CHILLIWACK, BC – Euna Han came from behind to win the 2014 BC Girls’ Bantam Championship at Meadowlands Golf Club, while Andrew Spalti held on to win the 2014 BC Boys’ Bantam Championship after leading thru days of competition.

Han shot a two-under 68 on the second day of competition to overtake the lead from her position in third place after the first round, finishing with a two-day total of 138 (-2) as the only female competitor under par. The 12-year-old Meadow Gardens golfer bogeyed only a single hole during her final round on the way to claiming the title, and boasted a bogey-free back nine for the duration of the Championship, defeating several players her senior for the title, playing with composure beyond her age.

“It felt obviously great,” she said. “I just tried to play my best the whole round. I didn’t know how  they were playing until the last couple of holes. I feel really great about it.

“My putting was working well today, I missed a short putt on 16 but just continued on and forgot about it and I was a bit lucky today, I hit a tree and came back to the fairway, so I was lucky.”

Though it didn’t hurt having a few good bounces on her side, luck likely had very little to do with her round. Han finished eighth in last year’s Bantam Championship at only 11 years old, showing she is a great player even at a young age, and certainly one to watch.

Shirin Anjarwalla 14, led after the first round of the Championship, but dropped back to finish in second place shooting 73 (+3) on day two. The Nanaimo golfer started the day with a double bogey and unfortunately wasn’t able to make up the ground to reclaim the lead, but still finished strong at 1-over par (141) for the tournament.

Burnaby’s Sumie Francois finished third in her final year of eligibility for the Bantam Championship at +2 (142) after two days of tough-fought competition. Francois, 14, made an eagle on number 11 after four bogeys out but was unable to create the momentum she would need to take over the lead.

Last year’s Champion Alisha Lau and Tiffany Kong finished T4 to round out the top five.

Andrew Spalti (British Columbia Golf)

Spalti, 14, led through two rounds of competition to claim the boy’s title shooting 69 both days, finishing 2-under par (138). His second round (-1) was highlighted by five birdies, helping him to hold on to the lead.

This was Spalti’s first year playing in the BC Bantam Championship and his final year of eligibility.

“It feels good,” he said. “Early in the front nine I though I lost the lead and all my group members started making birdies and were coming in strong to the back, but I managed to fight back. I bogeyed the last one, but luckily I still locked in the lead.

Spalti explained that his putting was one of the strongest points of his game and definitely was the biggest contributor to helping him secure the win.

Earlier this summer, the Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club member missed the cut at the Junior Boys’ Championship, but showing impressive self-command rebounded to win the Bantam title. Spalti withdrew from the Juvenile Championship next week but is planning to return to provincial championships next summer.

Khan Lee played a bogey-free second round making a strong push for the title finishing -2 on Friday. Lee, 14, finished second with 139 (-1).

Callum Davison finished with the day’s low score -3 to help move him into a tie for third with Daniel Sun, who shot -2 on Friday. The pair finished even for the championship.

Novice Championship

The Novice division was added to the Bantam in 2014 for competitors with less experience in provincial competition. Natasha Kozlowski of Prince George finished in first with 91 points, followed by Sienna Kraus with 81 points and Claire Lovan of Surrey with 78 points in third.

On the boy’s side, Tyler Casper won the Novice Championship with 87 points, closely followed by Stephen Pon with 83 and in third, Jerry Li with 76 points.

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. – It will remain a sore spot with Fred Couples until he’s finally able to add the accomplishment to his resume.

For all the tournament’s won during his career, Couples has still never won in the Seattle area, where he grew up.

Not that he’s had many chances. With Seattle lacking a regular PGA Tour stop the most marquee events that Couples has participated were the 1998 PGA Championship and 2010 U.S. Senior Open, along with being a regular participant in the Boeing Classic since joining the Champions Tour in 2010.

Couples is back at the TPC Snoqualmie Ridge this week trying to win that elusive hometown title in the 10th edition of the popular tournament.

“It’s really one of my favorite courses and not just because I’m from here, but it’s for a longer hitter,” Couples said. “It’s always in immaculate condition. The greens are perfect, the fairways are perfect. You get a good amount of people out there to watch.”

He’s come close to breaking through in his hometown in the past. Three times Couples has finished in the top three of events around Seattle. That included his runner-up finish to Bernhard Langer at the 2010 Senior Open played at nearby Sahalee Country Club. Last year Couples closed with a 66 on the final day of the Boeing Classic but was unable to catch John Riegger and finished third.

