Ryan Vest and Tina Jiang Hang Onto Their Leads At B.C. Junior Championship
Ryan Vest Is The 3rd Round BC Junior Boys Leader - Photo Credit: Jeff Vogan/SPORTDAD Sports Photography/Golf Canada
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
OLIVER -- Ryan Vest bogeyed the first hole of Thursday’s third round of the B.C. Junior Boys Championship and that turned out to be a good thing. “I hit it to 10 feet on No. 1 and three-putted,” Vest said. “That gave me some fire and I just kept fighting. I kept fighting over every shot.”
He fought very well. The 15-year-old from Vernon fired his second straight five-under 67 and will carry a three-shot lead into Friday’s final round of the championship at Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course.
Tina Jiang of Richmond leads the B.C. Junior Girls Championship, which is being held concurrently with the boys’ championship.
Vest made most of his birdies on the back nine, which he completed in just 32 shots. Vest stands at 10-under through 54 holes. Vancouver’s Ryan Liang, who fired a four-under 68 on Thursday, is second at seven-under par. James Lee of Whistler is third at five-under after his one-under 71.
Vest, a former B.C. Bantam Boys champion who plays out of Predator Ridge and Vernon Golf Club, said his back-to-back 67s felt different.
“This one feels better because I putted better,” he said. “I didn’t hit it as good today. I hit some bad tee shots and some bad iron shots, but my putter saved me a couple of times. I made some nice par saves when I needed them.”
Vest said fancies himself a good front-runner and he’ll have a chance to prove that in Friday’s final round. “I do,” he said. “I am going to try and do exactly what I have been doing and make them have to make their putts.”
Photo Credit: Chuck Russell/Golf Canada
Tina Jiang Leads Going Into The Final Round Of The BC Junior Girls Championship
On the girls’ side, Jiang began the day with a seven-shot lead, but it had evaporated after 14 holes. Langley’s Amy Lee, who led after the first round, was six-under through 14 holes and when she birdied the par 5 14th and Jiang bogeyed they were all even at four-under par.
But Jiang rallied with a birdie on the par 5 16th, where Lee made bogey, and she regained her lead. Jiang’s one-over 74 Thursday left her at five-under through 54 holes. Lee, who settled for a five-under 67, is two back at three-under.
“It wasn’t great,” Jiang said of her round. “My putting wasn’t very good today. I missed a lot of birdie opportunities.
“There were a few putts where I just didn’t know which way it broke. I was just hitting it straight and then it would break at the end. I am going to work on my putter and hopefully I am going to shoot a better score.”
Burnaby’s Luna Lu moved herself into contention with a great finish. She birdied 16 and 17 and then eagled the par 5 18th. Her three-under 70 left her at two-under par and just three shots out of the lead.
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