Amateur Golf

The 2012 British Columbia championship series concluded today at the Bantam Boys' and Girls' Championship, seeing Duncan's Callum Davison capture the Boys' title and Richmond's Katherine Chan claiming the Girls' title at Merritt Golf and Country Club.

The final round at Merritt Golf and Country Club featured perfect golfing conditions on a course that demanded accuracy off the tee and a hot putter, something both champions were victorious in completing.

In the Boys' division, Davison, 12, had a relatively uneventful final round en route to his first provincial title in only his second try.

Starting the day with two consecutive pars, Davison recorded his only blemish on his scorecard for the day on the long par-4 3rd hole with a bogey. He would bounce back with five straight pars before closing out his inward half with a 40-foot birdie putt on the ninth to get him back to even for the day.

Heading to the par-5 10th hole, Davison would sink a 15-footer for birdie, making it two-in-a-row and get his round to one-under-par. He would finish at that score, recording eight-straight pars coming in, posting a final round -1, 71, good enough for a two-day -5 total (68-71-139). This was the first time in his career he posted back-to-back under-par rounds.

Asked following his round if he was nervous coming on his final nine holes, Callum was very forthcoming.

"Yes, I was nervous."

The nerves did not show as he hit his final six greens-in-regulation (14/18 for the day) and did not three-putt the entire day.

"I wanted to just play safe today."

Davison now joins the likes of Eugene Wong (2002, 2003 & 2004) and Adam Svensson (2006 & 2007) as champions of the Bantam Boys' Championship, a fact that when communicated to him brought a smile to his face.

"It feels good to be the Bantam champion," he said.

Finishing in a three-way tie for second place at -3, 141 total were Fort St John's Jake Lane, Mill Bay's Tristan Mandur and Vancouver's Raymond Li.

Lane and Mandur, both 13, posted four-under-par rounds of 68 during the final round, propelling them into the second place tie. Both of their rounds featured five birdies and only one bogey.

Li, 11, struggled to drop putts on the day, narrowly burning edges on a number of close birdie putts. His final round even par kept him in a strong position to close the Championship and leaves him with two years left of eligibility to capture a Bantam title.

Others under par for the day and the Championship were Surrey's Khan Lee, 12, at -2 (74-68-142) and BC Amateur standout Roy Kang, 13 of North Vancouver at -1 (73-70-143).

In the Girls' division, twelve-year-old Katherine Chan of Richmond scorched the Merritt Golf and Country Club in her final round carding a five-under-par 67, -4 total (73-67-140).

The Quilchena Golf and Country Club member posted seven birdies on the day, besting her career-low score by six strokes.

"I was pretty lucky today. I had many putts that went in so I was happy about that," stated Chan.

Chan scored back-to-back birdies on three occasions during her final round and another on the par-4 12th. She offset these with two bogeys coming on the 3rd and 12th hole.

After such an impressive round, there was nothing but kind words from Chan about the Championship and Merritt G&CC.

"I enjoyed the golf course. There were a lot of great players out there who could have played better than me. I went out there today and just wanted to play my best so it feels great to be the Bantam champion," she said.

Finishing in solo second was recent B.C. Summer Games participant Sumie Francois of Burnaby. The twelve-year-old member of Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club posted a one-under-par final round 71, good enough for a two round +2 finish (75-71-146).

Thirteen-year-old Ashley Cai of Vancouver and twelve-year-old Alisha Lau of Richmond posted identical two-round totals of 148 (76-74) to sit in a tie for third place to close the Championship. The only other person on the day to shoot even-par or better was Shania Remandaban, 13 of Coquitlam who posted a 72, 150 +6 total (78-72).

The Bantam Boys' and Girls' Championship is contested annually for players aged 13 and younger as of the last day of the competition. Past winners include Adam Svensson, Eugene Wong, Sue Kim and Anica Yoo.

For Boys' final round tee times and round one results, please click here
For Girls' final round tee times and round one results, please click here