Austin Krahn Tops Tight Leaderboard At B.C. Junior Boys Championship; Langley’s Amy Lee Builds On Her Big Lead In Junior Girls Championship
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By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
KELOWNA — He already has two British Columbia Golf Championships and Austin Krahn is looking to add a third at the B.C. Junior Boys Championship.
The 16-year-old Christina Lake resident, a two-time winner of the B.C. Indigenous Championship, fired a three-under 69 at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf & Country Club to grab the 54-hole lead at eight-under par.
Krahn leads Vernon’s Ryan Vest and Maxim McKenzie of Chilliwack by two shots. “I hit the ball beautifully today,” Krahn said.
“My irons and my tee shots were good. I think I only missed two fairways and maybe two or three greens. I gave myself tons of opportunities. I had so many birdie attempts from 10 or 15 feet.
“The putter was a little bit cold today. I would have liked to see a couple more drop. But other than that, I hit the ball well.” Vest shot a four-under 68 that moved him into a tie for second. His only hiccup came on the par 4 17th hole, where he snap-hooked his tee shot and lost the ball. He made a double-bogey but bounced back nicely with a birdie on the 18th.
Vest, 17, hopes he can use his local knowledge of Gallagher’s to his advantage in Friday’s final round. “I know this course well,” he said. “I used to be a member here, so I have played lots of golf here growing up, lots of Zone 2 events. I love this course.”
Second-round leader Oakley Mayner of Kelowna had a tough day. He dropped back into fourth place after his third-round 75 left him at four-under par.
The race for the B.C. Junior Girls Championship is not nearly as tight as the boys’ competition. Langley’s Amy Lee shot her highest score of the week — an even-par 73 — but still stretched her lead to 12 shots. The 16-year-old seems a virtual lock to win her second straight B.C. Junior Girls title.
The 16-year-old bounced back after a rough start that saw her make three bogeys in a four-hole stretch in the middle of the front nine. “It was a roller-coaster round,” Lee said. “I was riding up and down. Tomorrow, I just hope to stop making bogeys, because I know I will make birdies.”
Lee, who won last month’s B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship in Balfour, is five-under par through 54 holes. Surrey’s Ha Young Chang is second at seven-over after firing a three-over 77 in the third round.
Victoria’s Chelsea Truong is third at eight-over. Her third round 74 included a hole-in-one on the par 3 16th hole. “It was 139 yards and I hit an 8-iron,” Truong said. “I had been hitting the ball kind of rough all day, so I clubbed up and took some off it in the hope of hitting the club face. It worked out, it was one bounce and in. It’s a downhill shot, so I saw it go in, which was pretty cool.”
It was Truong's first hole-in-one in competition. She made another one two years ago during an evening practice round at Uplands Golf Club in Victoria. “I think that day I ran out of daylight and only played five holes,” she said. “This one counts, it’s in competition.”
CHIP SHOTS: The leading girls’ group will tee off Friday at 10:45 a.m., while the final boys’ group will go at about 11:25 a.m. Spectators are welcome.
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