Stouffer Joins Canadian Club of U.S. Senior Women’s Am Champs

In one of the most dominant performances in championship history, Shelly Stouffer breezed through the bracket to win the 60th U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at Anchorage Golf Course. Stouffer put an exclamation point on the week with a resounding 4-and-3 victory over Sue Wooster in the 18-hole final to become the fourth Canadian to win the title.
Moments after Wooster missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 15th, Stouffer, 52, of Nanoose Bay in the province of British Columbia, calmly rolled in a 3-footer for par to end the match. She raised her arms in celebration and hugged her 15-year-old son, Brett, who caddied for her throughout the championship in Alaska. It was an emotional end to a fulfilling week, the winning moment made all the more special because they could share it together.
“He knows my game because we play a lot together,” said Stouffer. “He was helping with reading the greens. He knows my clubs. He was awesome. He kept me calm.”
Stouffer sprinted out to an early advantage against Wooster and never looked back. She birdied the first hole to take a 1-up lead and doubled the lead with a winning par on the fourth. Stouffer moved three ahead when Wooster double bogeyed the par-5 sixth, and followed with wins on Nos. 8 and 9, the latter with a birdie, to take a commanding 5-up lead at the turn.
“I’ve been feeling really good about my game, and I didn’t really have a lot of nerves,” said Stouffer. “We kept to our game plan. I’m like, ‘Why change it now?’ And it totally worked in my favor, I think.”
Few would have guessed that Stouffer would raise the trophy after her inauspicious start on Saturday. She made five bogeys and two double bogeys in Round 1 of stroke play, needing 37 putts in a 9-over-par 81 that left her T-45.
But the next day, Stouffer was a completely different player. She rebounded with a 4-under 68 in Round 2 – the lowest in the championship by five strokes – to earn the No. 2 seed in match play. Stouffer never looked back, winning 37 holes and losing just eight over the course of her six matches.
For Wooster, it was another disappointing defeat in a Senior Women’s Amateur championship match – her third in the last four years. Her 15 match-play victories since 2018 are second only to three-time champion Lara Tennant in that span, but the 60-year-old Australian has no hardware to show for it.
A day after coming back from a 3-hole deficit against Christie Blasi in the semifinals, Wooster could not turn the tide against Stouffer. She managed to win only one hole on the day – with a par on the 14th – but it was too little, too late.
“I’m so proud of myself for making three finals in four years,” said Wooster. “I’m not going to give up on winning this trophy one day. It didn’t happen today, but things happen in funny ways. I think my day will come.”
Stouffer is the eighth Canadian to win a USGA championship and joins Marlene Streit (1985, 1994, 2003), Gayle Borthwick (1996, 1998) and Judith Kyrinis (2017) as Canadian winners of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.
What the Champion Receives
- A gold medal
- Custody of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Trophy for one year
- A 10-year exemption into the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur
- An exemption into the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif.
- Two-year exemptions into the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (2022 and 2023) and U.S. Senior Women’s Open (2023 and 2024)
Three Canadians at top of leaderboard following third round at Point Grey

Despite the threat of rain in the forecast, skies remained dry over Point Grey Golf and Country Club for round three of the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO. Canadians Robbie Latter and Eric Zhao lit up the leaderboard today, each shooting a cool 65 in the third round to tie for the top spot.
Latter, who calls Mississauga, Ont. home, carded five birdies and an eagle to ascend 14 spots in the race for the 117th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship title. The Southern Miss sophomore finished T25 at last year’s event and won the Future Links (now NextGen) Québec Championship as a 17-year-old in 2018.

