A half dozen junior golfers were crowned national champions at Morgan Creek Golf Club last weekend – including one who won on her home turf.
Among the winners was Surrey’s Bonnie Zhai, 16, who took top spot in the girls 15-19 division at the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s National Championship, which ran Oct. 8-11.
Zhai, who is a member at Morgan Creek, won the three-round tournament by three strokes; she carded rounds of 77, 72 and 71 for a total of 220.
She credited her course knowledge, as well as staff at the course, for her success.
“The key to my win was definitely all the love and support I get from the staff and coaches at Morgan Creek,” Zhai said.
The runner-up to Zhai was 15-year-old Yeji Kwon of Port Coquitlam, while Burnaby’s Luna Lu was third, six strokes off the lead.
Top junior golfers from across Canada – and in a variety of age groups – competed in the national event, having qualified for the tournament with strong performances at regional Maple Leaf Tour events earlier in the year.
Other winners at Morgan Creek last weekend included Vernon’s Ryan Vest, who took top spot in the juvenile boys division; Chase Pochylko, 17, from Saskatoon, who won the junior boys tournament; Michael Li of Vancouver, who was the national champ at the bantam boys level; Jaden August of Pitt Meadows, who won the peewee boys division and 13-year-old Ha Young Chang, who was first in the U15 girls competition after finishing as the runner-up last year.
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