Iguchi, Taylor dominate their fields at Highwood
Teenage winners of boys and girls divisions sizzle in final round at Future Links tourney
Kai Iguchi was feeling the nerves, feeling the stress, feeling the pressure.
You’ll have to take his word for it, because it certainly didn’t show on his scorecard.
The 17-year-old from Banff stormed to a 7-under 63 in Sunday’s final round of the Future Links Western Championship at Highwood Golf Club, completing a wire-to-wire victory in convincing fashion and shaving four strokes off the previous lowest score of his career. He also equalled the competitive course record at the semiprivate hangout in High River.
“I was pretty nervous going into the last round. And especially with the guys who were behind me, it was definitely nerve-racking,” Iguchi said. “But there’s no point in worrying about what they do, because I can’t control that.
“So my mindset was just to hit the best golf shots that I could and focus on just the next shot.” That plan worked wonders. Iguchi’s final-round scorecard included an eagle, six birdies, nine pars and only one bogey.
He teed off Sunday with a twostroke lead. When the dust settled, his closest competitor was 10 shots in his rear-view mirror.
A regular at Banff Springs and a
representative of Team Alberta, Iguchi fired a three-day total of 11-under 199 to win the regional showdown at Highwood.
“It’s a huge confidence-booster,” said Iguchi, who has committed to join the UBC Thunderbirds golf squad in the fall. “And also just a relief. Before the round, the nervousness, the anxiety and the stress, it was definitely there. But now that I’m out of it, it just feels good.”
Meanwhile, Calgary’s Taylor Stone (Pinebrook) also posted a red number in her final spin around Highwood, sizzling to a seven-shot victory in the girls’ division.
Stone, who just completed her freshman campaign with the University of Texas-El Paso Miners, seemed to be perfecting her plan of attack at the three-day shootout. The 18-year-old followed rounds of
75 and 71 with Sunday’s 69, good for a three-day tab of 5-over 215.
“My game plan over the past few weeks was just to have fun and enjoy the whole experience, because it’s my last junior year,” Stone told Golf Canada after Sunday’s triumph. “It means a lot. My goal was to win, so I’m really happy that I’ve stuck with my plan.”
Jason Stanier, executive pro and general manager at Inglewood, teamed with Edmonton’s Greg McGarry (Glendale) to claim top prize at the PGA of Alberta’s Pro-Pro Scramble at Windermere G&CC … Strathmore’s Zach Olson and his University of the Fraser Valley Cascades teammates finished at the top of the class, capturing the men’s team title at the Canadian University/College Championships in Chilliwack, B.C. … The SAIT Trojans will return to the fairways and greens in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) this fall, competing in golf for the first time since 2001-02. The Trojans have hired Stephen Yanitski, an assistant pro at Valley Ridge, as their head coach.