“For me personally, my first senior tour event was at Sahalee and I lost to Langer. It wasn’t the end of all ends, but I was trying to win hard and this is a tournament that I really would love to win,” Couples said. “I probably don’t have that many more chances, maybe another two or three years before I get too old to totally compete, but that is my goal.”

Although unlikely, Couples is hoping to give himself two chances to win in his home state in 2015. Couples said he plans on trying to qualify for the U.S. Open being played at Chambers Bay if he does not receive an exemption for the tournament.

Couples and Langer will be paired together for the first round on Friday. It will be just the second Champions Tour start for Couples since May, slowed by continued back problems. His only victory this season came at the Toshiba Classic in March.

Meanwhile, Langer is the clear leader in the Charles Schwab Cup points race. He’s won five times this season, including last week’s victory at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open. He’s finished first, second and first in his last three starts and nearly caught Kenny Perry on the final day of the 3M Championship to make it three consecutive victories.

Also participating in the Boeing Classic for the first time will be Kevin Sutherland fresh off shooting the first 59 in Champions Tour history in last week’s tournament. Sutherland, who bogeyed the 18th or he could have posted a 58, will be paired with Paul Goydos and Chip Beck. Both Goydos and Beck shot 59s in their careers on the PGA Tour.

PARAMUS, N.J.  – Rory McIlroy took a week to celebrate his blockbuster summer and paid for it in The Barclays with his worst start in two months.

He could afford a day off.

That wasn’t the case for players like Bo Van Pelt and Paul Casey, and they picked a good time to produce good scores.

With no guarantee of playing beyond this week, Van Pelt opened with three straight birdies Thursday and chipped in for eagle late in his round for a 6-under 65 that gave him a one-shot lead in the opener of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Van Pelt is No. 104 in the FedEx Cup. Only the top 100 advance to the next tournament.

Casey is No. 118 with a lot on his mind – specifically the birth of his first child in two weeks – and played bogey-free at Ridgewood to join seven other players at 66. That group included Brendon Todd, who is trying to get Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson’s attention as a possible wild-card pick; and Hunter Mahan, who at No. 62 is in danger of missing the Tour Championship for the first time since the FedEx Cup began in 2007.

Ridgewood featured some of the deepest rough of the year, though the greens were soft enough to allow for birdies if players could keep it in the fairway. The average score was 70.8, with 44 rounds in the 60s.

McIlroy was not among them.

The British Open and PGA champion went 13 holes before he made his first birdie and finished with a 74. That ended a streak of 14 straight rounds under par, and it was his highest score in the opening round since a 74 in the Irish Open in June.

“Fatigue isn’t playing a part,” he said. “It’s I think just not putting the time in that I probably should have over the past week. And I think I allowed myself that and deserved that. But this is the consequence of it and I need to work hard this afternoon and go out tomorrow and shoot a good number.”

McIlroy established himself anew as golf’s No. 1 player with a wire-to-wire win at the British Open, a come-from-behind win at a World Golf Championship and a late charge at Valhalla to win the PGA Championship and become the third-youngest player with four majors.

“I wanted to enjoy it for a week,” he said.

Van Pelt doesn’t have that luxury. He started his year missing seven cuts in nine tournaments before it slowly started to come around over the last month. He felt he was heading in the right direction and received more confirmation Thursday. Van Pelt didn’t make a bogey, and finished strong with a 10-foot birdie putt on the 16th and the eagle on the par-5 17th hole that put him in the lead.

“As poorly as I played at the start of the year, I’m just kind of glad to be here,” Van Pelt said. “Things have been trending in a lot better direction. So I felt fortunate to be here with the position I was in three months ago. I just felt like if I kept doing what I was doing, hopefully I would at least get to next week and then kind of cross that bridge when I got there.”

Jim Furyk, Charles Howell III, Brendon de Jonge, Ben Martin and Cameron Tringale also were in the group one shot behind.

Casey hasn’t had a top 10 on the PGA Tour all season and didn’t make it into the playoffs with much room to spare. He’s not sure how long he’ll be around, although a solid start was sure to help.

“I think today was probably a product of really not having really any expectations and just going out there and smashing it around and having fun,” Casey said.

McIlroy had his fun last week, and he was headed to the range after his opening round to get his game back. He took an early double bogey by barely getting out of a bunker and chipping 15 feet by the hole on No. 12, and then going long into a bunker for a bogey on the par-5 13th.