“My ball striking was very good today,” stated Latter. “Having my brother on the bag today definitely helped!”
Though 14-year-old Eric Zhao faced challenges on the 11th hole, the birdies far outweighed the bogeys with an impressive total of nine filling his scorecard. The west coast seems to be treating the National Junior Squad member quite well this season. In May, Zhao was crowned Champion of the Junior Boys Division at the NextGen Pacific Championship in Nanaimo, B.C.
“Today, I focused on staying patient and accepting the shots I hit,” said Zhao. “I only thought about my current shot and never the past or future ones. It did help as I made two bogeys and a double but being aware of my emotions and redirecting my focus allowed me to come back.”
In tomorrow’s final round, Zhao looks to stay consistently calm.
“I want to do something very similar tomorrow. My only expectation is that I learn from this experience playing under heavy pressure,” said a humble Zhao. “I also don’t want to overthink anything and just focus on each shot as I play it, and maybe I’ll go home proud of myself.”
Rounding out the top three is St-Célestin, Que. native Jean-Philippe Parr. The 18-year-old shot his lowest round of the tournament at 67 to sit one stroke off the lead. Parr is also a member of Team Canada’s National Junior Squad.
Tomorrow promises to be an exciting battle of top amateur talent with an exemption into the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, as well as the 2022 U.S. Amateur Championship on the line. Not only will the winner etch their name into the historic Earl Grey Cup, but also into Canadian golf history – the competition being the oldest amateur championship in the country.
The awards ceremony will take place at approximately 3:00 p.m. PT at Point Grey Golf and Country Club.
Quick Links:
Leaderboard
Course details
Championship history & past champions
For more information on the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, click here.
Team Québec secures inter-provincial title; Turner takes lead

Team Québec charged ahead to win the inter-provincial competition in a seven-stroke victory over the host squad, Team British Columbia. Laurent Desmarchais, Christopher Vandette, and William Forgues shot a collective 3 under to become the ninth team from Québec to secure the title since the Willingdon Cup became an annual competition in 1927. Reigning champions Team Ontario rounded out the top-3 at 6 over par.
In the individual competition, American Elijah Turner rose nine spots on the leaderboard to lead the pack during Tuesday’s second round at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO. The 23-year-old from Highland, Utah limited himself to two bogeys at Seymour Golf and Country Club, carding four birdies and an eagle on his final hole, the 9th hole, to set himself up well at the halfway point of the tournament.
“My caddie is a local member at Seymour and he was great at helping me manage around the course,” said Turner of his round today at Seymour Golf and Country Club. “It was important for me to hit fairways and stay out of trouble as much as possible. I had a nice run with 3 birdies in a row that were set up with good drives off the tee. I think I’m a good driver of the ball and that strength certainly helped me today. Seymour’s greens were very demanding today with tough pin placements. It took a lot of patience out there today on those greens. Both courses are just excellent,” he added.
Following closely, 22-year-old, Michael Haranhan Smith shot a 66 today finishing one shot back at -5. Haranhan Smith is one of a trio of Australians competing this week, with all three advancing to the third round.
“I think this course is definitely the one to score on, the back 9 can be tricky but you can definitely get it going on the front,” said Haranhan Smith of this round at Point Grey Golf and Country Club. “I’m a relatively good iron player which suits this golf course and the greens are pretty large but you need to be in the right section to give yourself a chance at holing some putts.”
Five Canadians sit inside the top-10 in a tie for eighth place including Jean-Philippe Parr (St-Célestin, Que.), Alex Zhang (Richmond, B.C.), Eric Zhao (North York, Ont.), Keith Ng (Richmond, B.C.), and Kai Iguchi (Banff, Alta.),
The winner of the championship will earn an exemption into the 2023 RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf & Country Club, as well as the 2022 U.S. Amateur Championship being contested August 15-22 in Paramus, N.J.
The third round commences tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. PT at Point Grey Golf and Country Club.
Quick Links:
Player list
Tee times
Course details
Championship history & past champions
For more information on the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, click here.
Gutschewski leads by two at Canadian Men’s Amateur

