Proteau, Krahn In Position To Repeat At B.C. Indigenous Championship
Austin Krahn & Christina Proteau Are The Leaders In The 2nd Indigenous Championship BC
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
The second B.C. Indigenous Championship is being played this week at University Golf Club in Vancouver and Christina Proteau will tell you it feels a lot different than last year’s inaugural event.
Proteau was absolutely immersed in last year’s tourney at NK’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course in Oliver. She was the tournament chair, helped organize the event, recruited players and handled numerous media requests.
“This year, I have not done anything,” Proteau said. “It was nice in a sense not to have to do a bunch of radio interviews this morning and do a CBC video in the middle of my round like last year. But at the same time it is really nice to see that even without all the fanfare of the inaugural event, we still have a solid field and a lot of participants here this week.”
One thing hasn’t changed, however. Proteau’s name is still atop the leaderboard. She won the event last year and could be on her way to delivering a repeat performance this week. The Port Alberni native, who works as a Crown prosector and has a distinguished record as an amateur golfer, opened the 36-hole tournament with a three-over 74 that gave her a four-shot lead heading into Wednesday’s final round.
“Overall, I am pleased with the round,” she said. “I think if someone had given me a 74 before the start of my round I would have said 'yes, please.' Especially when I woke up and it was pouring this morning.”
That morning rain and all the other precipitation the area has received recently made for soft conditions. “The course played long,” Proteau said. “It’s in nice shape, but there’s a lot of water so it’s soft. That’s challenging for everybody.”
Eighty-six players teed it up in Tuesday’s first round. The players with the early tee times got the worst of the weather with plenty of rain and wind, not to mention cool temperatures.
Proteau is delighted to see the event back for a second year and is confident it will become an annual fixture on the British Columbia Golf calendar. “You want to make sure it carries on,” she said. “Going forward we’ll keep collecting information and determine if this is the right format. And as far as future venues, I know there are a number of First Nations courses around the province that would like to host this because it is something different.
“I played my practice round yesterday with two guys from Chetwynd and we would never have met but for this event. It was a good reminder of what this is about. Sometimes it’s hard with golf because you get lost in the outcomes, but this is about more than that. It’s about growing the game and I think it is an awesome tournament and I am so proud we are still doing it. Hopefully, it carries on for years to come and not because of one individual person. It carries on because it’s healthy.”
Kylie Jack of Westbank is alone in second place after opening with a 78. Jack, who played collegiate golf a few years ago for Simon Fraser University, recently graduated from law school. She played in last year’s inaugural event in Oliver and said it was important for her to return to support the tournament.
“My dad couldn’t make it this year, but my mom is here,” Jack said. “There’s a real sense of community here and it feels good to be here to support Indigenous golf. You get to see some people you haven’t seen in a year. I felt it was important to come back and keep supporting the tournament.”
The men’s leaderboard is also looking familiar. Christina Lake’s Austin Krahn, who won the event last year at Oliver, opened with a four-under 67 and has a five-shot lead heading into the final round. The 16-year-old had three birdies and an eagle in his round. His only blemish, a bogey, came on the par 4 13th hole.
“I started off nice,” Krahn said. “I missed a couple of greens early but made some nice up-and-downs. I played solid from No. 4 through 12. I was three-under in that stretch. I had a bad three-putt bogey on 13, but then I made an eagle on 14 which kind of brought it back. Then I just finished up the round nice and clean.”
That eagle on the par 5 14th hole came after Krahn, the reigning B.C. Juvenile Boys champion, left his second shot on the front fringe. “I rolled in about a 20-footer for the eagle,” he said.
Mike Morgan of Penticton is alone in second place after firing a one-over 72. Former B.C. Senior Men’s champion Harry Ferguson of Invermere, Cody Bailey of Prince George and Justin Magnuson of Ladysmith share third place after opening with two-over 73s.
Click HERE for complete first round scoring.