Krahn wins his own Triple Crown in B.C.
by Brad Ziemer
Three weeks. Three British Columbia Golf championships. How is your July going? Probably not as well as Austin Krahn’s.
The 17-year-old phenom from Christina Lake, B.C. completed a remarkable run as he won his third straight B.C. Indigenous Championship at the St. Eugene Golf Resort in Cranbrook.
The win followed the previous week’s triumph at the B.C. Amateur Championship at Bootleg Gap in Kimberley and his second straight B.C. Junior Boys’ title the previous week at Quilchena Golf & Country Club in Richmond.
Krahn made it look easy as he closed the 36-hole Indigenous Championship with a four-under 68 to finish at 10-under par. That was eight shots better than John Monture of the Six Nations reserve in Ontario.
Krahn, who is a member of the Canadian National Team, is believed to be the first person to hold three B.C. Golf championships at the same time. The fact he won them in consecutive weeks makes the accomplishment even more remarkable.
“It’s been a special three weeks,” Krahn said. “Three provincial championships in a year is phenomenal, let alone in a span of three weeks. It’s really, really special. I am not sure how many people have done that.”
Told that no one had, Krahn smiled and said, “It’s pretty special to be in that position and have that honor, so I am very grateful.”
Krahn called his final round at St. Eugene eventful. “Honestly, it was a weird round of golf,” he said. “We hit it all over the place, saw a lot of the golf course, missed some really short putts, made an eagle, made lots of birdies. It was pretty interesting.”
Monture, who began the day five shots behind Krahn, made a bit of a run on the front nine and briefly cut Krahn’s lead to two shots. “I was kind of struggling on the front nine,” Krahn said. “I think I made three bogeys in the first eight holes. I think he was at three-under so he was making a bit of run and got to within two, I think, and then I eagled nine and that kind of opened it up again.”
Krahn then took his act on the road, where he is chasing a couple of national championships. He competed in the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, which was held July 28-31 at Royal Ottawa Club, and where he finished tied for 14th. He will also compete in the Canadian Junior Boys’ Championship, which will be played Aug. 12-15 at Gowan Brae Golf & Country Club in Bathurst, N.B.
He headed east knowing his game is in good shape. “It’s hard not to be feeling good right now,” he said. “I am playing great golf and I think for the last three tournaments I am 38-under par. When you hear a number like that over any span of time it’s pretty good. I’d like to maybe work out a couple things with the putter the next couple of days, but the game is in a great spot.”
Krahn plays annually in the Indigenous championship to honor the native heritage of his ‘Nana,’ his maternal grandmother who lives in the Okanagan. “I was playing for her this week and through that to show my love for my heritage and for her,” Krahn said.
Cody Bailey of Prince George finished third at three-over par, Dillon Paquette of Dawson Creek was fourth at five-over and Jerome Thorne of Radium Hot Springs was fifth at six-over.
As the top four British Columbia finishers, Krahn, Bailey, Paquette and Thorne qualify to play for B.C. in the Indigenous team matches with Ontario in September.