Point Grey Golf and Country Club and Seymour Golf and Country Club played host to 250 golfers this holiday Monday as play commenced for the 117th playing of the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO.
Elkhorn, Neb. native Luke Gutschewski had a hot start, making eight birdies to shoot a 65 for the day. Heading into his second season playing for Iowa State’s golf team, Gutschewski played a near bogey-free round, getting into the groove and making birdie on five consecutive holes in the middle of his round at Point Grey Golf & Country Club.
“I really just played solid all day, nothing too flashy,” said Gutschewski. “I did a good job of keeping it in play off the tee, left myself in good places when I missed greens, and then putted pretty nicely too.”
Despite the early lead, the 19-year-old isn’t getting too far ahead of himself. “It’s really a long week and we have a long way to go,” added Gutschewski. “If I can keep on doing what I’m doing and not get too wrapped up in the individual result of each shot then we can add up the scores at the end of the week and see what happens.”
Following closely, Banff, Alta. native Kai Iguchi sits just two strokes behind at -4. The 21-year-old recently finished fifth in the Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship and is competing in his first Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.
In addition to Iguchi, nine other Canadians ended round one inside the top-10 including Marc Sweeney (Saskatoon, Sask.), Christopher Vandette (Beaconsfield, Qué.), Jean-Philippe Parr (St-Célestin, Qué.), Jace Minni (Delta, B.C.), Nasheel Kassam (Vancouver, B.C.), Robbie Latter (Mississauga, Ont.), Tony Li (Vancouver, B.C.), Tyler Hull (Toronto, Ont.), Ryan McMillan (Winnipeg, Man.).
Tomorrow will mark the final day of play at Seymour Golf and Country Club after which the field will be cut to the low 70 players (including ties). The final 36 holes are scheduled to take place at Point Grey Golf and Country Club.
The winner of the championship will earn an exemption into the 2023 RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf & Country Club, as well as the 2022 U.S. Amateur Championship being contested August 15-22 in Paramus, N.J.
After the halfway point of the Inter-Provincial competition Team Quebec, consisting of Christopher Vandette, Laurent Desmarchais, and William Forgues, leads by three strokes over Team British Columbia. Nine provinces and two territories will continue to battle for the Willingdon trophy tomorrow with Team Ontario looking to rally to defend their 2019 title.
Quick Links:
Leaderboard
Tee times
Course details
Championship history & past champions
For more information on the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, click here.
Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship set to tee off in Vancouver

The 117th installment of the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO, tees off this week with 252 amateur golfers taking the stage in Vancouver.
The championship, which was first held in 1895, is the oldest amateur championship in the country. The inaugural tournament, held at Ottawa Golf Club in Gatineau, Qué., marked one of the first orders of business for the Royal Canadian Golf Association – now known commonly as Golf Canada.
One of nine national championships conducted by Golf Canada for the 2022 season, the Canadian Men’s Amateur will consist of 72 holes of stroke play taking place at two elite courses, Seymour Golf and Country Club, and Point Grey Golf and Country Club, with the latter celebrating its centennial anniversary. The field will be cut to the low 70 players (including ties) following 36 holes.

Practice rounds are scheduled for July 30th – 31st before the tournament officially kicks off on August 1st. Rounds will be played simultaneously at both properties for the first two rounds, with the final round and awards ceremony taking place at Point Grey G&CC.
“Golf Canada is proud to host this historic championship and bring together a field of top competitors from all over the globe,” said Mary Beth McKenna, Director, Amateur Championships and Rules. “Point Grey Golf and Country Club and Seymour Golf and Country Club are in excellent shape and will provide for an exciting competition as our competitors vie for the Earl Grey Cup.”
International talent will once again flock to the championship after COVID-19 complications restricted travel and thus, international inclusion. Among a field of strong international competitors are Connor Fewkes (Australia), Ching-Hung Su (Chinese Taipei), Jose Islas (Mexico), Tyler Wood (New Zealand), and Jackson Lake (U.S.A.).
As for the Canadian contingent, Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad member and Coquitlam, B.C. native A.J. Ewart will be counting on the home-province advantage to go all the way after finishing just two strokes shy of 2021 champion Max Sekulic last year. Other notable National Amateur Squad members in the field include Laurent Desmarchais (Longueuil, Qué.) and Chris Vandette (Beaconsfield, Qué.). Canadian Golf Hall of Famer and Vancouver, B.C. native Doug Roxburgh will be the only champion returning to the field having claimed titles in 1972, 1974, 1982, and 1988.

