Yoo Captures BC Junior Championship

Anica Yoo overcame her Team Canada Development Squad partner Taylor Kim to claim the 2012 British Columbia Junior Girls’ Championship at the Osoyoos Golf and Country Club.

After posting a new women’s course record during third round action, the eighteen year old Port Coquitlam resident Yoo proved it was not a fluke by following it up with a four-under-par 68 final round.

After sea-sawing birdies and bogeys on her first six holes, Yoo turned up the heat on her round, carding 4 birdies in a 5-hole stretch starting on the 8th to get her round to -4, -11 overall.

“I struggled a bit in the beginning of today’s round,” stated Yoo. “I was able to make birdie then bogey, birdie then bogey. It wasn’t until the eight hole that I got my round going. “Not only did she birdie four out of five holes, she did so on all par 4’s, including the third most difficult hole on the day in the par 4, 350-yard 9th.

She wouldn’t need any more on the day, closing her round with five straight pars en route to a 277 total (74-70-65-68-277). Playing in the same group and starting the day tied wit Yoo was her teammate and friend Taylor Kim.

The seventeen year old from Surrey was actually ahead of Yoo by one stroke during the final round after stringing together back-to-back birdies on the 5th and 6th holes before Yoo went on her four-hole tear.

After making bogey on the 9th hole, resulting in a two-shot swing, Kim couldn’t get off her par rhythm, making six straight pars up until the par 5, 16th hole where she would make birdie.

This would close the gap to two-strokes with Yoo but Kim would stumble on the way in, making two straight bogeys to finish her round even-par 72 and claim second all by herself, an eventual four-strokes behind the champion Yoo (66-74-69-72-281).

When asked about her plan going into the round tied with her teammate, Yoo revealed something no one would have guessed, her nerves.

“I was actually really nervous and scared. My coach phoned and wished me a good round and said if I played to my targets, hit my yardages and stayed committed I would have a good round,” mentioned Yoo. “I guess he was right.”

“I have wanted this so bad since I was 13 years old,” stated Yoo. “I have won the Bantam and Juvenile but never won the Junior. To do this in my last year is amazing. This feels amazing.”  Yoo claimed the 2006 B.C. Bantam Championship and the 2010 Juvenile Championship.

With Team Canada Development Squad members taking the first two spots in the Championship, a playoff was needed to determine who would finish in sole third for purposes of naming a Team BC subsidy recipient.

After posting an even-par round of 72 (77-76-71-72-296), Fifteen year old Alix Kong of West Vancouver warranted a spot in the sudden-death playoff.

The other competitor would be seventeen year old Madison Kapchinsky of Kelowna who finished her final round with a two-over-par 74 (73-72-77-74-296), tied in third with Kong. Both players would finish the Championship with an overall score of +8.

The sudden-death playoff would only one hole, with Kong making birdie and stamping her ticket to nationals by way of the British Columbia Golf subsidy.

Typically, the top three performers at the B.C. Junior Girls’ represent British Columbia on Team BC but it was announced prior to the event that amateur-standout Jisoo Keel of Coquitlam would be exempt from qualifying due to a Team Canada scheduling conflict.

Team BC, consisting of Yoo, Kim and Keel, will now travel to Calgary, Alberta to the River Spirit Golf Club on July 31- August 3, 2012 to go up against the best and brightest in the Royal Cup Canadian Junior Girls’ Championship.

Asked of her excitement heading into nationals, 2011 Canadian Junior Girls’ runner-up Yoo could barely contain herself. “British Columbia will definitely be the favourite.”

Thanks to Golf BC for the info.