Team Alberta Leads in the Inter-Provincial Championship; Charly Pinel cards an albatross on hole no. 12
REGINA, Sask. – Hongzhao (Thomas) Xu holds the solo lead following the opening round of the 2026 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, presented by BDO, on Tuesday at Wascana Country Club in Regina, Sask.
Xu, of Vancouver, B.C. opened with a 5-under 67 carding seven birdies. Four came consecutively on hole nos. 3 through 6, giving him a one-shot lead heading into the second round of the Canadian Junior Boys Championship.
“I stuck the first one, then after that I putted pretty well and made a couple 12 to 15 footers,” said Xu. “I think overall my putter was the best part of my game today, I made some pretty good par saves.
“I think continue the momentum and keep doing what I was doing today because I know what I did today is working,” added Xu on what he can do to continue success throughout the tournament.
There are a total of 11 players within two shots of Xu. One of those is Charly Pinel of Beaumont, Que. who carded an albatross on hole no. 12. Along with an albatross, Pinel added four birdies to shoot a 3-under 69 and sit two shots back of the leader.
“I just wanted to put it close, but it ended up in the hole, I had 124 in with wind to my back, so I hit a 54-degree wedge and the ball landed right behind the pin and spun back,” said Pinel. “I was surprised, I had no words, I just put my hands in the air and looked at my dad who was clapping.”
Team Canada NextGen members Eddie Gu of Aurora, Ont. and Chase Jerome of Ottawa, Ont. both sit T13 at 2-under. Jerome carded four birdies and Gu carded three to remain in the hunt at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship.
“Honestly, I was feeling very neutral,” said Gu. “I was playing just like I practice and going with the flow, kind of play the way the game is moving you.
“My driver worked really well today, I was not expecting that based on the performance on the practice range, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well I was hitting it out there, so driver definitely set me up well for a lot of holes,” said Gu on what the best part of his game was today.
Gu and Jerome’s Team Canada NextGen teammate Alexis Rouleau of Montreal, Que. shot a 3-over 75 in his first round on Tuesday.
Team Alberta sits at the top of the Inter-Provincial Championship leaderboard at 8-under. Brae Rogalczyk of Innisfail, Alta and Chase Strang of Airdrie, Alta. both shot 4-under 68 to count towards the team score on Tuesday. Teammate Jeevin Dhaliwal of Calgary, Alta. shot 2-over 74.
Trailing Team Alberta is Team Nova Scotia at 6-under and Team British Columbia at 5-under. The Inter-Provincial Championship will conclude following tomorrow’s second round where the winning province will be presented the Inter-Provincial Championship trophy.
There are three players tied for the lead at 4-under for the 16-and under Juvenile division leader, including Chase Strang of Airdrie, Alta., Jeevyn Lotay of Burnaby, B.C. and Luke MacDougall of Fall River, N.S.
The 16-and-under Juvenile Championship runs concurrently with the Junior Championship and has featured in the tournament since 1970, with the winner receiving the Jack Bailey Trophy. Only 12 players have ever claimed both the Juvenile and Junior championship in the same year, with Dawson Lew of Toronto, Ont. winning both last year.
The winner of the Canadian Junior Boys Championship will receive exemption into the 2027 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship if eligible, and the 2027 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. The winner will also be exempt into the 2027 Canadian Junior Boys Championship to defend their title, if eligible.
For the individual and inter-provincial team leaderboards following the opening round of the Canadian Junior Boys Championship, presented by BDO, please click here.
