Hampton, N.B – Weather conditions allowed for a sunny start to the opening round of the 2023 Canada Junior Girls Championship presented by BDO on Monday at Hampton Golf Club. The standings fluctuated throughout the day but 17-year-old Michelle P. Ding persevered despite the heat and took the lead after a hard-fought day with a score of 70, 1-under par.

The Toronto native made three consecutive birdies on the sixth hole (par 5), then on the seventh (par 3) and eighth (par 4). Ding also birdied the return on the par 4 of the 11th to end his day of golf in style.

“My state of mind today was to get par. I figured if I made par I’d end up getting a good run, so I tried to keep that in mind,” Ding said. “The place was in pretty good condition. I barely touched the greens but my forte was making approaches and putts to save the day. I’ve found a way out and I intend to continue to view my rounds this way: I’m going for par.”

Ding had his best finish at that meet last year, finishing 25th at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa, Ontario.

Abbey Baker (Halifax, NS), Rebecca Kim (Surrey, BC), Joline Truong (Mississauga, Ontario), Shauna Liu (Maple, Ontario), Cadence Ko (Richmond, BC), Chelsea Truong (Victoria, BC) and Luna Lu (Burnaby, BC) start the second round tied in second place, all one shot behind Ding.

Abbey Baker, winner of last week’s Atlantic NextGen Championship, said: “I’ve been focused on the fairways and greens and I know the birdies are coming. The course was excellent today; It wasn’t too windy but the greens can be tricky to tackle due to the tall grass. »

Two other players, Bridget Wilkie (Toronto, Ontario) and YanLing (Elaine) Liu (Vancouver, BC) have 2-overs and both are a shot off the leaderboard, tied for ninth place going into round two.

Team Ontario, consisting of Truong, Liu and Aryn Matthews (Little Britain, Ontario), leads the inter-provincial team competition with a score of plus 2; The team wants to defend its title. Last year’s defending champions have a four-shot lead over BC, who sits at plus-6 after the first round.

“Today the start was a bit difficult, but I tried to persevere. We had some ups and downs with pars and took the birdies as they came,” said Truong. “The course is in good condition, the balls rolled well and in general everything went well. »

The inter-provincial team championship for the Mary Pyke Trophy ends tomorrow with the end of the second round.

The winner of the 2023 Canada Junior Women’s Championship will receive a bye to the 2023 Canada Amateur Women’s Championship and the 2024 USA Junior Women’s Championship, age permitting.

The full results can be found here Here.

For more information on the 2023 Canada Junior Girls Championship, click here Here.

GOLF CANADA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPSGolf Canada hosts more than 30 championships and qualifiers annually across the country – including nine national amateur championships – which draw more than 3,000 athletes from across Canada and around the world. Working in partnership with host clubs, thousands of volunteers, provincial golf associations and our proud sponsors, Golf Canada has strived since its founding in 1895 to provide a high caliber, competitive player development platform. Authorized by Canada’s certified rules officials, Golf Canada’s amateur competitions meet all international golf association requirements. Golf Canada’s flagship amateur tournaments are the Canadian Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships and the Canadian Junior Men’s and Women’s Championships. The Golf Canada Amateur Championships are proudly sponsored by BDO Canada, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Titleist, FootJoy, Sport Canada, Levelwear and JOURNIE Rewards. For more information and access to the competition schedule, visit: www.golfcanada.ca/en/competition-schedule/