Alex Francois of Burnaby is the toast of the Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club.
The Moscrop Secondary School junior bettered the best of the best at the prestigious private Vancouver golf club, winning the two-day Gold Cup interclub event with a two-under-par 144 on June 2.
Francois fired twin rounds of one-under 72 to finish in a share of top spot on the leaderboard.
The Grade 10 west Burnaby student took the lead on the final day with an eagle two on the par-4 305 14th hole with a cool 30-foot putt.
He then bogeyed the 16th and came home in par. But it took a playoff before he could finally be proclaimed the winner.
Francois parred the 370-yard par-4 second hole to win the event playoff, which every year invites the best players from the Shaughnessy club to take part in the annual spring competition.
He's pretty sure he is the youngest player to ever win the coveted gold cup.
This year, 102 golfers took part in the event.
"It's like you feel the weight go out of your chest. It's great to win like that," said Francois. "He (my playoff rival) seemed a little bit disappointed to lose to a 15-year-old."
Francois comes across his talent naturally. As a youth, he finished tied for fifth place in the boys' nine-and-under division at the U.S. Kids world golf championships in Pinehurst, North Carolina in 2007.
But Francois says this is the biggest accomplishment so far.
"Out of all those events, this is one of the biggest ones," he said. "I haven't won a lot of tournaments recently and was losing a little of my confidence a bit.
"I'm very happy with the eagle putt. I knew I had to make it. I got through the challenge. I'm very happy with my win."
Francois was not the only one delighted by the surprise outcome.
"There are no strokes, no handicap play, it's mano-amano," said Shaughnessy assistant pro Lindsay Bernakevitch. "It was a very tough course."
The Shaughnessy course, which has played host to five Canadian Opens, including the last one in 2011, was doctored for cup play, said Bernakevitch, including championship pin placements on the 7,010-yard course.
"It was nice to see a young guy come out on top," he said.
FranÂois is expecting to compete at the B.C. junior and B.C. amateur championships later this summer, and if he does well, perhaps the Canadian amateur as well, he said.
"I feel very confident. I told myself to trust every shot," Francois said.
