Victoria golfers off to junior nationals

Nolan Thoroughgood and Jeevan Sihota, both of of Victoria, qualified for the 2018 Canadian junior boys golf championship July 30-Aug. 2 in Medicine Hat, Alta., following the final round of the Future Links Pacific Championship qualifier Sunday at Bear Mountain.

Thoroughgood and defending-champion Sihota shot three-round totals of 213 to tie for third.

Cole Wilson of Kelowna won the qualifier with a 210 total on the Valley Course, with Christopher Vandette of Beaconsfield, Que., second at 211. The players qualifying for nationals are Wilson, Vandette, Thoroughgood, Sihota, Johnny Travale of Stoney Creek, Ont., (215) and Peyton Callens of Langton, Ont. (217).

Thoroughgood, Vandette, Travale and Callens are based on Bear Mountain at the Golf Canada national development training centre.

Callum Davison of Duncan was 10th at 221 and Aidan Goodfellow of Parksville 12th at 224 among the 85 male aspirants in the qualifier.

Adopted home-course advantage came in handy for 16-year-old Monet Chun, along with Ellie Szeryk and Céleste Dao, in the Future Links girls’ Pacific qualifier also held over the weekend on the Valley Course.

The trio, all based on Bear Mountain at the Golf Canada development training centre, earned spots into the 2018 Canadian junior girls’ championship July 31-Aug.3 at Beach Grove in Tsawwassen.

Chun won the qualifier as the Richmond Hill, Ont. product ended Sunday with a three-round total of 215 to secure her place in the national junior tournament.

Two of Chun’s fellow Bear Mountain-based Team Canada development squad members — Szeryk and Dao — are also headed to the 2018 junior girls championship after placing second and tied for fifth, respectively. Sixteen-year-old Szeryk posted the low-score Sunday, a three-under-par 69, ending the tournament only two strokes behind the champion Chun at 217.

Top Islanders were Akari Hayashi of Victoria, 11th at 233, and Shirin Anjarwalla of Nanaimo, 12th at 234.