“It’s not a bad thing,” he said. “A score like this would be tougher to take if I had not just come off the weeks that I had. But at the same time, I want to play well and I want to give myself chances to win tournaments.”

Mahan is the only player to compete in every playoff event since the FedEx Cup began. He is assured of two tournaments, though he needs a good week somewhere to keep alive his hopes of reaching Atlanta for the Tour Championship. The top 70 advance to the third week, and the top 30 get to East Lake for the finale. Plus, he hopes to audition for one of the captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup.

“It will be a bonus to make it to Atlanta and it will be a bonus right now to make the Ryder Cup team,” Mahan said. “So I have nothing to be nervous about or get out there and doubt myself. I have to trust myself because everything I’m doing is good and everything else will kind of take care of itself.”

David Hearn is tied for 32nd after carding 69 in the opening round. Graham DeLaet carded a 7-over 78 and is tied for 121st.

Sherbrooke, Qué.  – In a hole-by-hole playoff against Aurora, Ont.’s Mary Ann Hayward, Helene Chartrand of Pincourt, Qué. claimed the 2014 Canadian Women’s Senior Championship at Club de golf Milby in Sherbrooke, Qué. on Thursday.

Chartrand entered the third and final round seven strokes behind Hayward, who led the field at 5-under 141 after Wednesday’s second round. After Hayward made three bogeys on the front nine followed by four more on the back, Chartrand was able to match the 3-time champion with an even-par score of 219 for the tournament, leading to a hole by hole playoff. Chartrand defeated Hayward with a birdie on the second playoff hole.

“Mary Ann is a great player,” said Chartrand who fired a 2-under 71 final round. “Basically I had nothing to lose; coming back from seven strokes was part of the miracle.”

This win comes almost one month after Chartrand claimed the Mid-Master title at the 2014 Canadian Women’s Amateur in Woodstock, Ont.

“I got more confident with my game playing with all of the youngsters and all the superstars,” she said of her Mid-Master win. “I think it built some confidence in my game and I kind of learned that I can come back.”

Winning the 2014 Canadian Women’s Senior has earned Chartrand an exemption into the 2014 U.S. Women’s Senior in Deal, N.J. She’s no stranger to the tournament, having played it twice in 2013 and 2012.

“It feels so great [to have earned an exemption] because I did ask for an exemption and I was rejected,” said Chartrand. “I did play in the last two U.S. [Women’s] Seniors and I just loved it. So for me, it’s a dream come true to be able to go. It will be my third one in a row and I’m very excited.”

Judith Allan-Kyrinis of Thornhill, Ont. finished nine strokes behind Chartrand and Hayward to claim third place in the tournament with a score of 9-over 228. Sherbrooke’s own Jocelyn Smith finished one stroke behind at 229 for the championship.

LONDON, Ont. – The only all-Canadian group at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open got more than polite golf claps from the many fans who followed them throughout the first round.

“They clapped for everything,” Brooke Henderson said. “It was awesome. The support out there was amazing.”

Buoyed by that support, Jennifer Kirby had the best day of any Canadian with a 5-under 67, while Henderson and Rebecca Lee-Bentham each shot 2 under.

Inside the ropes, Kirby said playing with two friends made her feel “comfortable.” The Paris, Ont., native was able to play it safe and still hole five birdies.

“Bogey-free round, took advantage of the par 5s for the most part and hit it close on a few and didn’t really make any big mistakes,” Kirby said.

Kirby goes into Friday’s morning tee time four strokes behind leader So Yeon Ryu, who set a new course record at the London Hunt and Country Club with her 9-under 63.

Henderson, the 16-year-old amateur phenom, and Lee-Bentham aren’t far off the pace. There was plenty of pressure on Henderson going into the tournament, but she showed no signs of cracking Thursday.

“I hit the ball great all day,” the Smiths Falls, Ont., native said. “I hit a lot of greens and had a lot of opportunities for birdie. They didn’t fall today but hopefully over the next couple of days they’ll make up for it.”

Lee-Bentham, who’s from Toronto, said she “felt a lot of love” from the crowd all day.

“It’s more than usual, so it was more fun out there,” she said.

A few other Canadians were able to have fun without stressing about playing in front of home-country fans. Amateur Elizabeth Tong of Thornhill, Ont., and Sara-Maude Juneau of Fossambault, Que., joined Henderson and Lee-Bentham at 2 under.

