Jaden August Clinches B.C. Bantam Boys Championship With Clutch Two-Putt Final Green
BC Bantam Boys Champion, Jaden August - BC Golf Photo
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Jaden August had to grind a little harder than he imagined on the 18th green in the final round of the B.C. Bantam Boys Championship.
The 14-year-old from Pitt Meadows had a two-shot lead as he walked onto the green at Cedar Hill Golf Course in Victoria. But when playing partner Luke Van Alstine of Vancouver rolled in a 30-foot putt for birdie, August’s lead was cut in half.
“I had a decent length putt that I had to two-putt,” August said. “I hit my first putt a little past the hole and I had about four feet left. I knew that was for the win. To be honest, I don’t remember too much what I was thinking standing over it. I was kind of in my own little world there. I was a little nervous.”
August rolled that putt into the centre of the hole for the win. “It feels awesome,” he said. “It’s my first provincial championship, so I am super excited.”
August, who plays out of Meadow Gardens Golf Course in Pitt Meadows, shot rounds of 65 and 68 to finish the 36-hole event for players aged 14 and under at one-under par. He began the final round with a one-shot lead over Van Alstine and the two battled the entire second round.“I had a one-shot lead going into today,” August said.
“I think I was up three at one point early on the back nine and then he made a good birdie and I made a couple of mistakes. It was pretty nerve-wracking. It was kind of close the whole way and then it got really close at the end.”
As a par 67, Cedar Hill was significantly shorter than other courses August is accustomed to playing these days. “I think because it was shorter, there was lots of opportunity to be aggressive,” he said. “There were a lot of risk-reward situations where I had to choose my battles...when I was going to take the risk and when I was going to lay it back or stay away from the flag or whatever.”
It was the second big win in as many weeks for August. Last week, he played in his first American Junior Golf Association event and won it. August drew into the Adidas Junior All-Star tourney at Riverside Golf & Country Club in Portland, Ore., as an alternate. He then went out and shot three straight rounds of one-under 71 to win the event by two shots. So he was riding some momentum coming to the Bantam tourney.
No special celebration was planned to mark his two wins. “It has been a long month, I have been to a lot of places,” he said. “I’ll probably just go home and sleep in my own bed. I am pretty excited about that.”
Tiger Xie of Surrey placed third at three-over par and won the Novice Championship for players aged 12 and under that was also held at Cedar Ridge. Tiger Zhao of Vancouver was second at five-over, while Owen Beaulac of Victoria and Jack Guo of West Vancouver tied for third at nine-over.
A two-player net better ball competition was won by the team of Cynthia Kexin Zhang of Vancouver and Malia Owen of Victoria with a score of 25-under par. The team of Angela and Jennifer Zou of Port Coquitlam was second at 17-under, while Andrew Hou and Luke Van Alstine, both of Vancouver, were third at 15-under.
Next year’s B.C. Bantam Championship will be held at Bowen Island Golf Club.
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