By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Austin Krahn was about 10 years old when his parents bought the local par 3 course in Christina Lake. It was a dream come true for a kid who had already caught the golf bug.

“You think, oh, man, how nice would it be to live on a golf course and all that and then they go buy a par 3 course,” Krahn said. “For me, if I’ve got 15 minutes of free time I can just get out there and hit some chips, hit some putts. You’re always practising and it keeps you in a groove.”

All that practice and playing on the family’s Cascade Par 3 Course the past few years is paying dividends for Krahn, who has developed into one of British Columbia’s top junior golfers. He’s also now a two-time winner of the B.C. Indigenous Championship.

The 16-year-old Krahn entered the final round at University Golf Club in Vancouver with a five-shot lead and that turned out to be his margin of victory.

He wasn’t overly excited about his final round — a four-over 75 — but delighted to repeat as winner of a tournament he calls special. “It feels really good to win, especially going back to back, and it means a whole lot,” he said.

“This is maybe the most fun tournament of the whole year because of the atmosphere. Everyone is so nice. It’s not the most competitive event I play in, but there is enough competitiveness to make it a lot of fun. I can’t think of a better tournament in terms of camaraderie.”

Krahn, who also won last year’s B.C. Juvenile Boys Championship, opened the Indigenous tourney with a four-under 67. His final round had some ups and downs, but Krahn was proud of the way he handled any adversity.

“I bounced back really well this week,” he said. “I had one bogey yesterday and followed that up with an eagle and then today I made a double on 13 and followed that up with two birdies on 14 and 15. Instead of compounding my mistakes, I came back really nice. That’s probably the thing I did the best.”

The B.C. Indigenous Championship has turned into a family affair for the Krahn family. Austin’s two older brothers, David and Mitchell, also play in the event and their parents caddy for them.
Austin, who will attempt to add to his B.C. championship bounty when he plays in the B.C. Junior Boys and B.C. Amateur this summer, was happy he could win without his ‘A game’ in the final round.

“Today, my ball-striking wasn’t as good,” said Krahn, who finished the 36-hole event at even-par. “I was missing approach shots from 130 yards. I got it up and down most of the time, but I just could not hit greens and a couple of tee shots went wayward and kind of set me off.”

It helped that Krahn’s pursuers could not put any pressure on him. Harry Ferguson a former B.C. Senior Men’s champion from Invermere, finished second at five-over.

“We were joking on the first tee,” Ferguson said. “I told him I was way more than triple his age. I was impressed with his play. He’s very mature for his age.”

James Ivers of Surrey closed with the day’s best round — a two-over 73 — and finished third at six-over par. Cody Bailey of Prince George and Mike Morgan of Penticton tied for fourth at seven-over.

The men’s net Stableford competition was won by David Krahn of Christina Lake. Josh Charles of Victoria was second, while Jay Gladish of Burnaby and Cyler Point of Vancouver tied for third.

Click HERE to see complete final scoring.