Tong, who’s going back to school at the University of Indiana next week, just qualified Monday and called being in the tournament a bonus.

“That beat my expectations,” Tong said of her first round. “I was just looking to shoot like around par, keep it together, because I definitely knew people were going to shoot like 64, 65 the whole day. Just keep myself in there because the main goal is to make the cut, if anything. I think I put myself in a good position there.”

Sue Kim from Langley, B.C., was the only other Canadian of the 15 in the tournament to be under par at 1 under.

Alena Sharp (Hamilton) and amateur Jennifer Ha (Calgary) shot an even-par 72; Lorie Kane (Charlottetown), Maude-Aimee LeBlanc (Sherbrooke, Que.) and Erica Rivard (Tecumseh, Ont.) shot 73; Samantha Richdale (Kelowna, B.C.) and Nicole Vandermade (Brantford, Ont.) shot 74 and Jessica Wallace (Langley) and Natalie Gleadall (Stratford, Ont.) shot 75.

(Bath, ON) – Briston, Tennessee’s Jay Vandeventer shot an 8-under 64 on Thursday at Loyalist Golf Club to take the first round lead at The Great Waterway Classic. The 23-year old led by one over a group of players that included Baddeck, Nova Scotia’s Peter Campbell, Austin, Texas’ Creighton Honeck, Aberdeen, Scotland’s Paul Cormack and Santee, California’s Daniel Miernicki.

Vandeventer, a University of Tennessee graduate, carded six birdies and an eagle on the day, and credited a hot putter for his round, the best of his first season on PGA TOUR Canada.

“I finally got the putter rolling early, which was a change from the last couple of events,” said Vandeventer, who has three top-25 finishes in his first PGA TOUR Canada season, with his best finish a tie for 18^th at the Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON. “I’ve been hitting it pretty well. I’ve just been lacking some putts to fall.”

The round was nearly one stroke better, with 10-footer for eagle at 18 suffering a hard lip-out. Vandeventer settled for birdie, his second straight to finish off his round, and said he was pleased with his start and prospects for the rest of the tournament.

“I had a pretty good read on it and actually hit a really good putt,” said Vandeventer of the 10-footer for eagle. “It was dead centre right there just about a foot out and just broke, but I was really happy with the birdie. I made a bunch of pars on the back nine, so to birdie 17 and 18 feels pretty good.”

“This is a good round today, but I have three more, hopefully. I just want to keep that putter hot and keep my composure and go on from there,” added the PGA TOUR Canada rookie.”

One shot back of the group at 7-under were eight players, including Canadians Max Gilbert of St. Georges, Quebec and Ted Brown of Peterborough, Ontario.

CAMPBELL CONTINUES SOLID PLAY WITH 65
Coming off his best career PGA TOUR Canada finish with a tie for second at the Forces & Families Open, Baddeck, Nova Scotia’s Peter Campbell kept the solid play going on Thursday with a 7-under 65 to sit tied for second.

“I’m just trying to keep the momentum going. The putter’s still rolling good, and that makes a huge difference,” said the 31-year old, who added that he feels re-charged for the season’s final four events after a week off at his residence in Windermere, Florida. “It was good to go home, chill out a little bit and spend some time with my little girl and my wife.”

Campbell, who currently sits 31^st on the Order of Merit, also ranks 23^rd on the NEC Series – PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Order of Merit, and is looking forward to the opportunity to earn status on the Web.com Tour on both Tours.

“That’s the goal,” Campbell said. “I think I’m in a decent position to move up that money. I’m in a good position here, and I’ve got a chance in Latin America if this doesn’t work out, so I’ve got two shots at it.”

MIERNICKI RIDES HOT PUTTER AFTER TIME OFF
California Qualifying Tournament medalist Daniel Miernicki hasn’t played on PGA TOUR Canada since a fourth place finish at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel, partially due to a nagging wrist injury. He showed no signs of rust on Thursday, though, firing a 7-under 65 to share second place after day one.

“I had nine putts on the front, so I pretty much made everything. It was a good way to get out of the gate,” said Miernicki. “I finished up well birdieing my last two so that felt good.”

Miernicki Monday Qualified for the Stonebrae Classic on the Web.com Tour earlier this month, but withdrew to tend to his wrist. With a clean bill of health on Thursday, the 24-year old said he’s excited about his chances for this week.