The winner of the championship will earn an exemption into the 2023 RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf & Country Club, as well as the 2022 U.S. Amateur Championship being contested August 15-22 in Paramus, N.J.
New to this year’s tournament is a purse payout. To align with the modernized Rules of Amateur Status, players at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship will now compete for a purse of $8,000 CAD. Amateur golfers may accept prize money up to a maximum of $1,200 CAD, and payouts will be awarded to the top-10 finishers and ties.
Among the notable Canadian champions are Canadian Golf Hall of Fame honoured members Moe Norman (Kitchener, Ont.), Nick Weslock (Winnipeg, Man.), Gary Cowan (Kitchener, Ont.) and Doug Roxburgh (Vancouver, B.C.). PGA TOUR champions Nick Taylor (Abbotsford, B.C.) and Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ont.) have also hoisted the coveted Earl Grey Cup.

The 36-hole inter-provincial competition for the Willingdon Cup will also return this year after a two-year hiatus. Team Ontario are the reigning champions and are set to defend their 2019 title.
More information about the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship can be found here.
Yeji Kwon wins the 67th Canadian Junior Girls Championship

OTTAWA, Ont. – As she marveled at the names etched into the Brokenshire Trophy, Yeji Kwon gasped in awe when she realized she was in the same company as Brooke Henderson.
Kwon, 16, fired a two-under par 70 in Friday’s final round to capture the 2022 Canadian Junior Girls Championship, presented by BDO.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I’m really happy and proud of myself; I’m really excited.”
Yeji Kwon
Words came few and far between from the Port Coquitlam, B.C., native following the victory. Instead, she let her play do the talking. With a four-stroke lead entering the day, Kwon stayed level-headed throughout, never allowing the gap to narrow down to less than three shots.
“I tried to block it (nerves) out as much as possible,” said Kwon. “I wasn’t playing the best today, but I tried my best out there to keep as calm as possible.”
Kwon, a member of Team Canada’s National Junior Squad, says her experience at the 2022 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in late June helped her manage her emotions in the spotlight at The Marshes Golf Club.
“It’s a tournament with everyone from around the world. I learned so much, especially playing with other players and I think that really helped me stay more focused and play a lot better,” Kwon said.
After Lucy Lin cut the lead to four with a birdie on No. 11, Kwon stepped on the gas and cruised to the promise land, closing out in style with birdies on holes No. 13, 14 and 16. At that point, she knew she had done it.
“I saw the scoreboard and I was like, “Ok, let’s just try to make pars and get it done.”
Get it done, she did. Kwon tapped in on No. 18 to win by nine strokes and was showered in water by her teammates and competitors who stormed the green.
After an opening round 75, the British Columbian carded rounds of 67, 65 and 70 for a total score of 11-under par 277, en route to the national title. Kwon was also crowned champion of the Juvenile Girls division – a subdivision for girls 16 and younger.
With the hardware comes an exemption into the 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Ashburn Golf Club in Halifax, Nova Scotia, as well as an entry into the 2023 U.S. Junior Girls Championship.
Kwon will also be awarded a cheque of $1,200. To align with the modernized Rules of Amateur Status, players at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship, competed for a purse of $8,000 CAD. Along with Kwon, top-10 finishers and ties earned a piece of the prize money.
12-year-old Lucy Lin earned the runner-up honours in both the Junior Girls and Juvenile Girls divisions. The Vancouver, B.C. native, who is only getting started on the national stage, finished the tournament at two-under par for a total score of 286.
Erin Lee of Langley, B.C., completed the all-British Columbia podium sweep with a third-place finish. Lee, who was under par in each of the first three rounds, started hot with three birdies in her first four holes, but struggled to establish any pressure thereafter. She closed out her tournament with a four-over par 76.
In the Juvenile Girls divisions, the bronze medal was shared by three participants: Amy Seung Hyun Lee, Alissa Xu and Anna Huang. Xu’s medalist honours are her second in as many weeks. The Richmond Hill, Ont., native finished as the runner-up at last week’s Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Westmount Golf & Country Club.
Team Ontario – made up of Swetha Sathish, Sarah Gallagher, and Kelly Zhao – took home the Interprovincial Team Trophy. The Ontarians edged the British Columbians by five strokes in the team event, which concluded earlier in the week.
The 2023 Canadian Junior Girls Championship will be played at the Hampton Golf Club in Hampton, N.B.. Dates are to be announced in the coming months.
Click here for full results of the 2022 Canadian Junior Girls Championship.
Yeji Kwon takes command in third round of Canadian Junior Girls Championship

