HALIFAX — Lauren Kim shot a final-round 2-under 71 on Friday to win the 109th Canadian women’s amateur golf championship.
The native of Surrey, B.C., held second place during the first three rounds of the championship and entered Friday’s final round two strokes behind Brooke Rivers of Brampton, Ont. Kim had five birdies in the final round at Ashburn Golf Club to edge out Rivers by one shot to win the national championship.
"I just needed to take down one stroke at a time, its hard to stay focused sometimes with the wind out there but I’m glad I came in strong for the last hole," said Kim. "It's crazy because I haven't won in a few years and to do it on homeland, and one of the biggest championships in Canada, it's unreal."
She earns an exemption into this year's CPKC Women’s Open at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in Vancouver at the end of August as well as the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Bel-Air Country Club in California, which starts Monday.
Kim also won $1,200. To align with the modernized Rules of Amateur Status, players at the Canadian women’s amateur championship competed for a purse of $8,000.
Rivers played an impressive tournament and finished second after shooting 1 over during the final round.
She started the tournament by firing an opening-round course-record 65 and continued to hold top spot after a second-round 69 on Wednesday.
During the third round, Rivers got off to a fiery start by carding two back-to-back birdies on the par-5 second hole and the par-4 third hole. She had a challenging end to the front nine with three bogeys in a row to push through till the end to maintain her lead.
Rivers shot a final round of 74 to finish second. Sadie Englemann of the United States shot an even-par 72 and finished the tournament in third at 5 under.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2023.
The Canadian Press
