Squamish’s Ollie Rizun proved he can play with the big boys on the links this past Saturday and Sunday (June 21 and 22).
The 17-year-old competed in the B.C. Men’s Zone 4 Amateur, also known as the Vancouver Amateur, and placed 15th overall.
“I played better with the men than with the juniors,” he stated, referring to the successive rounds of 75 and 77 he shot at the B.C. High School Provincials, which took place at the ƵappValley Golf Course (SVGC) in May.
Rizun shot 74 (two over) on Saturday at King’s Links in Delta, finishing tied for 17th, which allowed him to easily make the cut for Day 2. He continued his strong play on Sunday at Beach Grove in Tsawwassen, where he shot 73. The two days qualified him for the B.C. Men’s Amateur in July.
He said he couldn’t have performed so well without his coaches.
“I felt that things came together for me at the right time this weekend,” he told the Ƶapp in an email. “I heeded [coach] Charlie Maxwell’s advice and spent some time on the range this week and I think that really helped. I also have been spending some time with my other coach Rob Houlding. I started working with Rob a couple months ago and he’s really helped my game.”
Rizun is a junior member at ƵappValley Golf Club and is Grade 12 at Howe Sound Secondary School in the fall. Rizun was a part of the Sounders team that placed sixth at the provincials in May and tied with teammate Isshin Chiyasu for the lowest overall score among all Sounders at the event.
He plays in the B.C. Men’s Amateur on July 15 to 18 at Seymour Golf and Country Club in North Vancouver. He also joins local junior golfers Yamato and Isshin Chiyasu to play in the B.C. Juniors July 8 to 11 at Meadow Gardens in Pitt Meadows.