OTTAWA (July 28, 2022) – Automatic is one way to describe Yeji Kwon’s game in the third round of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship, presented by BDO. And even that might not do it justice.
The Port Coquitlam, B.C., native set the new tournament-low with a seven-under par 65 and broke free from the traffic jam atop the leaderboard. For the second day in a row, Kwon eagled the par-4 1st, holing out from the fairway. Incredibly, her approach shot came from the exact same yardage as her attempt in Wednesday’s second round.
“I had 76 yards again. It was a little into the wind, so I held the same club as yesterday and it did the same thing, it just spun back and went in,” said Kwon.
Even her reaction was the same; I was like, “Oh my gosh!”
With the quick start, Kwon positioned herself atop the leaderboard early in her round and didn’t let up from there. The 16-year-old hit a speedbump on hole No. 5, but was mistake-free after that, making five birdies including a tap-in on hole No. 17 to extend her lead to four strokes going into Friday’s final round.
“Tomorrow going in, I’m not going to think about it much,” said Kwon. “I feel like I’m going to think of it as a first round and play my best. It’s the last day, I just want to keep as calm as possible and focus and try to go lower tomorrow.”
If so, she better plan to save some room in her luggage for a trophy or two. Kwon also leads the Juvenile Girls division – a subdivision for girls 16 and under – by five strokes over 12-year-old, Lucy Lin.
Kwon’s 65 is the lowest round at a Canadian Junior Girls Championship since Euna Han’s opening round 64 in 2019. Han is also a native of Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Lin had back-to-back birdies on holes No. 4 & 5, then drained consecutive birdies again on holes No. 16 & 17 but made three bogeys in between. The Vancouver, B.C., native finished her round at one-under par and four-under for the tournament. She is alone in third place.
Erin Lee maintained her steady play at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa, Ont., this week, with another round in the red numbers. The Langley B.C., local rolled in six birdies in round three, en route to a one-under par 71. The Long Beach State University commit holds sole possession of second place and will play in the final pairing on Friday, alongside Kwon and Lin.
Alissa Xu and Lindsay McGrath rounded out the top-5, at three-under par for the tournament and still very much in contention for the national championship. Xu fired a three-under par 69 on moving day, while McGrath followed up yesterday’s 66 with a one-over par 73.
Final round tee times are scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m., with the leaders teeing off at 9:50 a.m. An awards ceremony will follow the conclusion of play. Team Ontario will be awarded the Interprovincial Team Trophy and a national champion will be crowned for the individual competition.
The winner of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship will earn an exemption into the 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, as well as the 2023 U.S. Junior Girls Championship.
For full results click here.
Ontario mounts comeback to win interprovincial; trio tied for lead at Canadian Junior Girls Championship

