Jared Dutoit needed a big round a bit of luck on the final day of the BC Junior Boys' Championships at the Revelstoke Golf Club on Friday. On the former he delivered, and on the latter, lady luck shined.
Dutoit, 18, from Kimberley, shot a tournament-best seven-under-par in the final round to put himself into a three-way playoff with Kevin Vigna, 17, and Jordan Lu, 15. Even with the impressive round, he had to watch nervously as Vigna, playing in the final group, had a chance of his own to win in regulation, but came up inches short on the 18th hole, and instead had to settle for the playoff.
"I guess that was unfortunate for him but kind of worked well for me and Jordan," said Dutoit.
The playoff took place on the par-four, 405-yard 16th hole. Lu lead off, hooking his drive onto the 18th fairway. Vigna sent his drive into the rough, while Dutoit sent his drive right into the fairway, 40 yards ahead of his competitors. He said the shot was his best of the tournament.
Lu was able to get back onto the right fairway with his approach shot, however he was unable to make up for his opening drive and finished with a bogey.
Meanwhile, Vigna delivered a great approach shot, while Dutoit missed his. They both wound up near each other next to the green.
Vigna's chip shot onto the green came up a little short and he two-putted for a bogey. Dutoit landed his chip shot a few metres from the hole. He stepped up and with his hands shaking he made the short putt for the win, delivering a fist pump as he watched his ball sink into the hole.
"I was so nervous. I was shaking, my hands were going crazy," he said. "I was able to hold it off. I had one of these a year and a half ago and I ended up losing a really close one, so I learned from that and pulled through today."
Dutoit went into the final round two shots behind Lu and Trevor Yu, and one shot behind Vigna. Yu shot a 73 on the day, placing him in a tie for fourth place overall. Yu shot an impressive 67, but it wasn't enough to hold off Vigna and Dutoit, who shot a 66 and 65 respectively.
"At the start of the day I knew I had to get a low one in because Jordan, Trevor and Kevin are real solid," said Dutoit. "I thought the number was going to be 66 but I made a nice putt on 18 to tie them and make the playoff."
Then came the playoff, and with a large crowd watching, Dutoit took the win, with a tournament score of -11.
"It feels great. It's kind of surreal right now," he said shortly after winning. "I don't think it's sunk in yet."
153 golfers aged 18 and under battled the tight Revelstoke golf course, and the intense heat that hovered near or above 30 C over the course of the four-day event. Dutoit said he "loved the course," and compared it to his home course in Kimberley.
"It fit me very well," he said. "As the greens firmed up and quickened up I started putting better and playing better."
Brady Blake, Revelstoke's lone competitor in the tournament, shot back-to-back +12s and didn't make the cut for the final two days of the tournament.
On the team side, the Kootenay zone, led by Dutoit, won the Zone championship, while the Marine Golf Club, where Lu and Yu play, won the club title.
After the tournament, Eric Breitkreuz, the tournament chair from Golf BC, thanked and praised the staff and volunteers from the Revelstoke Golf Club.
"It certainly was nice to be out and and see a lot of great golfing," he said.
John Franks, the club manager, thanked everyone from the club that helped put the tournament on. He said the tournament should help spread the word about the club.
"It was excellent, absolutely fantastic," he said. "(The tournament) means a lot. We being a drive-through, a highway stop, a lot of people of have driven past but not stopped. Many families have put us on the list to stop at. The word of mouth is great."