Kim Hangs On To Win B.C. Women's Amateur Championship
July 11, 2014 - (British Columbia Golf)
Taylor Kim finished at 10-under to win the title at the 111th British Columbia Golf Women’s Amateur at Kamloops Golf and Country Club.
RESULTS | PHOTOS | RECAP VIDEO
Kim shot (-2) on Friday to finish out a week of exceptional play, winning her first title at a British Columbia Golf Championship. The Team Canada member was already 2-under at the turn and her only bogey on number 15 proved to be nothing more than a slight speed bump on her way to the title.
“I thought simple. Just hit the fairways and hit the green and two putt or if I get close just one putt it,” she said.
“I came into trouble on number 15, a par-3, and bogeyed it but I knew I was still leading, then I had a birdie opportunity on number 18 but I thought, ‘just make par, don’t do anything stupid’ and it worked out.”
After recording the lowest score of the tournament on day one with an outstanding 6-under-par 67 the 19-year old Kim struggled slightly the following round in tough wind conditions. She proved her resilience the following round, though, when she shot 70 (-3) to reclaim the lead. “There was no wind, it was a perfect and I knew it was going to be my day it felt just like the first day,” said Kim.
“I was a little nervous going into the round because it was my first opportunity to win this event and I’m just really excited to win this. I felt like I played really great, I used the advantage of the par-5’s again and it worked out.”
A Ram Choi finished two strokes back of Kim finishing second at (-8) and even co-led briefly at the midway mark of the tournament after recording 3-under 70’s in back–to-back rounds. Choi also shot 3-under on the final day of the Championship.
Alisha Lau played four rounds of solid golf to finish third at (-6). The 14-year-old from Richmond finished T5 in the Junior Girls’ Championship in Kamloops and followed it up with another incredible performance here. Lau’s 3-under-par 70 on Friday was enough to earn her a top three finish and the final spot on the British Columbia team with Kim and Choi at Nationals July 22-25 in Woodstock, ON at Craigowan Golf and Country Club.
The 2014 Junior Girls’ Champion Naomi Ko finished in fourth at a 4-under 288 followed by Michelle Kim and Christina Proteau (T5) at 289.
Best-Ball Competition
A Ram Choi and Sharon Park finished first in the best-ball competition shooting a 22-under-par 270 for the tournament with only four bogeys in four days disrupting their scorecard.
Junior golfers Alisha Lau and Hannah Lee finished just two strokes behind at 272 and recorded two eagles on their final day of play for their best score of the tournament, an impressive 7-under-par 66.
Mid-Amateur Championship
Christina Proteau won the British Columbia Golf Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship with a commanding 16-stroke advantage over her nearest competitor. At just over four months pregnant, Proteau claimed the Jackie Little Trophy for the fourth time in six years, the most wins anyone has had in the Mid-Amateur Championship since its inauguration in 2006.
“I’m really happy with the way that I played the last few days and really enjoy this part of the tournament. It’s kind of like the ‘Working Women’s Amateur’,” laughed Proteau.
Shelly Stouffer finished second in the Mid-Amateur Championship with an 11-over 230 after she shot her best score of the tournament to that point, a one-over-par 74.
Sandra Tubide and Eileen Kelly finished T3 at 234.
Zone Team Championship
Zone Six won the 2014 Zone Team Championship, as Proteau and Stouffer combined for a team score of 297 (+5) to win the title. The duo was appointed to represent the zone prior to the beginning of competition.
They established themselves early after shooting 144 during the first round allowing them some breathing room heading into day two. Zone Three’s Dani Shap and Jessica MacPhee made a strong surge for the lead on day two recording a two-over-par 148 and nearly managed to catch the leaders, finishing with a final score of 299 (+7).