SHERBROOKE, Que. – William Duquette’s 67 put him comfortably at the top of the leaderboard, while Dao held on to her lead in the girl’s division at the Future Links, driven by Acura Quebec Championship on Saturday at Club de golf Milby.
Duquette extended his lead with a 6-under-par 67 to move him to 8 under on the tournament heading into the final round. The 16-year-old made the turn at 1 under before dominating the back nine with two eagles on the par-5 17 and par-4 13.
“On 13 I drove it on the green and then made the putt for eagle,” he said, after his tournament-low round. “My putting was really good all day. I made a lot of par saves and a lot of birdies.”
Eric Byun, from Richmond Hill, Ont., is the closest to Duquette after his 1-under-par round on Saturday, but he remains seven strokes back of first, sitting at 1 under total for the tournament. There are four players currently tied in third at even par through two rounds: Jared Dandy (75, 71), Shaun Margeson (73, 73), Charles-Eric Belanger (76, 70) and Antoine Roy (72, 74).
In the girl’s division, Dao sits at the top of the leaderboard for the second consecutive day. Her 1-over-par 74 on Saturday moves her to 2 under for the tournament and she starts Sunday with a comfortable six-stroke lead.
The 16-year-old was making a bid for her second consecutive score under par, but ran into trouble with bogeys on her final two holes.
Haley Yerxa, from Ottawa, Ont., holds onto second place after she shot 3 over par in round two. She started the day four strokes back and looked like she was going to dip down the standings after having trouble on the par-3 12th hole where she carded a double-bogey, but rebounded by making birdies on 15 and 18 to stay in the hunt.
Also starting the day four back of Dao was Ellie Szeryk from London, Ont. She managed to make the turn at even par but struggled on holes 10 to 12 where she recorded a bogey on each. She ended round 2 with a 77 and sits at 5 over for the tournament, seven strokes off the lead.
The top six finishers in the Boys Division will earn exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Boys Championship held on July 31-Aug. 3 at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston, Ont. The top six in the Girls Division will earn exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship held Aug. 1-4 at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Cumberland, Ont.