Stay the course and hope lady luck bounces your way.
Aldersyde area’s Christian Hansen, then 14, won the Maple Leaf Junior-Ford Series PGA of Alberta Bantam boys championship tournament with a one-over-par 72-73-72—217 at McKenzie Meadows in Calgary July 15-17.
The highlight of the tournament for the left-hand swinging Hansen was an Eagle 3 on the Par 5 ninth hole on the final round.
“I hit one of my nicest drives of the tournament right in the middle of the fairway and I was about 140 out,” said Hansen, who golfs out of River’s Edge Golf Club in Okotoks. “I had a nice pitching wedge in and I put it to 12 or 15 feet and I walked off happy.”
Hansen had a one-stroke lead going into the final day over Calgary’s Jaiden Koonar.
Koonar was up to the task, he birdied that ninth hole, but Hansen’s eagle gave him a three-stroke lead in the tourney with nine to go.
He would extend the lead to six on the 14th hole when Hansen birdied the Par 4 and Koonar ran into some bad luck.
“He had a very unlucky bounce and he went out of bounds and that’s when I thought I had a good chance of winning the tournament,” Hansen said.
Consistency was the key to his game. He didn’t take any ugly numbers of more than double bogey.
He didn’t panic when his drive went awry on the par 4 16th, with just three holes to go.
“I hit one out of bounds when I sliced it, but I hit my next one in the middle of the fairway, got on and then two-putted,” Hansen said. “It was a second-ball par which is a good way to look at it.”
It was the only hole over bogey in the whole tournament for Hansen. He made 11 birdies and an eagle over the three rounds to win Hoselton Trophy.
“During this tournament, my driving was very good — the driver is my favourite club in the bag,” Hansen said. “This tournament my putting saved me too, because my chipping wasn’t all that good.”
Hansen won the title in what is his final Bantam tournament. He turned 15 last week, and will play in his first Juvenile tournament this summer.
“I think this will help give me confidence moving forward, that I can actually do this,” he said.
He took up the game about four years ago.
“My dad took me on the course and I didn’t like it when I was younger,” Hansen said. “But then I started to get better and playing more and started enjoying it… Just to be outside and enjoying nature. And there is no better feeling than getting a birdie or an eagle and being out there with friends.”
Hansen is part of the interclub team at River’s Edge.
Other highlights for Foothills area golfers include Lucy Urban, Okotoks, 3rd, 15-18 girls; Peyton Stahl, Priddis, 3rd, Peewee Boys; Bradin Stahl, Priddis, 5th, Bantam boys; Christopher McLarty, Okotoks, 9th, Bantam boys; John Stuart, Foothills, 12th, Junior boys.
