Zhang And Koira Tied At The Top Heading Into Final Round Of B.C. Junior Girls Championship
Angela Zhang Of Vancouver Caught Second Round Leader Cindy Koira Of Victoria And The Two Are Now Tied Going Into Friday's Final Round At The BC Jr. Girls Championship - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
NANOOSE BAY -- It’s not often a player can make up ground on the field without a single birdie, but Vancouver’s Angela Zhang did just that in Thursday’s third round of the B.C. Junior Girls Championship.
Zhang, who began the day seven shots out of the lead, played a steady round that included 16 pars and two bogeys at Fairwinds Golf Club. At the end of the day, she had a share of the lead. “It was steady,” Zhang said of her two-over 73.
“I hit super solid iron shots, but all of my putts edged the hole. I was hitting good putts and hitting great irons, but none of them dropped. Unfortunately, it was just one of those days. But you know what, par on this course is good. You’ll take it any day.”
Victoria’s Cindy Koira certainly would have welcomed a few more pars. The second-round leader struggled to a nine-over 80 Thursday and now shares the lead with Zhang at 14-over par. “I had a terrible round,” said Koira, who just finished Grade 11 at Stelly’s Secondary in Saanichton. “I started the round with a bogey and a double.”
Things didn’t get much better after that. Koira ended her round by bogeying five of her last six holes. “My putting was off today,” she said. “I will play better tomorrow.”
Zhang, who just graduated from York House School and is on her way to New Hampshire to play her collegiate golf at Dartmouth College, had her bad round on Wednesday. She shot a 44 on the front nine on Wednesday that included a quadruple-bogey eight on the seventh hole and eventually signed for an 81. “Yesterday was a wild ride,” Zhang said with a laugh. “I got to explore parts of the course I never knew existed.”
image credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf
Cindy Koira Is Looking To Bounce Back After A Tough 3rd Round At The Jr. Girls Championship
She entered Thursday’s third round knowing she needed to rebound. “I kept my ball-striking in play and I bounced back after yesterday,” she said. “And I’m in contention tomorrow, so we’ll see what I can do.” Zhang headed straight to the putting green after her round and was still there 90 minutes later.
She and Koira have a three-shot lead on the field. Erin Lee of Langley and CoCo Pei and Bonnie Zhai, both of Surrey, are tied for third place at 17-over par. The top three players after Friday’s final round will represent British Columbia in the inter-provincial team competition at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship, which goes July 30-Aug. 2 in Lethbridge, Alta.
A two-person best-ball competition is being held in conjunction with the B.C. Junior Championship. Pei and Kaitlyn Hill of Whistler lead at four-under par, three shots better than the team of Zhang and Surrey’s Angela Arora.
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