OTTAWA, Ont. – If the second round was an all-Italian affair yesterday, it is Canada that led the charge on moving day at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Ottawa, where the third round of play for the World Junior Girls Championship took place. 

Vancouver product Tiffany Kong led the way for Team Canada One, who registered an aggregate score of 10-under 134, halving their deficit to 10 strokes back of tourney leaders Italy. The Italian trio of Caterina Don, Alessia Nobilio and Emilie Paltrinieri cooled off after their torrid opening rounds to notch a team score of one over par (145). They saw their comfortable 10-stroke lead dwindle to a single shot over the USA, who sit at 15 under thanks to a stellar third round of 9 under par (135).

Team Thailand also had a solid outing with a 139 and sit third in the team standings. Canada One is only three strokes back of the Thai team and within reach of their first World Junior Girls medal since 2014.

In the individual competition, Italy’s Nobilio scored a team-best 69 (-3) today to maintain her seven-stroke lead over American Zoe Campos, who shot a tournament-low 65 to grab a share of second with Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand at 8 under for the championship.

“I did really well, yeah… my irons were pretty good, and I was making a lot of putts today,” said the soft-spoken California native Campos.

“Eighteen was my favourite hole today… I pushed my drive into the last right bunker, had about 130 in, and I hit 8-iron within 15 feet of the pin and made that put. Always nice to finish with a birdie,” concluded Campos.   

Kong had the low round of the day going for a large portion of the contest, a superb score of 66 which featured five consecutive birdies to kick off her round.

“I started off really well, five birdies in a row and I kept the good play going, hit my pars. On the back nine, I thought it’s a new nine holes, so I just wanted to keep it steady since the back nine is very hard,” said the 17 year-old Kong, who moves into a tie for 8th.  

Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame Ile Perrot, Que., leads the way for the Canadians through 54 holes in a tie for 5th at 4 under par. American Brooke Seay is 4th at 7 under. 

Canada’s Emily Zhu (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Sarah Beqaj (Toronto, Ont.) and Lauren Kim (Surrey, B.C.) who make up Canada Two, are in 18th place, shooting a team score of 12 over in round three.

The World Junior Girls Championship is conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with Golf Ontario and supported by the R&A and the International Golf Federation. Recognized as an ‘A’ ranked event by the World Amateur Golf Rankings, the World Junior Girls Championship is in its fifth edition.

Full results and tournament information can be found here.  

Admission to the competition is free. Additional information regarding the fifth annual World Junior Girls Championship can be found on the competition’s website.

NOTE TO MEDIA: A selection of images from the first round of the World Junior Girls Championship can be downloaded here. When making use of the images, please credit (Golf Canada/ Golf Ontario).

2018 WORLD JUNIOR GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP – TOP 20 INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

1. Alessia Nobilio, Italy, *66-66-69-201 -15

2. Zoe  Campos, United States, *70-73-65-208 -8

2. Atthaya Thitikul, Thailand, *68-71-69-208 -8

4. Brooke Seay, United States, *68-71-70-209 -7

5. Céleste Dao, Canada 1, *73-71-68-212 -4

5. Candice Mahe, France, *74-70-68-212 -4

7. Elena Moosmann, Switzerland, *72-73-69-214 -2

8. Caterina Don, Italy, *73-66-76-215 -1

8. Tiffany Kong, Canada 1, *73-76-66-215 -1

8. Kultida Pramphun, Thailand, *70-75-70-215 -1

11. Ingrid Lindblad, Sweden, *71-71-74-216 E

12. Ho-Yu An, Chinese Taipei, *72-72-73-217 +1

12. Yu Ping Huang, Chinese Taipei, *71-74-72-217 +1

14. Mathilde Delavallade, France, *74-69-75-218 +2

14. Michaela Morard, United States, *73-73-72-218 +2

14. Maja Stark, Sweden, *75-70-73-218 +2

17. Marina Escobar, Spain, *74-71-74-219 +3

18. Klara Wildhaber, Switzerland, *76-73-71-220 +4

18. Jie Ming Yang , China, *77-70-73-220 +4

20. Kan Bunnabodee, Thailand, *73-75-73-221 +5

20. Annabel Wilson, Ireland, *73-73-75-221 +5

2018 WORLD JUNIOR GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP – TEAM RESULTS

1   Italy           139-132-145–416 -16 

2   United States   138-144-135–417 -15 

3   Thailand        138-146-139–423 -9  

4   Canada 1        146-146-134–426 -6  

5   France          148-139-140–427 -5  

6   Sweden          146-141-146–433 +1  

T7  Chinese Taipei  143-146-145–434 +2  

T7  Switzerland     148-146-140–434 +2  

9   Denmark         145-151-148–444 +12 

T10 England         152-146-149–447 +15 

T10 Ireland         147-149-151–447 +15 

12  Spain           154-144-151–449 +17 

13  China           150-151-149–450 +18 

14  Czech Republic  151-149-152–452 +20 

15  Belgium         154-149-151–454 +22 

16  Mexico          154-149-152–455 +23 

17  Scotland        158-153-146–457 +25 

18  Canada 2        159-151-156–466 +34 

19  Colombia        160-164-152–476 +44 

ABOUT THE WORLD JUNIOR GIRLS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
The World Junior Girls Golf Championship is an annual event conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with Golf Ontario. The international competition features three-player teams of 18-and-under athletes. As host country, Canada will field two of the tournament’s 20 teams competing over 72 holes for both individual and team honours. The event receives funding from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport; Ottawa Tourism; the Golf Canada Foundation (Women’s Golf Fund); Sport Canada; the R&A; and Levelwear. Admission and parking for the World Junior Girls Golf Championship is free. For more information, visit www.worldjuniorgirls.com.

GOLF ONTARIO
Golf Ontario is Ontario’s Provincial Sport Organization focused on enhancing participation, elevating performance and supporting the passion of golfers in Ontario. With over 100,000 individual members and 450 member clubs, Golf Ontario is one of the largest golf associations in the world. From rating courses and keeping the integral rules of the game intact, to growing the game at the grassroots level and hosting the best amateur tournaments in Canada, Golf Ontario is a passionate group dedicated to shaping lives through golf.

GOLF CANADA
Golf Canada is the National Sports Federation and governing body for golf in Canada representing 319,000 golfers and 1,400 member clubs across the country. A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada’s mission is to grow participation, excellence and passion in the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. By investing in the growth of the sport and introducing more participants of all ages to the game, our goal is to be relevant to and respected by all Canadian golf enthusiasts from coast to coast. For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit www.golfcanada.ca.

For more information:

Tyler Costigan
Manager, Content & Community
Golf Canada
(t) 1-800-263-0009 x 315
(e) tcostigan@golfcanada.ca