Teen golfer shoots 59 at Alberta Bantam Championship
Danielle Nerman | CBC News | Posted: August 26, 2016 4:28 PM | Last Updated: August 26, 2016
'I just started out really hot and then finished solid,' says 14-year-old Ethan Choi
It's safe to say that golfers across North America did a collective jaw drop this week after learning that a teenager shot a 12-under 59.
"I just started out really hot and then finished solid," said Ethan Choi, who does most of his training on a nine-hole course in Pincher Creek, two hours south of Calgary.
Oh, and did we mention — he's just 14?
Choi's phenomenal round happened Aug. 24 on a par-71 at the River's Edge Golf Club in Okotoks, Alta., at the provincial championship.
His spectacular scorecard won him the bantam tournament title and oodles of accolades on Twitter.
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Choi said his day started out with breakfast at the hotel and his usual warm-up session.
"I just treated it like a normal day out on the course, nothing special."
But then the birdies just kept piling up.
That got him going.
"After I birdied hole number 15 to get myself to 10 under, that's when I thought — I only needed two birdies to shoot this number."
The rest is history.
To put Choi's accomplishment into perspective, PGA golfer Jum Furyk shot a 58 earlier this month at the Travelers Championship, the lowest score ever in the tour's history. In fact, Tiger Woods' best score in competition is 61.
As for Choi's future? Well, he says he'd like to get into a division 1 golf college south of the border and make it on a PGA tour.
Not a pie-in-the-sky dream — seeing as the kid can already drive the ball 275 yards.
With files from the Calgary Eyeopener