OTTAWA, Ont. – Team British Columbia had their sights set on second consecutive interprovincial team championship, but the squad from Ontario had other plans at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship, presented by BDO.
As so often is the case in golf, the tables turned on the leaders – and in this one, they turned quickly. With the trophy at the fingertips of Team B.C., one team got cold and the other heated up. Trailing by three strokes, Swetha Sathish piloted a miraculous comeback, making birdie on three of her final six holes to lift her province to victory in the interprovincial competition.
Sarah Gallagher contributed to the team efforts with back-to-back rounds of even-par 72. Along with Sathish’s two-under par 70 in the second round and Kelly Zhao’s three-over par 75 in Tuesday’s opening round, the team combined for a total score of 289 and a five-stroke triumph over the runner-up British Columbians.
INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION
Of the five players who shared the lead after Tuesday’s opening round, only Erin Lee remained atop the standings in the individual competition. Joining the Langley, B.C., native at the front of pack is Lindsay McGrath and Krystal (ZhuoTong) Li. The trio own a share of the lead at four-under par.
After starting her round with a bogey, Lee answered the bell, rallying off five birdies to get to six-under par on the tournament. The 16-year-old dropped a pair of shots in the latter stages of her round and pointed to lackluster putting to explain the blemishes.
“Today, all my shots were pretty good [but] I struggled a bit with putting. If my putter worked, I honestly think I could have gone way lower,” admitted Lee. She says she’ll look to continue hitting the shots she’s been hitting but needs to see a few more putts drop.
McGrath, 15, carded the low round of the tournament, a six-under par 66 to climb into a share of the lead. A troubling round one with the flat stick lead the Oakville, Ont., native to the putting green this morning. Safe to say the practice was worthwhile. The Team Ontario recorded birdies on holes No. 1 and No. 18 and made five others in between en route to the top of the board.
“Yesterday I was missing a lot of putts, so I put the work in this morning and was able to make a lot of short putts for birdie and save a lot for par, so I think that really helped me today,” said McGrath. “My mental [game] was really good today; I was able to dial in on those putts and not feel any pressure.”
Team Canada’s Yeji Kwon also made some noise on Wednesday at The Marshes Golf Club, posting a five-under par 67 to leap into sole possession of sixth place, just two strokes back of the leaders.
“Yesterday my irons weren’t so good, so I made a couple of changes after the round and today my irons were a lot better. I was able to get them on the green and make a couple of birdie putts,” said Kwon.
After a bogey-free, three-under par 33 on the front nine (started on hole No. 10), the Port Coquitlam eagled the par-4 1st, holing out on a 76-yard wedge shot from the fairway.
“It was a good shot. It hit the slope, then it spun back, and it went in, and I was like ‘Oh my gosh,” said Kwon, in disbelief.
Bo Brown also fired a five-under par 67, a result of eight birdies, including a stretch of three in a row from holes No. 11-13. The University of British Columbia Thunderbird improved on her first-round performance by 16 strokes. She sits T25 going into Thursday’s third round.
Krystal (ZhuoTong) Li, Peyton Costabile and Ling Yu (Katherine) Hao managed scores of three-under par 69. Elsa Wu aced the 146-yard, par-3 17th hole. The 12-year-old says she saw the ball hit the pin but didn’t see it drop into the hole and if her “memory is correct,” it is the first of her very young career.
70 players made the cut at 14-over par. Third round tee times are scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, with the leaders teeing off at 9:50 a.m.
For full results click here.
Five share lead through first round at Canadian Junior Girls Championship

OTTAWA, Ont. – The leaderboard flip flopped all throughout the first round of the 2022 Canadian Junior Girls Championship, presented by BDO, but when the dust settled, there were five tied atop the leaderboard.
Madelin Boyd, Amy Seung Hyun Lee, Erin Lee, Lucy Lin, and Myranda Quinton all fired rounds of two-under par 70 to pace the 136-player field.
27 other players are within five shots of the leaders at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa, Ont.
Boyd, a native of Oshawa, Ont., recorded three birdies on the day and suffered only one bogey. The 18-year-old birdied the par-5 2nd hole, before falling back to even par two holes later. From there, it was nothing but birdies and pars for the junior who earned the clubhouse lead early in the day.
Quinton, 17, also made a trio of birdies on the day. After a bogey-free front nine, the Burlington, Ont. native dropped a shot on the par-5 2nd hole but bounced back with a pair of birdies down the stretch to secure a piece of the pie.
Lee and Hyun Lee, both of Langley. B.C. matched each other with five birdies aside and had merely similar scorecards. Both started their tournaments with a pair of birdies in their opening holes, and added two more early in their back nines, before capping off their rounds with a final birdie on No. 18.
Lin, one of the youngest competitors in the field, had the most birdies on the day with six. After falling to one-over par after 10 holes, the 12-year-old rallied off three birdies coming in – including a pair on her final two holes – to grab a share of the lead after the opening round.
Recent history doesn’t bode well for the quintet. In four of the last five Canadian Junior Girls Championships, only once did the leader or co-leader after the first round go on to win the tournament, but ask them and they’ll tell you trends are meant to be broken.
Four more players sit one stroke back of the leaders in the red numbers at one-under par: Payton Lovisa, Krystal (ZhuoTong) Li, Anna Huang and Alissa Xu.
Xu, 16, carried on her momentum from the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship last week, with another strong showing in round one. The Richmond Hill, Ont. native, who finished in second place at Westmount Golf & Country Club, rolled in five birdies, to go along with four bogeys on the way to a one-under par 71.
Hyun Lee and Lin are tied for the lead in Juvenile division – a subdivision for girls 16 and under.
In the interprovincial team competition, the Team British Columbia contingent of Hyun Lee and Tina Jiang carded an even-par 144 for a three-stroke advantage over Team Ontario. The team championship will wrap up tomorrow at the conclusion of the second round.
Full results can be found here.
Junior girls set to tee it up at nationals on heels of Henderson’s historic win

