Island golf fans saw a glimpse of the future last week at Arbutus Ridge Golf Club in Mill Bay, as Golf B.C. hosted the 2016 Junior Boys Championship.
The host club’s Tristan Mandur shot a final-round 68 to finish at 1-under 279 and took the title by one stroke ahead of Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart, who plays out of the Pitt Meadows club.
Keaton Gudz of Royal Colwood, runner-up to Mandur at the Zone 5 championship two weeks earlier at Arbutus Ridge, came into Friday’s final round three shots off the lead after a personal tournament best 69 and began Friday on fire, birdieing five of the first 10 holes.
But disaster struck on the par-5 11th hole, when Gudz carded a quintuple-bogey nine and was unable to make up the strokes. He played the final holes in a more mortal 1-over par to finish with a 71 and wound up in a tie for sixth place at 284 with Henry Lee of Coquitlam and Thomas Verigin of West Vancouver.
Gudz did win the best-ball portion of the tournament with partner Ewart, defeating Mandur and partner Adam Veenstra of Smithers on a tiebreaker countback after both teams finished at 21-under.
In regular play, Veenstra finished third overall at 282, while third-round co-leader Isaac D.H. Lee of Pitt Meadows fell to a fourth-place tie with Keenan Flemming of Sechelt at 283. Ewart and Lee led after three rounds at 210, but shot 70 and 73, respectively.
Highland Pacific’s Kyle Leiman wound up just behind Gudz at 285 in ninth, after shooting his best round of the week, 68, on the final day. He birdied four holes and bogeyed just two.
Other West Shore finishers included Royal Colwood’s Nolan Thoroughgood (289, tie 14th), Bryce Krakowec-Tickner of Bear Mountain (299, tie 42nd), Royal Colwood’s Ethan Ko (314, tie 69th).
editor@goldstreamgazette.com