Amy Lee Adds To Her British Columbia Golf Championship Collection With Convincing Win At Women’s Amateur
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
BALFOUR - Amy Lee is no stranger to winning British Columbia Golf championships. The 16-year-old already had B.C. Bantam, Juvenile and Junior titles on her resumé and came to Balfour for the 119th playing of the B.C. Women’s Amateur hoping to add a fourth provincial championship.
Mission accomplished. Lee closed with a two-under 70 on Balfour Golf Course and her 54-hole total of 11-under par was good for a three-shot win.
“At the beginning of this tournament I really wanted this title to finish my crown of winning all four of them,” Lee said. “I really think this holds a special place in my heart. It’s my first Amateur win, so I definitely think this is something big and winning with a score of 11-under is definitely something I should be proud of.”
The Langley resident went wire-to-wire. She had opened up a five-shot lead after starting the tournament with rounds of 67 and 68. Her final round was relatively stress-free thanks to a fast start. Balfour Golf Course has something of an unusual start as three of the first four holes at the beautiful West Kootenay layout are par 5s.
Lee birdied all three of them and the five-shot lead she started the round with was now seven. Par was her friend the rest of the way and Lee made lots of them to complete what was a dominant performance. “Today my shots were so good,“ Lee said. “It was my putting that let me down. Except for one hole, I had a birdie chance on every hole, but I kept burning the edges and lipping out. I had three-eight footers that lipped out and the spectators were groaning.”
Lee had a rather ambitious goal when she started her final round. “My goal today was to break the course record,” she said. “But after seeing my putting on the front nine, I was like, okay, that’s not going to happen.”
Lee did not break the course record that she shared after her first-round 67. But fellow 16-year-old Ha Young Chang did. The Surrey resident closed with a remarkable seven-under 65 to finish alone in second at eight-under par. “I started with a par and then I just kept making birdie putts,” Chang said. “I was like, okay, today is a pretty good day.”
Chang was lamenting the lone bogey she made on the par four 10th hole when her tee shot found water. But she bounced back nicely with four birdies on her final eight holes. “I tried to stay calm after that bogey,” she said. “I told myself you can just make some more birdies. I just tried to stop thinking what my score was and concentrate on making more birdies.”
Vancouver’s Kaylee Chang and Aram Choi of Surrey tied for third at two-under par. The top three finishers at Balfour represent British Columbia in the inter-provincial team competition at the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, which goes July 30-Aug. 2 at Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria. Choi won a playoff with Chang to determine the third member of the B.C. team.
A two-person best-ball competition was also held this week. The team of Kaylee Chung and Elsa Wu, both of Vancouver, won with a score of 18-under par. That was one shot better than the second-place team of Chelsea Truong of Victoria and Amy Lee.
The competitors loved Balfour Golf Course, which was in mint condition. The club and community rallied around the event and the players were treated like royalty. “The golf course was in beautiful condition,” Lee said. “The views are great and the volunteers were all so helpful and welcoming. There was a lot of positive energy.”
“The members and volunteers were amazing,” added Nanoose Bay’s Shelly Stouffer, who won the Mid-Master Championship for players aged 40 and over. “The course was in fabulous shape. It was a really good tournament and I loved everything about it.”
For complete final scoring click HERE.
CHIP SHOT: Defending champion Chelsea Truong of Victoria, who won last year’s competition at Arbutus Ridge Golf Course in Cobble Hill, tied for 12th at 11-over par. . .The 2025 B.C. Women’s Amateur is scheduled to be played at Victoria Golf Club.
‘We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia.’