Zhang, Baek Triumph At B.C. Bantam Boys And Girls Championships
B.C. Bantam Boys Champion Billy Zhang Accepts The Winner's Trophy From British Columbia Golf's Len Fergie At Shannon Lake GC In Kelowna - Images Credit Susan White/BC Golf
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Billy Zhang figured he’d win and it turned out the 14-year-old from Coquitlam won big at the B.C. Bantam Boys Championship at Shannon Lake Golf Club in Kelowna. Zhang fired a one-over 70 in Wednesday’s second and final round of the 36-hole event and beat the field by eight shots.
“I was pretty confident I could win,” Zhang said. “I know almost everyone who came to the tournament. I was a bit nervous before my round, but after hitting my tee shot off No. 1 I felt pretty confident. Throughout the front nine things were still pretty tight, but I just played the best I could and outplayed the rest of the field.”
The Bantam championship is open to players aged 14 and under. Chaewon Baek of Langley captured the Bantam Girls Championship.
Zhang, who opened the tournament with a 72, finished at three-over par. Manu Gandhi of West Vancouver was second at 11-over after shooting a four-over 73 on Wednesday. “My putting was really good both days,” Zhang said.
“On the first day I tripled hole No. 4 and I was four-over through eight holes and I managed to shoot two-under for the rest of the round. I played quite consistently. I was hitting almost every fairway. The wind was tricky, it seemed to change direction a lot, and the greens were really tough to read.”
Zhang, who is about to start Grade 10 at Burnaby Mountain Secondary, said he’s pleased to be a B.C. champion. “So far, this would be my biggest win,” he said. Ethan Posthumus of Coquitlam and Daniel Bennett of North Saanich tied for third place at 12-over par.
On the girls’ side, Baek shaved seven strokes off her opening round with a two-over 71 in Wednesday’s final round. Baek had two triple-bogeys in her first round, but had a much cleaner scorecard on Wednesday, when she had three birdies and five bogeys.
2018 Bantam Girls Champion Chaewon Baek
Her 36-hole total of 11-over par was three shots better than runner-up Luna Lu of Burnaby. Lu shot a four-over 73 on Wednesday. Martina Yu of Coquitlam was third at 26-over following her 74 on Wednesday.
The tournament, the final event on the British Columbia Golf championship calendar this summer, also included a Novice Division for players with higher handicaps that featured net Stableford scoring.
Kate Hancock of Kamloops won the Novice Girls Championship with 64 points. Dana Smith of Campbell River was second with 60 points. Henry Sutherland of Kelowna won the Novice Boys Championship with 82 points. That was one more than David Krahn of Christina Lake.
A two-person best-ball competition was also contested. The team of Krahn and Cameron Bibby-Fox of Nelson won with a two-day total of 18-under par. The Nanaimo team of Matt Wilson and Manpreet Lalh were one shot back in second place.
Click HERE for complete final scoring.