Hampton, N.B. – Sunny weather conditions made for a great start at Hampton Golf Club as the opening round of the 2023 Canadian Junior Girls Championship presented by BDO kicked off on Monday. The leaderboard fluctuated throughout the day, but 17-year-old Michelle P. Ding persevered through the heat to sit atop the lead after firing a 1-under 70 after a competitive day.
The Toronto native tallied three birdies in a row on the par-5 sixth hole, par-3 seventh hole and par-4 eighth hole. Ding also fired one birdie on the back, on the par-4 11th, to come back and finish off the round.
“My mindset today was about hitting par, I thought that if I made par, I would do amazing, so I tried to just keep that in mind,” said Ding. “The course was in pretty good shape and my highlights were my up and downs, I barely hit any greens but if I missed them, I made it work. Going forward I plan to just keep hitting par.”
Ding’s best finish at this competition was in last year’s tournament finishing T25 at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa, Ont.
Abbey Baker (Halifax, N.S.), Rebecca Kim (Surrey, B.C.), Joline Truong (Mississauga, Ont.), Shauna Liu (Maple, Ont.), Cadence Ko (Richmond, B.C.), Chelsea Truong (Victoria, B.C.) and Luna Lu (Burnaby, B.C.) are all heading into the second round tied for second place, all a single stroke back of Ding.
Last week’s winner of the NextGen Atlantic Championship Abbey Baker said, “I’ve just been focusing on hitting the fairways and greens and knowing that the birdie putts will come. The course was great today, it wasn’t too windy out there for us, but the greens can be tough if you’re out there in the rough.”
Two other players, Bridget Wilkie (Toronto, Ont.) and YanLing (Elaine) Liu (Vancouver, B.C.) are 2-over, and both are within one shot of the leaders, tied for ninth going into the second round.
Team Ontario, consisting of Truong, Liu and Aryn Matthews (Little Britain, Ont.) lead the inter-provincial team competition at 2-over and are looking to defend their title. The defending champions of last year hold the lead by four strokes, over team British Columbia who sit 6-over after the first round.
“Today started off a little rough but I just tried to hang in there. We had some ups and downs with pars and took the birdies as they came,” said Truong. “The course is in good shape, the balls were rolling well, overall went pretty well.”
The Inter-Provincial Team Championship for the Mary Pyke trophy will wrap up tomorrow at the conclusion of the second round.
The 2023 Canadian Junior Girls champion will receive an exemption into the 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship and 2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, if age applicable.
Full results can be found here.
For more information on the 2023 Canadian Junior Girls Championship click here.
GOLF CANADA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Golf Canada annually conducts more than 30 golf competitions and qualifiers nation-wide – including nine National Amateur Championships – which play host to more than 3,000 domestic and international athletes from all corners of the world. In partnership with our host clubs, thousands of volunteers, provincial golf associations and our proud sponsors, Golf Canada is dedicated to supporting player development through world-class competition since our inception in 1895. Officiated by certified Canadian Rules of Golf officials, Golf Canada’s amateur competitions are fully compliant with golf’s international governing bodies and include marquee events such as the Canadian Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships as well as the Canadian Junior Girls and Junior Boys Championships. Golf Canada’s amateur championships are proudly supported by BDO Canada, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Titleist, FootJoy, Sport Canada, Levelwear and JOURNIE Rewards. For more information and scheduling visit www.golfcanada.ca/championships.