through 14th holes. One final bogey at 15 left Kim back at the top of the leaderboard, albeit not alone.
“I had an alright round. I’m definitely not satisfied. I missed so many putts today,” said Kim. “I could have been a lot under par today. Putting didn’t work for me today.”
Kim already speaks like a seasoned veteran. “My shots were good. My course management was good,” said the future University of Idaho student. “I’m satisfied I caught up four strokes. Four strokes is a lot.”
Kim had nothing but compliments for the young girl she’s tied with at the top of the leaderboard. “Akari played well and I was impressed with her game,” said Kim. “She has the ability to ball strike really well. She hits it really far compared to how small she is. She’s a very aggressive putter.”
But Kim knows only one of them can win the big prize. “I’m excited for tomorrow,” said Kim. “I’m going to be a little more aggressive, especially since I was missing so many putts today.”
Hayashi doesn’t seem worried, even as she scanned the leaderboard and had a spectator ask her where her name was on the board. “At the top,” she said. Hayashi is excited about heading into the final day as a co-leader. “I want to play better tomorrow. I have to get those birdie putts in,” she said.
When asked what it would mean to win this championship, the 12-year-old voice came out. “It would be my life,” said Hayashi, who also wants to make the BC team for the Canadian Junior Girls championship. She admitted her sister Mirai helped calm her nerves by watching a funny movie on Wednesday night.
Coquitlam’s Euna Han is the closest competitor to Kim and Hayashi, sitting two strokes back at (+2) 221 after her (-1) round of 72 on Thursday. Esther Lee of Swaneset is another two strokes back at (+4) 223, while Hannah Lee of Fraser Valley Zone 3 rounds out the top 5 at (+5) 224.
A cut to the top 30 players was made Thursday afternoon.
BEST BALL COMPETITION
The team of Michelle Kim and Gloria Choi lead the Best Ball Competition, as their score of (-12) 207 is one stroke ahead of the (-11) 208 score of Mirai and Akari Hayashi.
For full results from Cordova Bay, please click here