Amateur

Birchbank Golf Course readies to host 2014 CN Future Links Western Championship

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Birchbank Golf Course (Facebook)

Trail, B.C. (Golf Canada) – Birchbank Golf Course in Trail, B.C. will play host to the fourth CN Future Links event of the season – CN Future Links Western – from July 1-4, 2014, with a practice round being staged on July 1.

The 54-hole stroke play championship will feature some of the West Coast’s top junior golfers aged 11-18. Players will vie for titles in a Junior Boys and Junior Girls division.

“Golf Canada is looking forward to hosting this exciting junior event in Trail, B.C.” said Golf Canada Tournament Director Mary Beth McKenna. “Many of B.C.’s junior golfers have had a great amount of success at CN Future Links Championships in the 2014 season thus far. It will be exciting to see who will claim the champion titles at this event.”

Located just 20 kilometers South of Castlegar, B.C., Birchbank Golf Course has previously played host to the 2011 British Columbia Junior Boys Championship.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing so many talented junior golfers from across the country play our course,” said Birchbank’s Director of Golf, Dennis Bradley. “We were looking for an opportunity to help promote junior golf in Canada, so when this opportunity arose, we couldn’t refuse.”

Present in the field this year are many of British Columbia’s most talented junior golfers, including Zach Anderson, 17, of Nanaimo. Anderson was the 2013 CN Future Links Prairie Champion, as well as the CN Future Links Pacific Champion in 2012. Anderson has yet to claim a CN Future Links Champion title in 2014, making him one to watch in Trail this year. Other B.C. natives in the Junior Boys division include Logan Yanick, 17, of Courtenay and Trevor Yu, 17, of Vancouver.

Representing B.C. in the Junior Girls division is 18-year old Annie Songeun- Lee of Surrey, who has already made strong 2014 appearances in both the CN Future Links Pacific Championship and the Canadian Women’s Tour event in Parksville. Joining Lee in the field is Ashley Cai, 15, and Marie Donicci, 18, both of Vancouver.

The top six competitors in the Junior Boys division of each CN Future Links Championship will earn exemptions into the 2014 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, which will be contested July 28 – August 1 at the Legends on the Niagara Battlefield Course in Niagara Falls, Ont.  The Champions of this year’s first three CN Future Links events include Alex Francois, 16, of Burnaby, B.C. (Pacific Championship) Sun Kim, 16, of L’Ile Perrot, Que. (Ontario Championship) and Andrew Brown, 17 of Calgary, Alta. (Prairie Championship).

The top six competitors in the Junior Girls division will earn an exemption into the 2014 Canadian Junior Girls Championship which runs July 28 – August 1 at Thornhill Golf and Country Club in Thornhill, Ont. Additionally, the 2014 Junior Girls Champion will earn an exemption into a 2015 Canadian Women’s Tour event.  The Junior Girls Champions in 2014’s first three CN Future Links events include Valérie Tanguay, 18, of St-Hyacinthe, Que. (Pacific Championship), Naomi Ko, 16, of Victoria, B.C. (Ontario Championship), and Jaclyn Lee, 16, of Calgary, Alta. (Prairie Championship).

Starting times, post-round results and a full field list are available online here.

The CN Future Links Junior Golf Championships are part of CN’s ongoing partnership with Golf Canada and their commitment to junior golf. Focused on supporting safe and fun activities that have a positive impact on children’s health and well being, CN’s investment into CN Future Links is helping to increase grassroots junior golf participation in communities across Canada.

The CN Future Links tournament schedule also includes the CN Future Links Quebec Championship (July 7-10, 2014 at Club de golf Continental in Ste-Victoire de Sorel, Que.) and the CN Future Links Atlantic Championship (July 13-16, 2014 at Humber Valley Resort in Little Rapids, Newfoundland).