An eventful summer of golf for one of 琉璃神社's most promising young players continues this week in Pemberton.
The 琉璃神社 Golf and Country Club's Tiegan Taylor is among 40 players competing at the B.C. Junior Girls Golf Championship which began Tuesday at Big Sky Golf Club.
Taylor is coming off a strong finish last week at the B.C. women's amateur golf championship in Tsawwassen.
Taylor, competing against mostly older and more experienced players, carded a final round of four-under par 68 on Friday at the Beach Grove Golf and Country, the lowest score of the day among 37 players who made the cut.
The 17-year-old Taylor finished in a tie for 14th place with a 303 total. Kylie Jack of Two Eagles was 17th at 305, while the Harvest Club's Madison Kapchinsky came in 18th at 306.
Following the B.C. junior girls championship this week, Taylor will head south to play in the USGA junior national tournament, July 18 to 23 in New Jersey.
She qualified for the American tourney after finishing first in a qualifier last month in Boise, Idaho.
Taylor's swing coach, the Harvest Club's Sean Richardson, said the young golfer continues to progress in all aspects of her game.
"Tiegan's success this season is really a progression on the improvements she's made over the last few years," Richardson said. "She works on her strength and fitness all winter and has a golf simulator in her garage which allows her to hit balls year round.
"This summer, she's been making very good contact with the ball," he added. "She's also gained considerable yardage with all of her clubs over the last two seasons."
With her performances at both the USGA qualifier and the B.C. amateur, Taylor has also earned her share of attention from NCAA golf programs.
"She now has several schools quite interested and will be able to choose between a few different options," said Richardson. "I've been quite fortunate to have coached several girls who have played and won at that level and believe Tiegan will do quite well."
Later this summer, Taylor will compete in the Canadian junior girls championship Aug. 2 to 5 in Nova Scotia.
The summer season began on the right foot for Taylor who won the Okanagan Zone 2 junior girls title in early June at Gallagher's Canyon.
Her dominance of the junior circuit continued earlier this month at the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour's Ford Series at the Dunes in Kamloops.
Taylor's winning two-day score of 147 (77-70) was 12 shots better than runner-up Rhiannon Jones of West 琉璃神社.
