BATHURST, N.B. – Dawson Lew of Toronto, Ont., William Bellavance of I‘Isle-Verte, Que. and Austin Krahn of Christina Lakes, B.C. all carded rounds of 66 at Gowan Brae Golf & Country Club in Bathurst, N.B. on Tuesday to each share the first round lead at the 2025 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, presented by BDO.
The trio capitalized on cooler morning conditions to each enter the clubhouse with the 18-hole lead on Tuesday, overtaking Henry Dao of La Prairie, Que. who originally set the pace at 3-under. Dao, who claimed the NextGen Quebec Championship in July, sits one stroke back of the leaders in fourth and will tee off in the afternoon on Wednesday. Zaiden Dennis of Calgary, Alta. fired a 3-under 67 as well to end his opening round in a tie with Dao.
Bellavance was the first of the three leaders to get to 4-underand entered the final two holes of his round with a three-stroke lead on the rest of the field before consecutive bogeys Nos. 17 and 18 reeled him back.
A 5-under front nine, including three-straight birdies on holes four, five and six, powered Bellavance atop the leaderboard on Tuesday to get him in the mix entering Wednesday’s second round.
His ability to capitalize with the flatstick was the key separator for Bellavance throughout his opening round, admittedly feeling less stress while avoiding dropped shots on the greens. Still, the Quebec native’s perspective remains unchanged with the bulk of the tournament still ahead of him, opting to stick with his preparation and process ahead of Wednesday to attain similar results later in the week.
“I’ve just played 18 holes and I’ve got 54 more to go, so I hope to be at the same position after 72,” commented Bellavance following his round. “Just going to keep doing my routines, keep getting my process in the right spot and just don’t think about the score too much.”
Teeing off at the same time as Bellavance, albeit on the tenth hole rather than the first, Lew was able to work around the only blemish of his round at the par-4 12th to get atop the leaderboard through 18 holes. His four birdies and 12 pars the rest of the way highlighted an impressive response from the Torontonian, helping Team Ontario grab the early lead in the process at the Inter-Provincial Team Championship.
Team British Columbia (B.C.) sits two shots behind and largely through the help of their Team Canada NextGen star Krahn. Starting his round in the morning with four consecutive pars, Krahn finally got into red figures with birdies on Nos. 14 and 16 to begin his climb up the leaderboard.
The putts continued to fall as Krahn worked through his back nine as well, adding back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth before entering the clubhouse on a high with a birdie at the ninth to co-lead the tournament for a second year in a row. His only dropped shot on Tuesday came on the par-4 seventh hole and kept Krahn in the hunt to nab his fourth victory of the year come Friday.
Krahn pocketed a trio of provincial victories in July to highlight a memorable first year as part of the Team Canada NextGen program, including wins at the British Columbia Junior Championship, British Columbia Amateur and British Columbia Indigenous Championship.
In the Juvenile Boys Championship, Lew holds a two-shot lead over Bode Stephen of Kingston, Ont. and Bosheng (Dylan) Zhang of Tsawwassen, B.C. Stephen parlayed a bogey-free 2-under front nine with an even back to get within two stokes of Lew, who will look to become the 12th player in the tournament’s history to claim both the Juvenile and Junior Championship in the same year.
Since 1938, the Canadian Junior Boys Championship has brought together the top junior talent in the country for four rounds of entertaining competition. Those to have previously claimed the Silver Cup have gone on to serve memorable careers in the game of golf, including Canadian Golf Hall of Famers Doug Silverberg (1950), George Knudson (1955), Gary Cowan (1956) and Doug Roxburgh (1970), as well as current PGA TOUR stars Nick Taylor and Adam Svensson who each won the tournament in 2006 and 2012 respectively.
The 16-and-under Juvenile Championship runs concurrently with the Junior Championship and has featured in the tournament since 1970, with the winner receiving the Jack Bailey Trophy.
To view the full leaderboard in each of the two divisions as well as the Inter-Provincial Team Competition following the opening round of the 2025 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, presented by BDO please click here.
GOLF CANADA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Golf Canada annually conducts more than 30 golf competitions and qualifiers nation-wide – including 11 National Amateur Championships – which play host to more than 3,000 domestic and international athletes from all corners of the world. In partnership with our host clubs, thousands of volunteers, provincial golf associations and our proud sponsors, Golf Canada is dedicated to supporting player development through world-class competition since our inception in 1895. Officiated by certified Canadian Rules of Golf officials, Golf Canada’s amateur competitions are fully compliant with golf’s international governing bodies and include marquee events such as the Canadian Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships as well as the Canadian Junior Girls and Junior Boys Championships. Golf Canada’s amateur championships are proudly supported by BDO Canada, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Titleist, FootJoy, Coca-Cola, Sport Canada, and Levelwear. For more information and scheduling visit www.golfcanada.ca/competitions-calendar/.
ABOUT GOLF CANADA
Golf Canada is the National Sports Federation and governing body for golf in Canada representing over 360,000 golfers and 1,522 member clubs across the country. A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada’s mission is to increase Canadian participation and excellence in golf. By investing in the growth of the sport and introducing more participants of all ages to the game, our vision is to be a world leader in golf. For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit www.golfcanada.ca/.
Media Contact
Mario Russo
Intern, Media & Public Relations
Golf Canada
647-546-4460
mrusso@golfcanada.ca