Gorge Vale proved stubborn as Zhehui Yu, at 7 under, was the only competitor to shoot under par in the tournament
Craigflower Road was dug up this week. Not by a back-hoe, but a set of golf clubs. Zhehui Yu of Burnaby destroyed the field at Gorge Vale for a 13-stroke victory in the 2025 B.C. junior championship tournament that concluded on Friday.
Few thought anyone could come close to matching last year’s record-shattering performance by Amy Lee, when the Langley teen blew away the 2024 B.C. junior tournament at Gallagher’s Canyon in Kelowna with an 18-stroke victory to show why many have the prodigy pegged as the next big thing out of B.C. in golf.
But 17-year-old Yu, heading into Grade 12 at Burnaby North Secondary, made a credible effort toward emulating that performance by shooting 285 over four rounds to out-distance second-place Emma Kral of Victoria, who was 298. Cadence Ko of Richmond placed third at 299.
Gorge Vale proved stubborn as Yu, at 7 under, was the only competitor to shoot under par in the tournament with Kral at 6-over and Ko at 7-over. Rounding out the top five were Anna Wu of Victoria and Jenny Kwon of Vancouver, tied at 8-over 300.
The top finishers in the provincials at Gorge Vale advanced to the 2025 Canadian junior girls’ championship Aug. 13-16 in Sainte-Marie, Que. The top-three of Yu, Kral and Ko have advanced individually but will also represent B.C. in the team competition of the Canadian junior championship in Quebec.
The B.C. team of Lee, Ha Young Chang of Surrey and Chelsea Truong of Victoria, an NCAA Division 1 sophomore with the University of New Mexico Lobos, won the Canadian junior team championship last year in the national tournament played at Marine Drive in Vancouver.
Truong has aged out of the junior class while last year’s B.C. junior champion, 17-year-old Lee, gave this year’s provincial tournament a pass due to a conflicting points tournament in the U.S.
As usual in any sports event, sometimes the best stories are not in the leading pack, but in the back. Claire Wilson of Terrace missed the cut this week but travelled a long way to Gorge Vale to chase her dreams.
“We have one of the shortest golf seasons in the province and I was definitely nervous to play here against all these talented girls,” said Wilson, who is going into Grade 11 at Caledonia Secondary.
“But golfing is a big family activity for us and I love being outdoors and competing and facing the challenges that golf provides,” added Wilson, who made the long drive down with her dad and coach Dakota Wilson.
CHIP SHOTS:Next up for Gorge Vale in terms of championships will be the 125th B.C. men’s amateur tournament in 2027, which will coincide with the A.V. Macan-designed course’s centenary.
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