Richmond’s Diego San Pedro captured the B.C. Juvenile Boys Championship in dramatic fashion last week at the Royalwood Golf Course in Chilliwack.
The Steveston-London secondary student rallied to defeat Jaewook Lee in a playoff.
San Pedro’s extra a hole tee shot found the middle of the fairway, while Lee drained his into the water hazard. His opponent's error and added stroke left the 16-year-old some breathing room despite eventually bogeying the hole.
“I knew I had a good chance (to win) because going into the final Jaewook was 4-under and I was -2, and I felt a little pumped on the first tee so that's always a good start. It's good to pull it off in the end," San Pedro said.
After sitting comfortably in third place and within strokes of the lead on both days one and two, the Shaughnessy Golf Club junior made a surge for the title with just a few holes remaining to play.
He forced the playoff thanks to a final round that included an eagle and two birdies that left him tied for first at 6-under. He fired rounds of 69-73-68.
“On hole 14, the par-5, I had a chip and I told them to take the flag out because I knew I had a chance to chip it in and it went in,” he added.
“So I fist pumped a little bit and that got me going real fast, the adrenaline started coming and I finished strong.”
Lee (72-68-70), 15, led after the second round and remained even at the turn, but applied some pressure with a pair of late-round birdies to hold on to his share of the lead and force the playoff. Other local scores included Richmond Country Club’s Nicolas Miu (70-79-76) finishing 19th, while Michael Crisologo of Marine Drive was 20th (82-72-72).
The victory capped a busy competitive season for San Pedro which began by helping Steveston-London finish second at the B.C. Secondary Schools Golf Championships. He also placed 13th overall at the B.C. Junior Boys Championship and played for Team B.C. at last month’s 42nd annual America’s Cup which was held on his home course.
San Pedro fired rounds of 78-74-78 to finished tied for 15th in the 71-player field that included competitors from 12 western states, two Canadian provinces and Mexico.
