Surrey, B.C., native Susan Xiao carded a 2-under-par 70 to lead by a stroke after round one of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship at Camelot Golf and Country Club.
After playing a longer course at the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Cutten Fields in Guelph, Ont., last week Xiao took advantage of the shorter layout today at Camelot.
“I don’t need to hit my driver really hard to get the distance I need,” said Xiao. “I need to make sure it’s straight and not in the rough because the rough here is pretty hard to hit out of.”
Birdies on No. 13 and 15 got Xiao to 3 under par for the day, before a bogey on No. 18 dropped her back to 2 under par.
The 15-year-old isn’t going to let a bogey finish steal away the momentum of a strong opening round.
“2 under is pretty good, there is nothing to complain about. I’ll just keep it up and play well tomorrow,” added Xiao.
Xiao has already tasted the winners circle this season, winning the MJT – Vancouver Championship in March and she was T3 at the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship in May.
Ellie Szeryk from London, Ont., and Mathilde Denicourt, of St-Cesaire, Que., fired matching rounds of 71 to sit a stroke back of Xiao in a tie for second.
Szeryk – the 2017 Investors Group Ontario Junior Girls Champion – was 4 under par through eight holes but a bogey on No. 9 and a triple on No. 11 put her back to even par. She battled back to post at 71 (-1).
“I’m not crazy happy with my round,” said Szeryk. “But I’m happy I fought back a bit. I hope to be more consistent tomorrow.”
Denicourt teed off in the morning wave and was the early clubhouse leader at 1 under par. The 15-year-old was happy with her scrambling in round one.
“My putting was good today, I saved a couple up and downs so I was happy with that,” said Denicourt. “The rest of the week I’ll do the same thing I did today and take things shot-by-shot.”
Team Canada Development Squad member Mary Parsons carded an even-par 72 in round one and is part of a group of five golfers in a tie for fourth.
Like Szeryk, Parsons’ rebounded from adversity in her opening round. She made a quadruple-bogey on her second hole of the day, but the 18-year-old used her experience to remain calm making five more birdies the rest of the round to stay in contention.
“After that I was thinking in my head there are plenty of holes left, stay patient and the putts will drop,” said Parsons. “Especially being my last junior tournament, I wanted to stay patient and have no regrets out on the course.”
Parsons Development Squad teammate Hannah Lee is T9 at 1 over par after an opening round 71.
12-year-old Alexa Wingnean recorded her first career hole-in-one on No. 7 in the opening round on route to carding a 16-over-par 88 to sit in a tie for 92nd.
Team Ontario is leading the inter-provincial team competition at 1 under par by two strokes over Team B.C.
2017 CANADIAN JUNIOR GIRLS CHAMPIOSHIP ROUND ONE RESULTS
1. Susan Xiao, Surrey, BC, *35-35-70 -2
T2. Mathilde Denicourt, St-Cesaire, QC, *35-36-71 -1
T2. Ellie Szeryk, London, ON, *38-33-71 -1
T4. Angela Zhang, Vancouver, BC, *33-39-72 E
T4. Emily Zhu, Richmond Hill, ON, *34-38-72 E
T4. Mary Parsons, Delta, BC, *37-35-72 E
T4. Alisha Lau, Richmond, BC, *36-36-72 E
T4. Jasmine Ly, Windsor, ON, *36-36-72 E
2017 CANADIAN JUVENILE GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
1. Susan Xiao, Surrey, BC, *35-35-70 -22.
T2. Mathilde Denicourt, St-Cesaire, QC, *35-36-71 -1
T2. Ellie Szeryk, London, ON, *38-33-71 -1
4. Angela Zhang, Vancouver, BC, *33-39-72 E
4. Emily Zhu, Richmond Hill, ON, *34-38-72 E
4. Jasmine Ly, Windsor, ON, *36-36-72 E
2017 CANADIAN JUNIOR GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP – Interprovincial Team Competition
1. Ont. Ellie Szeryk, Sarah Beqaj, Emily Zhu, *72-71-143 -1
2. B.C. Alisha Lau, Esther Subin Lee, Hannah Lee, *74-71-145 +1
3. Que. Céleste Dao, Brigitte Thibault, Sarah-Eve Rheaume, *78-73-151 +7
4. Man. Camryn Roadley, Bobbi Uhl, Kate Gregoire, *77-83-160 +16
5. Alta. Kehler Koss, Annabelle Ackroyd, Tillie Claggett, *75-90-165 +21
5. N.S. Meghan McLean, Heather McLean, Haley Baker, *85-80-165 +21
7. N.B. Laura Jones, Sarah Holt, Laura Wesselius, *82-91-173 +29
8. Sask. Chloe Sies, Hannah MacNeil, Alexandra Schmidt, *91-87-178 +34
9. N.L. Taylor Cormier, Paige Hickey, *106-92-198 +54
Click here to view the full leaderboard for the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship.