NextGen Championships

Clara Ding and Tate Bruggeman win NextGen Fall Series West Championship

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Surrey, B.C. – Clara Ding and Tate Bruggeman have won the NextGen Fall Series West Championship, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards at The Hills at Portal Golf Club in Surrey, B.C.

In the Junior Girls Division, Clara Ding of White Rock, B.C. fired a 5-under 67 on Saturday to finish the tournament at even par and secure the championship. Ding was one-shot back heading into the final round and finished five shots clear of Rose Zhiyan Chen of Langley, B.C.

Ding recorded rounds of 75-74-67-216, to win the tournament and secure her spot in the 2024 Canadian Junior Girls Championship. In addition, Ding also won the Bantam Girls Division. Joining Ding at the 2024 Canadian Junior Girls Championship will be Chen who finished as runner-up at 5-over in both the Junior Girls and Bantam divisions and Karrisa Yuehan Zhao of West Vancouver and Elsa Wu of Maple Ridge, B.C. who finished tied for third at 16-over.

In the Junior Boys Division, Tate Bruggeman of Edmonton, edged out Louis Chun of Port Coquitlam, B.C. on the second playoff hole with a par to win the championship and book his place in the 2024 Canadian Junior Boys Championship. Bruggeman was four shots back after an even par 71 in Thursday’s opening round but fired back-to-back rounds of 2-under 69 to finish at 4-under and get to the playoff.

Chun also earned his spot in the 2024 Canadian Junior Boys Championship as runner-up. Joining Bruggeman and Chun is Manpreet Lalh of Nanaimo, B.C. who finished third at even par.

Chengze (Jim) Zhu of Vancouver won the Bantam Boys division by six shots, finishing the tournament at 1-over.

The field of 92 amateur golfers (66 Junior Boys and 26 Junior Girls) competed over 54-holes for three spots each into their respective Canadian Junior Championships next summer.

This week’s tournament marked the final stop on the NextGen Series schedule for the 2023 season. The NextGen Fall Series West Championship is one of Golf Canada’s eight regional junior championships presented in partnership with JOURNIE Rewards.

For the final leaderboards in the NextGen Fall Series West Championship, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards, click here.

About the NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards

The NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards is a high-performance junior golf series which totals eight competitions. From May to July, six championships will take place across Canada where the region’s best junior golfers will compete to earn exemptions into their respective 2023 national championships. Two additional Fall Series events will be hosted to close the season. NextGen Championships provide junior players an opportunity to develop and showcase their skills at the highest level of tournament golf. For more information on the NextGen Championship series and 2023 results, click here.