Michael Belle of Burnaby lost a five-hole playoff at the 112th B.C. Amateur men’s golf championships on Friday.
The Simon Fraser University senior tied for first place with Jordan Lu of Vancouver, who birdied the 558-yard, par 5 18th hole to force a sudden-death playoff at the Seymour Golf and Country Club. Both golfers finished the 72-hole championship at even-par 284.
Lu got his chance in the playoff on the 10th, making par after Belle bogeyed the hole.
Lu caught up to Belle, who led or was tied for the lead for the first three rounds, following a two-under-par 69 on the final day. Belle shot a two-over-par 73 in the final round.
Belle, 22, opened the B.C. Am with a 69 and maintained at least a share of the lead with back-to-back par-71s heading into the final 18 holes with a three-shot lead over his nearest competitor.
Burnaby teenager Alex Francois shot his best round of the championships – a two-under 69 - finishing in a tie for fourth place with Adam Svensson both two shots back at 286.
Francois, 16, posted rounds of 70, 76, 71, 69 to finish a single shot back of third-place Jacob Vanderpas of Vancouver.
Lu, Belle and Vanderpas will represent B.C. at the Canadian men’s amateur championships in Winnipeg in August.
Francois and fellow junior Roy Kang of North Vancouver, 15, beat out 64 other teams to win the best-ball competition, held in conjunction with the B.C. amateur.
Francois and Kang combined for a 19-under-par 265, including 19 birdies, that included a hole-in-one by the Burnaby high school student on opening day.
St. Thomas More Collegiate grad Kevin Vigna finished tied for 27th place at 300. Connor Rosenlund of Burnaby finished the 72-hole competition with a 307 total.
Lucas Gatto and Kevin Li of Burnaby both missed the 36-hole cutoff.