“I was a little rusty – I haven’t been playing that much, especially with my ballstriking, but I putted awesome, so if that comes around hopefully I’ll have a chance come the weekend.”

Peter Campbell is the leading Canadian , he’s  tied for second. Ted Brown and Max Gilbert are tied for sixth.

LONDON, Ont. – On the eve of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, So Yeon Ryu, Na Yeon Choi and Inbee Park got together for dinner with some fellow South Korean golfers. While Park picked up the tab after winning the LPGA Championship, all three benefited from the fellowship.

Ryu set a new course record with a 9-under 63, Choi was one shot behind her and Park three off the lead after the first round of the US$2.25-million tournament at the London Hunt and Country Club. Traditional Korean food was on the menu, but Ryu credited the company, rather than the cuisine, for her strong start.

“We had a talk together to help us relax,” Ryu said. “Sometimes when you’re hanging out with really good friends, it can make you more relaxed and enjoy the golf. Today, I really enjoyed my golf. That comes from great friendship.”

Ryu’s 63 was one shy of the tournament record, and her 9-under-par tied the best mark, set in 2009 by Song-Hee Kim. The 63 was also a competitive course record at London Hunt and Country Club. The 24-year-old hit nine birdies and played a bogey-free round.

Choi chipped in three times during her morning round, and her 8 under looked like it would stand up until Ryu got hot on the back nine. Choi knew she chipped in twice from inside of 10 yards and once from a bunker 25 yards away but had to check her scorecard to figure out how many birdies she hit.

“I felt good about my game, but I didn’t really realize I had five birdies in a row,” Choi said. “I didn’t really think about I want to birdie every hole.”

Choi credits Canadian manager Greg Morrison for her love of and strong play in Canada. Her career-best round of 62 came in last year’s Manulife Financial LPGA at the Grey Silo Golf Course in Waterloo, Ont.

When Ryu saw Choi’s score before she teed off, she thought 3 under would be a realistic goal for her.

“But I shot 9 under, so I’m more happy,” Ryu said with a smile.

Swede Anna Nordqvist, who was playing with and pushed along by Ryu, was alone in third at 7 under.

“She made nine birdies today and I made seven,” Nordqvist said. “It gives you a lot of momentum or a lot of positive energy just seeing a lot of birdies.”

Park, who lamented missing a few five- or six-foot putts, was part of a group at 6 under along with Azahara Munoz, Danielle Kang and Xi Yu Lin. Other than that, she called it a “perfect round.”

“Ball-striking was almost perfect,” Park said. “Everything as pretty much right on line. These greens, they didn’t have much breaks in them, but I misread them, a couple of them. Hopefully I’ll play a little bit better tomorrow and hole some more putts.”

Park predicted that, given the softened conditions of the course due to overnight rain, she would have to be more than 20-under par to win this tournament. Choi didn’t think that was realistic until she wrapped up.

“Actually I was thinking like under 15,” Choi said. “But after my score today, which means – if I shoot like 8 under, I think everyone could shoot like 8-under, so we will see.”

Jennifer Kirby (Paris, Ont.) finished at 5 under as the low Canadian. Her playing partners, Brooke Henderson (Smiths Falls, Ont.) and Rebecca Lee-Bentham (Toronto) were each 2 under, along with amateur Elizabeth Tong (Thornhill, Ont.) and Sara-Maude Juneau (Fossambault, Que.).

“I think this course is very scoreable, so I think that it was a good round today, but I still left a few out there,” Kirby said.

Choi left at least one shot on the course, too, as her birdie putt on No. 9 – her final hole of the day – lipped out. A tie for the lead might’ve done wonders for a player who hasn’t won a tournament since the 2012 U.S. Open.

Similarly, Ryu hasn’t won in two years, so the two friends can try to help each other through.

“We kind of talk about how can we get through this one, how do we think about this situation,” Ryu said. “I realize I’m not the only (one going) through the hard time. That kind of conversation makes me more relieved.”

If Ryu and Choi manage to keep up this play through the weekend, one of them might pick up the tab at the next team dinner.

“I’m glad to buy a dinner for them,” Ryu said. “I haven’t won any tournaments the last two years so I’ve been waiting. I wish I can win this week.”

VYSOKY UJEZD, Czech Republic — Jamie Donaldson shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday to take first-round lead at the Czech Masters and boost his chances of securing a spot on the European Ryder Cup team.

