A 16-year-old golfer from Castlegar was the overall low gross winner at the opening event of the Zone 1 West Kootenay Junior Golf Circuit on Saturday.
Ely Overennay shot a 74 and narrowly held off Brayden Mckay from Rossland to claim a one-shot victory.
Overennay is 16 and has been golfing competitively for three years, having first picked up a golf club when he was five. He participated in an event at his school a few days before the opening circuit event, but otherwise Saturday was his first day of competitive play for the season.
“I played all right. Didn’t play the best, but I shot a decent score and I had fun,” he said.
Xander Bankes from Rossland won overall low net for the event. He made his debut on the circuit at the Birchbank Golf Club, fresh from competing in the Maple Leaf Junior Tour Golf Tournament in Surrey the weekend before, where he was the top ten year old.
Bankes started learning to golf when he was two and started competing last year. “It was pretty good, wasn’t my best,” he said of his performance for the day.
McKay, who also played in Surrey the weekend before, won first flight low gross with a score of 75 and first flight second gross went to Aiden Jenner with a 87. Second flight low gross went to Nick Jenner with 94 and second place to AJ Roberts with a 102.
West Kootenay Junior Golf is looking for more players to participate in the circuit. The events are open to both boys and girls 18 years old or younger, and golfers of every skill level are encouraged to participate.
The circuit is comprised of eight events in total, with the final two events acting as qualifiers for the BC Junior Boys Championships:
Sunday, April 24, noon at Castlegar Golf Club
Saturday, April 30, noon at Christine Lake Golf Club
Saturday, May 14, noon at Redstone Resort
Saturday, May 21, noon at Champion Lake Golf Course
Sunday, May 29, noon at Creston Golf Club
Saturday, June 11, noon at Balfour Golf Course
Sunday, June 12, noon in Nelson
Players can win prizes at each event and at the end of the circuit players will receive recognition for their overall placement.
The cost to enter an event is $20 for 18 holes or $15 for nine holes. To register, contact Colin Overennay at zone1juniorgolf@gmail.com or 250-304-8913.