Hannah Lee and AJ Ewart Lead British Columbia Juvenile Championships At Spallumcheen
Hannah Lee Of Surrey Shot Another Under-Par Round At Spallumcheen On Wednesday And Heads Into The Final Round Of The BC Juvenile Boys Championship Four Strokes Ahead Of Alisha Lau And Abigail Rigsby - Image Credit Alfie Lau
by Alfie Lau
Hitting a hybrid from 242 yards out on the par-5 11th hole to four feet and then converting the eagle putt propelled Pitt Meadow Golf Club’s AJ Ewart to a one-stroke lead heading into the final round of the BC Juvenile Boys Championships at Spallumcheen Golf and Country Club.
Ewart’s (-5) round of 66 included five birdies and two bogeys to go with that eagle, and he sits at (-6) 136. Ewart leads first-round leader Callum Davison by one stroke after Davison shot a (-1) round of 70 to go with his opening round 67.
In the Juvenile Girls Championship, Surrey’s Hannah Lee shot another under-par round, this time a (-1) 70 and now sits at (-4) 138. Sitting T2 is Lee’s friend and best-ball partner, Alisha Lau of Richmond, who shot a second straight even par 71; and Courtenay’s Abigail Rigsby, who shot a (-1) round of 70, to sit at 142, four strokes back.
The cut to top 55 and ties for the boys at (+17) and top 20 and ties for the girls at (+20) was made on Wednesday afternoon. The final round at Spallumcheen goes on Thursday morning, starting at 8:30 a.m.
JUVENILE BOYS
“I’m riding a pretty big wave of confidence,” said Ewart. “If I stick to the game plan tomorrow, I think I can play even better tomorrow.” Ewart spent a lot of time on the putting green on Tuesday night, first having fun with his friends before getting down to business and finding the stroke that led to his 66 on Wednesday.
“The greens felt bumpy to me (Tuesday) and I wanted to find my putting stroke,” said Ewart. “I just need to keep working on my game and hopefully, I’ll win tomorrow.”
Davison lamented a round that could have been even better than a 70. “I hit two bad shots and it cost me four strokes,” said Davison. “I hit it OB on 10 and went into the hazard on 6. Other than that, I’m hitting the ball really good. I think I just need to work on my putting and getting rid of some mental errors.”
Davison did make eagle on the fourth hole, dunking his approach, with three birdies as well. Victoria’s Keaton Gudz sits third, at (-4) 138, two strokes behind Ewart. Gudz, who started on the 11th hole, made 4 birdies on the back 9, before a roller-coaster front nine which included one birdie, two bogeys and a double bogey for a round of (-1) 70.
JUVENILE GIRLS
Lee played a solid round which included four birdies, one bogey and a double bogey on the par-4 second hole. “My putting was consistent and I found the pins a little bit easier than yesterday,” said Lee. “I got it going, but then I hit a really bad shot when I doused a ball (in the water) on the second.”
Lee has just one more tournament this summer, at Sun Rivers, and she’s looking forward to taking a break from golf before she heads back to high school. “I’m pretty happy with how my summer has gone so far,” said Lee. “I came back from the Canadian Juniors pretty confident and I took that to the Western Canadians and I feel good for tomorrow as well.”
Lau trails her friend by four strokes and she knows where all those strokes were lost. “I just can’t get anything going on the greens,” said Lau. “It’s the same thing as yesterday. My putts aren’t dropping.”
Lau said she’s had a litany of injuries this summer, pointing to her knee, back and elbow before lamenting the food poisoning she picked up eating a submarine sandwich in Saskatchewan. “It’s been tough and I’m looking forward to some time with my friends,” said Lau. “I’ll try and play my best tomorrow and see if I can get a good round going.”
Rigsby made six birdies on the day, with just three bogeys and a double bogey on the par-4 16th.
BEST BALL
In the best ball competition, there’s a three-way tie with Keaton Gudz and Tristan Mandur; AJ Ewart and Khan Lee; and Callum Davison and Jake Lane all tied for the lead at (-13) 129 with the all-girl team of Megan Ratcliffe and Abigail Rigsby just one-stroke back at (-12) 130.
ZONE CHAMPIONSHIP
In the Zone Championship, the Zone 3 Fraser Valley Team of Khan Lee, AJ Ewart, Mitchell Thiessen and Isaac Lee won with a (-5) score of 421. They beat the second-place team, Zone 6 by 16 strokes. Zone 6 consists of Callum Davison, Aidan Goodfellow, Jeremiah Morris and Johnny Dial.
For full results from the BC Juvenile at Spallumcheen, please click here: