When Natasha Kozlowski entered the B.C. novice girls golf championship in Chilliwack last week, she was only teeing off for the experience.
Two days later, the 13-year-old secured the title and a crystal bowl and gold medal to go along with it.
"I was surprised to win, it was tough competition," she said Tuesday outside the clubhouse at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club, her home track. "Those girls play 12 months of the year and I only play five months. It was fun to play with them."
The two-day tournament at Meadowlands Golf and Country Club, Aug. 21-22, was the first time the B.C. novice girls (14-and-under) division was contested. The field featured seven girls between the ages of 10 and 14.
Kozlowski was the only competitor from B.C.'s interior, while the remainder were from Surrey, Maple Ridge, West Vancouver and Burnaby.
In two rounds, Kozlowski fired gross scores of 90 and 83, earning 91 points using the Stableford Scoring System. The system, a form of stroke play, awards points based on a golfer's net score on each hole. The golfer with the highest number of points - not the low total - wins.
Kozlowski beat Sienna Kraus of Maple Ridge's Swan-e-set Bay Resort by 10 points. Claire Lovan of Surrey's Eaglequest - Coyote Creek was third with 78 points.
"In the first round, I had a bad front nine, but I made up for it on the back nine," said Kozlowski, who sat in third place after Round 1. "In the second round, I tried to be more relaxed and not as nervous and I played with the same girl as I did in Round 1. I shot a practice round of 82 on Wednesday so I knew I could shoot in the low-80s."
With fatigue from travel and an early tee time the day before starting to set in on the 15th hole of the second round, Kozlowski wasn't sure of where she stood against the competition.
"I just kept playing my own game," she said. "I didn't know the score the last couple of holes."
She was also consistently driving the ball down the middle of the fairways on her tee shots, making her approach shots easier.
"My putting was pretty good too and the greens were slow," she said. "I found them easier to read than here in Prince George. There were small greens, weren't a lot of hazards."
What also helped Kozlowski was the fact she was competing against girls of similar ages. She has always teed off with the boys (like her dad or brother) or women (like her mom) twice her age or older.
With a handicap of 22, and as the only youth golfer in the field, she has twice won the overall low-net title (2013 and 2014) at the Ladies Simon Fraser Open championship at the PGGCC.
"I've never played with girls before," she said. "I had a lot of fun and it wasn't intimidating."
Kozlowski, who turned 13 earlier this month, is going into Grade 8 at College Heights secondary. She has played on the fairways for the last five years.
This summer, Kozlowski participated in the junior program at the PGGCC where she improved her game, bringing her handicap down from 33 at the beginning of the year to 22 where it is now.
Her instructor at the PGGCC, golf pro Ann Holmes, likes Kozlowski's game.
"She is a hard-working up-and-comer and she is really starting to work on all aspects of her game," said Holmes, the junior coordinator at the club. "She hits the ball very long and also has a nice touch around the greens. She raises her mental toughness in tournaments and plays her best golf at big events. She has a bright future."
Kozlowski will continue to hone her game until the first snowflakes fall on the fairways at the PGGCC.
