Oakville last stop for teen before the big leagues
Toronto’s Christina Foster will join professional ranks in next month’s U.S. Open
Christina Foster’s keenness to win has been kicked into overdrive.
On the cusp of fulfilling her lifelong ambition, the 19-year-old golfer has returned to her Toronto hometown environment for the Toronto Star Women’s Amateur, a four-day tournament that marks the final stop on her road to becoming a professional golfer. Next month, she will enter the field at the U.S. Open and compete for cash.
But the jump to the big show isn’t distracting her from the task at hand. It’s her last contest as an amateur and that means Foster wants this trophy real bad.
“It feels like home, because it is home,” she told the Star after she shot 71 on Monday at the Oakville Golf Club, a 2-under score that was good enough to lead the field in the opening round of play.
“I really struggled early but was able to get a lot of birdies and get it down to under par,” she said. “I really want to win.” The soon-to-be pro was among a crop of amateur golfers competing in the tournament, which has been held at various courses around the GTA since 1999.
The Star Amateur consists of two days of stroke play followed by match play with the top scoring 32 golfers on Wednesday and Thursday. An added wrinkle this time around is that the private Oakville Golf Club has nine holes, with an additional set of tees that are used to approach the greens from different angles on the “back nine.”
Marlene Streit, a World Golf Hall of Fame inductee and two-time Lou Marsh winner for Canada’s best athlete (in 1951 and 1956), helped organize the first Star Amateur 16 years ago, and was on hand at the Oakville Golf Club on Monday to take in the action. Streit said she enjoys getting out to see amateur golfers, and was particularly impressed that there is an 11-year-old in the field this year.
“It’s neat and it’s great see these kids play,” she said, adding that she was impressed by the good condition and pleasing vista of the Oakville club.
Though she’s expected to turn pro for some time, her climb to the next level has been delayed by injuries: she hurt her back and couldn’t play last summer, and before that she was hobbled by a wrist injury.
But she said she feels “blessed” to have been healthy over the past year, and is basking in the moment this week, striving to finish her amateur career with one last win at a venue close to where she grew up.
“It’s a wonderful feeling. It’s very comforting as well,” she said.
The second round of the tournament kicks off Tuesday morning.