OTTAWA, Ont. – Hinged between two of the biggest tournaments in Canadian women’s amateur golf was one of the most monumental moments in Canadian golf history.
Last Friday, Monet Chun captured the 108th Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship. This Friday, a champion will be named at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship; and in between, Brooke Henderson became the first-ever two-time major champion in Canadian golf history.
All that to say, timing is everything and for the junior girls teeing it up at The Marshes Golf Club this week, the timing couldn’t have been better. On the ten-year anniversary of Henderson’s win in 2012, 137 players will compete for the 67th Canadian Junior Girls Championship beginning Tuesday, July 26 and wrapping up Friday, July 29.
For some, it will be a first chance to compete on the national stage. For others, it will be the last of their junior careers. But, for all, it will represent an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the winningest golfer in Canadian history.
“Moments like yesterday matter for these girls,” said Tournament Director Josée Matte. “We’re excited to host a strong field of competitors this week at The Marshes Golf Club and watch as the future of Canadian women’s golf chase a national championship in the nation’s capital.”
Five of Team Canada’s National Junior Squad members will be in the field this week in Ottawa, Ont.: Anne-Léa Lavoie (Québec, Qué.); Ella Weber (Burlington, Ont.); Luna Lu (Burnaby, B.C.); Martina Yu (Coquitlam, B.C.); and Yeji Kwon (Port Coquitlam, B.C.).
Also in the field are three top-10 finishers from last week’s Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship: Alissa Xu (Richmond Hill, Ont.), who finished in 2nd place, as well as Kelly Zhao (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Vanessa Borovilos (Etobicoke, Ont.) who recorded T5 finishes.
Peyton Costabile of Ayr, Ont., as well as U19 Alberta Junior Girls champion, Eileen Park, and Ontario Women’s Amateur champion, Carlee Meilleur are among the other notable names pencilled into the draw in the nation’s capital.
Returning this year is the inter-provincial team competition. The inter-provincial championship will be played in conjunction with the first 36 holes of the competition, with three-player teams vying for the team title. In rounds one and two the best two scores of the three golfers from each provincial team count towards the team’s score. The lowest aggregate score over rounds one and two determines the champion.
Team British Columbia – composed of Angela Zhang, Cindy Koira and Erin Lee – are the reigning champions from 2019.
The Juvenile division remains in place this year and will run concurrently with the Junior division through the 72-hole competition. The Juvenile division is for girls 16 and under. Luna Lu, of Burnaby, B.C., was the runner-up in the Juvenile division last year and will be in the field this week.
New to this year’s tournament is a purse payout. To align with the modernized Rules of Amateur Status, players at the Canadian Women’s Junior Championship will now compete for a purse of $8,000 CAD. Amateur golfers may accept prize money up to a maximum of $1,200 CAD, and payouts will be awarded to the top-10 finishers and ties.
The winner also receives an exemption into the 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Ashburn Golf Club in Halifax, N.S., as well as the 2023 U.S. Junior Girls Championship.
Previous winners of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship include Brooke Henderson (2012), Alena Sharp (1999), and Sandra Post (1964-66).
For more information on the 2022 Canadian Junior Girls Championship click here.