Belleville, Ont., – NextGen Team Canada member Nobelle Park of Oakville, Ont. secured a come-from-behind victory while Eric Zhao of North York, Ont. went on to win by four strokes on Saturday to each claim the NextGen Ontario Championship at Black Bear Ridge Golf & Resort in Belleville, Ont.
Playing 54 holes at even par helped keep Park in contention throughout, and leading up to Saturday’s final round. Starting the day in a tie for second and just a stroke behind solo leader Maggie Zhang of Richmond, B.C., the ten-time winner in 2024 birdied the seventh to stay within striking distance and match Zhang’s steady start to her round.
Struggling to find the elusive birdie to bring her on level ground with Zhang atop the leaderboards, Park’s scoring pursuit took a major blow after her approach shot went long of the tenth green and forced her to come away with a double bogey on the par-four.
“Making the double was really sad because I flew the green, it wasn’t a good play,” commented Park on her lone blunder of the afternoon. “I was only three strokes back, it’s not like I was a ton back and we still had a whole bunch of holes still to play, so I knew I could make a comeback somehow,” she added.
Fortunately for Park, she wasn’t the only one to card a costly six on her back nine, with Zhang walking off the 14th hole with a double bogey of her own but still leading by one. Her advantage continued to dwindle over the final four holes, however, heightening in the closing stages of her round after bogeying the 15th and 17th to tumble out of the lead and trail Park by a stroke.
With the tournament lead narrowly in her favour, Park avoided another mistake after her setback at the tenth, stringing together five consecutive pars and collecting just her second birdie of the round on the final hole to secure a two-stroke win over Zhang and claim the NextGen Ontario title. She had finished in a tie for third a year ago.
“[The win] helps build my confidence, especially early in the season,” said Park. “I know I can win and score well, so going forward I’ll use this as momentum into another good season.”
In the Junior Boys division, Zhao, who carded consecutive rounds of 70 to position himself in a tie for first place on Saturday, rapidly reeled in on the tournament’s top spot with birdies at the first and third to get to six-under par.
Aided by a slew of his competitors falling out of contention for the title, Zhao was able to put his hot start into gear and add back-to-back birdies at holes seven and eight to raise his early lead to four strokes.
His dominance on the front nine over the final 36 holes played a vital role in securing him victory on Saturday. He played the tamer portion of the property at a combined eight-under-par to lap the rest of the field and seize control of the tournament.
“A lot of easy holes in the front, especially seven, I knew I had good opportunities to birdie those holes, so I just stayed patient and let my game take advantage of those shots,” said Zhao.
The day’s hottest hitter put the finishing touches on a round of 67 with birdies on the 10th – playing as the hardest hole on the property – and 18th to kickstart the procession on his maiden win in the NextGen Championship series.
“It gives me a lot of confidence,” said Zhao following his round. “I haven’t won in a while, so it feels really great just getting back and knowing that I’m able to compete with the rest of the players.”
NextGen Ontario Championship – Advancing to 2025 Canadian Junior Boys Championship
*Top 8 qualify
| Eric Zhao (North York, Ont.) | -9 |
| Hogan Blais (Cumberland, Ont.) | -5 |
| Jordan Hwang (Richmond Hill, Ont.) | -4 |
| Mikael Coupal (Mont-Saint-Hillaire, Que.) | -4 |
| Barron Mundy (Mississauga, Ont.) | -3 |
| Zach Pageau (Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que.) | -3 |
| Charley Pinel (Beaumont, Que.) | -1 |
| Chase Jerome (Ottawa, Ont.) | E |
NextGen Ontario Championship – Advancing to 2025 Canadian Junior Girls Championship
*Top 8 plus ties qualify
| Nobelle Park (Oakville, Ont.) | E |
| Maggie Zhang (Richmond, B.C.) | +2 |
| Wendy Li (Richmond Hill, Ont.) | +3 |
| Evelyn Ma (Markham, Ont.) | +4 |
| Carlee Meilleur (Lansdowne, Ont.) | +5 |
| Elliana Buhagiar (Bowmanville, Ont.) | +7 |
| Alexis Card (Cambridge, Ont.) | +8 |
| Kaprice Park (Oakville, Ont.) | +9 |
| Emily McKee (Oakville, Ont.) | +9 |
The 2025 NextGen Championship season resumes on Friday, May 30 for the playing of the NextGen Western Championship at Trestle Creek Golf Resort in Entwistle, Alta. The 54-hole event will run until Sunday, June 1 where a winner will be crowned and exemptions for respective national championships will be awarded.
For the final leaderboards from the NextGen Ontario Championship, please click here.
About the NextGen Championships
The NextGen Championships are a high-performance junior golf series which totals six 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 2024 national championships. NextGen Championships provide junior players an opportunity to develop and showcase their skills at the highest level of tournament golf.