Jared du Toit wins BC junior boys golf championship in Revelstoke

Du Toit secures a spot at Canadian Junior Golf Championships in Ontario

Nearly a decade of golf prepared 18-year-old Jared du Toit of Kimberley, B.C., for his win at the BC Junior Boys’ Golf Championship on July 5. Taking place at the Revelstoke Golf Club, the four-day championship consisted of four rounds of regulation play followed by a playoff, where du Toit two-putted to victory over his playoff competitors, Jordan Lu and Kevin Vigna.

“It was on Hole 16 at Revelstoke, and I was second to tee off out of the three of us,” said du Toit. “The first guy, Jordan, hooked his tee shot into the left rough and ended up with a really bad lie. Then I went up and I had my best drive of the tournament. Then Kevin teed off and hooked his too. I was sitting well after the tee-off, but then when Kevin and I punched up, we both missed the green. Me and Kevin ended up in this chip-off for the championship, he had a bad chip and I had a good one, so I ended up taking it.”

A humble attitude

Du Toit had high hopes for the tournament, though he was still shocked at the win.

“It hadn’t really sunk in,” he said. “When I was standing over the four-footer for par, I thought to myself, ‘Just try and hole this in, don’t miss this.’ Then when it went in I was just kind of in shock, like ‘Wow, this is over, I won.’ It’s crazy.”

Having played at a variety of tournaments prior to the junior championship—including his qualifying win at the BC ‘A’ High School Championship—du Toit had his fair share of experience with playoff nerves. However, something at Revelstoke ended up being slightly different.

“In my recent history with playoffs, I had been very nervous with my game,” du Toit said, “but this time, I was just happy that I had played well in the tournament to get to the playoff. I just went out there knowing that I had done really well to get there and that it didn’t really matter what happened from that point on.”

Representing BC at nationals

Though he ended up winning the championship, du Toit had already achieved his goals for the tournament by breaking the top three in the fourth round before the playoffs.

“My goal going there was to make the Canadian Junior provincial team for B.C.—that’s made of the top three junior players at the championship,” said du Toit. “So I went in and I was leading in the second round, but I kind of stepped back during round three and didn’t do as well, but then I played really well in round four and worked myself into the playoff. I made a nice little par in playoff, and that was nice and got me the win.”

Du Toit will be accompanied by Lu and Vigna at the Canadian Junior Golf Championships in Garson, Ontario, from July 30 to August 2, 2013.

“Me, Kevin, and Jordan will represent B.C. at the Canadian junior championship,” said du Toit. “The tournament is going to be kind of like a Canadian provincial team championship, with a bunch of small teams from each province competing against each other.”

Family support

Du Toit’s golf career began at the young age of eight when his family relocated from Calgary to Kimberley, where he first started to really get into the game.

“I started really taking to golf and I just developed and played more and more and turned into a better player,” said du Toit. “Over the years I’ve gotten lessons from a few different guys, but right now my coach is Tom Vold—he’s the head pro at the Kimberley Golf Club.”

Possibly even more important to his game than du Toit’s coach is the support he gets from his family.

“Both of my parents have shown me so much support over the years,” said du Toit. “I couldn’t do it without them, for sure.”

Du Toit is looking forward to a future of golf at the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he has been signed to play for their NCAA Division 1 golf team. Still, he has dreams for more than that.

“I’ll just be playing there and developing as a player,” said du Toit. “After four or five years of college golf, if I have the chance to take it to the professional level, I will certainly give it a try.”

Be sure to follow du Toit at the Canadian Boys’ Junior Golf Championship and then in Victoria for the Canadian Amateur Golf Championship from August 6 to 9 at Royal Colwood Golf Club and Gorge Vale Golf Club.