Seeking his third European Tour victory, the Welshman produced two straight birdies on his last two holes to top the leaderboard. He made a total of eight birdies and two bogeys at the Albatross Golf course near Prague.

“I played nicely all the way, really,” Donaldson said. “I just need more the same over the next three rounds. There’s a lot of difficult holes.”

Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg was one stroke back in second place, with a group of 10 players carding 68.

Donaldson currently has a qualifying spot for his debut Ryder Cup but still needs a good result to guarantee a place in Paul McGinley’s team for next month’s match against the United States at Gleneagles.

Two other Ryder Cup hopefuls – Stephen Gallacher of Scotland and Joost Luiten of the Netherlands both shot 70.

Play was delayed by an hour due to lightning.

NANJING, Chine ─ Les Canadiens Maddie Szeryk et Tony Gil ont pris les  15^e et 22^e places ex æquo de leur division respective au terme des trois rondes en partie par coups de la compétition de golf des Jeux olympiques d’été de la jeunesse, à Nanjing en Chine.

Szerik, qui possède la double citoyenneté canadienne et américaine, a signé trois cartes consécutives de 74 pour terminer 222, plus 6, au Club de golf international de Zhongstan. La golfeuse de 18 ans a été constante en troisième ronde, réussissant 16 normales tout en étant débitée de deux bogeys, terminant ainsi la journée à plus 2.

La Sud-Coréenne Soyoung Lee a remporté la médaille d’or dans la division des filles, à moins 14. La Taïwanaise Ssu-Chia Cheng a raflé l’argent et la Thaïlandaise Supamas Sangchan le bronze.

Chez les garçons, Tony Gil, de Vaughan en Ontario, n’a pu continuer sur sa lancée de la première ronde alors qu’il avait signé une carte de 69 et réussi ce faisant un trou d’un coup. Âgé de 16 ans, Gil a remis une carte de 76, plus 4, en ronde finale pour terminer à 220, plus 4 (69-75-76). Le membre de la formation de développement d’Équipe Canada a fini à 15 coups du médaillé d’or, l’Italien Renato Paratore, sixième du classement mondial amateur.

L’entraîneur de l’équipe, Robert Ratcliffe, a identifié les facettes du jeu sur lesquelles les deux Canadiens devront concentrer leurs efforts lors de la compétition par équipes qui débutera dimanche.

« Nous allons focaliser sur les roulés au cours des prochains jours », de dire Ratcliffe qui est aussi l’entraîneur-chef de la formation de développement d’Équipe Canada. « Les verts sont très spongieux et un peu plus lents ici, ce qui a causé des ennuis à Maddie et Tony. »

La compétition par équipes durera trois jours, chaque ronde se déroulant selon une formule différente, soit alternance des coups, meilleure balle et score combiné.

 Cliquez ici pour les résultats de la division des garçons.

Cliquez ici pour les résultats de la division des filles.

NANJING, China – After three days of stroke play, Canada’s Maddie Szeryk and Tony Gil have finished T15 and T22 in their respective divisions.

Szeryk, a dual-citizen of Canada and the U.S., carded three consecutive rounds of 74 to finish at 6-over par in a tie for 15^th.  The 18-year-old had a steady final round, posting 16 pars to go along with two bogeys, putting her at 2-over par for the day.

The gold medal for the girls went to Korea’s Soyoung Lee, who finished at 14-under par. Silver was won by Ssu-Chia Cheng of Taiwan, and bronze by Supamas Sangchan of Thailand.

In the boys division, Tony Gil of Vaughan, Ont. struggled to mirror the success of his Tuesday’s opening round 69 – the 16-year-old posted a 4-over 76. In the end, the Team Canada Development Squad member finished at 4-over (69-75-76), 15 strokes back of the gold medal winner, Italy’s Renato Paratore, the no.5 ranked male amateur in the world.

Team coach, Robert Ratcliffe has identified some areas that they will focus on to improve results heading into the team competition later this week.

“We are really going to be working on some putting in the next few days,” said Ratcliffe, also Team Canada’s Lead Development Squad Coach. “The greens are very soft and a bit slower here, which caused some struggles for both Maddie and Tony.”

Team competition will run for three days, consisting of a different format each round. Sunday’s opening round will be better-ball, followed by alternate shot, and then by combined score.

Team competition will kick off at 8:30 am (CST) on Sunday.

Click here for girls results.

Click here for boys results.