Downer leads Canadian junior boys golf championship by a shot

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/08/2023 (1143 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NORTH BAY, Ont. – Aydan Downer of Keswick, Ont., carded an opening-round 68 on Monday and leads the Canadian Junior Boys golf championship by one shot.

Downer, whose 4-under round included that included an eagle on the par 72 North Bay Golf and Country Club, holds the lead over Jerry Li of Vancouver, Grady Chuback of Headingley, Man., and Nathaniel Yoo of North York, Ont., who all shot rounds of 3-under 69.

For Downer, staying patient was key to getting off to a good start.

“I knew coming into it, my game was really good, really solid, so keep hitting good shots, hitting fairways, hitting greens, I knew some putts were going to drop and they did,” said Downer.

Li got off to a hot start with three straight birdies and an eagle on the front nine. He got into some trouble on 17 and his approach shot on 18 landed in a green-side bunker but he was able to make bogey on the closing hole, which played among the toughest for the field on Monday.

“I hit a lot of greens, made a lot of putts on the front nine, up until 17 before I slipped. I was hitting everything pretty good. I just tried to limit the damage, it was pretty good today,” said Li.

Isaiah Ellis of Smithville, Ont., finished at 2 under, while Max Corcoran of Ottawa, Alex Zhang of Richmond, B.C., Ben Sheridan of Ottawa, Ryan Garbutt of Edmonton, Alta., Joshua Ince of Surrey, B.C., Jager Pain of Woodbridge, Ont., and Matthew Lyons of Aurora, Ont., all finished at 1 under.

Play continues Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2023.