Vancouver’s Jake Scarrow staged a huge comeback on the final day of competition to capture the prestigious B.C. Junior Boys Golf championship trophy at Osoyoos Golf Club. Scarrow rallied from a six-shot deficit last Friday to claim the championship. (Trevor Nichols photo)
Vancouver’s Jake Scarrow pulled off an exciting win at the British Columbia Golf’s 2015 Junior Boys Championship at the Osoyoos Golf Club July 10, battling back from a five-stroke deficit to surge to capture the prestigious championship on the final day of the tournament.
Even though Scarrow made history on Day 3 by breaking the course record with a blazing 63, he still had to fight off leader Zaahindali “Ziggy” Nathu, who had been turning heads since rocketing to the lead on Day 2.
Scarrow did so with an impressive -3 round on Day four, as Ziggy crumpled and shot four over par.
The tournament started last Tuesday and wrapped up on Friday.
“It’s so amazing. This is the biggest win of my career and I’m so happy right now,” Scarrow said after his win in the top junior tournament in the province.
The four-day tournament saw 156 players from across the province compete for junior glory and a spot on B.C.’s junior team.
After Day 2 only the lowest 70 scores and those who tied were allowed to continue play over the final two days of competition.
And while most followed the stroke-by-stroke drama of Ziggy and Scarrow, a handful of local Zone 2 competitors were faithfully playing out their 72 holes, coming up against their own triumphs and struggles along the way.
Marcus Apchin, a 16-year-old based out of Kelowna, finished at +26 after four days, leaving him at the very bottom of the final 73 players.
“It’s probably my worst score since Grade 8,” he said with a good-humoured smile after leaving the course on Day 4.
“Today was tough, especially because my start was so rough. I can usually just put a wall behind the bad holes, just focus on making birdies and usually it comes around. Usually I can grind out a round even after that, but today— today was an exception,” he said with a laugh.
But despite his finish this year Apchin remains convinced he will win the tournament some day.
He started playing golf when he was just a kid, following in his brother’s footsteps. A seven-inch growth spurt left his swing in tatters in Grade 10, but he says he’s finally getting it back and genuinely believes he can win the junior tournament some day.
“I’m still 16 so I have a couple years left, and I honestly do think I can win this.”
Meanwhile, Terry Cousineau, a 17-year-old out of Kamloops, was simply happy to qualify for the tournament.
It was his second year competing, and last time he had bombed pretty badly.
He was even more excited when he made the cut going into Day 3, and happy with his respectable +9 finish after 72 holes, which left him tied for 37th place.
After his round last Friday, he said that he hadn’t been too confident coming in as he had been playing “pretty bad” for weeks leading up to the tournament. But he was able to focus and overall play a solid game.
“I was just trying to hit fairways and greens and trying to hit a couple of putts and see what happened,” he said.
Cousineau started the sport after getting Tiger Woods golf video game when he was eight years old. Shortly after getting the game he wrangled up some old clubs and started playing for real.
He started taking the game more seriously last year. He’s never had a coach, but has still managed a string of respectable finishes in local tournaments.
“I’m more of a feel player, I’ve made my own swing basically,” he said.
Having just graduated he plans to take a few years off and work before heading to college. Once there, he plans to see how far he can take golf.
Other Zone 2 competitors this year were Ryan Buchanan who finished at +14, Ryan Moon who finished at +21 and Brody Anjo who finished at +24. For a complete list of competitors and final standings visit britishcolumbiagolf.org.
Scarrow will be attending the University of Idaho on a golf scholarship starting in a few weeks in early September.
Nathu had a forgettable final round, shooting (+4) 76, including a crushing triple bogey on the 13th hole, which toppled him out of the lead. Nathu would finish at (-11) 277, while Callum Davison finished third at (-10) 278.
Becoming a provincial champion is something he will never forget, said Scarrow.
“I don’t think this will hit me until later tonight or even tomorrow,” said Scarrow. “It’s so amazing. This is the biggest win of my career and I’m so happy right now.”
It looked pretty bleak for Scarrow when Nathu birdied the first hole and took what seemed to be a commanding six-stroke lead. But that only served to motivate the eventual champion.
“Ziggy and I are really good friends and we talked a lot during the round,” said Scarrow. “After he made his birdie, I told him ‘You’re really going to make me work hard to track you down.’ I’m happy that I won, but it’s too bad Ziggy didn’t play better.”
Nathu took the loss in stride, even though he couldn’t hide his disappointment after holding such a big lead.
“It hurts pretty bad right now, I’m not going to lie to you,” he said. “That’s a pretty brutal way to lose it, but I have to look at the positives. I played three really good days and I had a tough go of it on the fourth day.”
Scarrow, Nathu and Davison will represent British Columbia at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship at Summerlea Golf & Country Club in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec from August 3 to 6.
TREVOR NICHOLS
Special to the Times
