Dramatic finish on tap at Canadian juniors after late stumble by Szeryk
Ellie Szeryk places a call home to London, Ont., and her older sister Maddie every night to replay the day’s round.
The 15-year-old Szeryk said she wasn’t going to hold anything back on the call Thursday night after giving away the lead and three strokes on the final two holes during the third round of the 63rd Canadian Junior Girls Golf Championship at Camelot Golf and Country Club.
Elder sister Maddie, the 2013 Canadian Junior champion and soon-to-be senior at Texas A&M University, surely got an earful after the younger sister blew a two-stroke lead over Susan Xiao of Surrey, B.C., by finishing up bogey, double-bogey on holes 17 and 18.
“Oh, she’ll be getting the lowdown on how my day went, for sure,” said Szeryk, who can find solace in only trailing Xiao by a single stroke going into Friday’s final round.
“It was an awful ending and I’m not happy at all,” continued Szeryk, who has already verbally committed to following her sister to university in College Station, Texas, in a few years. “I had a lot of bad bounces and a lot of misreads.
“The only thing I can take away from this is that the shots are there.”
For most of the round, it appeared Szeryk and Xiao, playing with Delta’s Mary Parsons, were going to run away from the pack, both at 4-under when they made the clubhouse turn, seemingly rolling and comfortably out front.
Instead, play begins in the final round at 7 a.m. with 10 players within six shots of the lead.
Richmond Hill’s Emily Zhu was one of three golfers to become the first this week to post a score in the 60s, shooting 69 to sit just two back of the lead at 216.
Monet Chun, also of Richmond Hill, and Parsons are certainly far from out of it at 216.
So it’s Xiao, Szeryk and Zhu in the final threesome, with the standardbearer walking the course right alongside them. If that doesn’t test the nerves, nothing will.
Two 15-year-olds and a 13-yearold in the final grouping for a tournament for girls 18 and under.
“I try not to look at (the scores) but I also have an idea in my head of how it’s going, cause things can change,” said Xiao, the second 15-year-old. “We were all pretty quiet today. There wasn’t much talking among us.
“I just play my own game and don’t worry about what the other players are doing because someone T20 (tied for 20th) could shoot a good number.”
The difference in the rounds between Xiao and Szeryk came down to double bogeys.
Xiao posted three birdies and one double-bogey, while Szeryk scored five birdies against two bogeys and two double bogeys.
Both players started hot, too, with Szeryk notching birdies on four of the first five holes and going out 2-under, while Xiao was even better at 3-under.
The lead came down to Szeryk playing 4-over on the final four holes, which could wind up costing her the chance to match her sister’s title.
“I try to compete with my sister,” Szeryk said. “She’s a big target for me.
“But I’m just trying to play my game.”