Dawson Lew fired a 2-under 68 on Friday to claim titles in Junior Boys Championship and Juvenile Boys Championship; Team Ontario wins Inter-Provincial Team Championship
BATHURST, N.B. – Dawson Lew of Toronto, Ont. became the 12th player to ever capture both the Junior and Juvenile Boys Championship title on Friday to sweep the Canadian Junior Boys Championship, presented by BDO, and add an historic close to a thrilling 72-holes of golf at Gowan Brae Golf & Country Club in Bathurst, N.B.
The 54-hole leader finished his final round in red figures for the third time this week, with a 2-under 68 to close the tournament with rounds of 66-65-70-68=269, finishing11-under and securing both the Silver Cup (Junior Boys trophy) and Jack Bailey Trophy (Juvenile Boys trophy). Lew is the first player to accomplish the brace since Alex Zhang of Richmond, B.C. in 2023 at North Bay Golf and Country Club in North Bay, Ont.
“To be etched on both trophies forever it’s a true honour,” said Lew following his round. “Not many people have done this before, and I think it’s a true privilege to have done it this week.”
His only major setback in the week came on holes 12 and 13, combining to shoot 4-over during his final two rounds to lose ground on the field and allow Oakley Mayner of Kelowna, B.C. to move into contention on both occasions. Following the third round, Lew admitted to straying away from his full commitment to each one of his shots on the two holes, but was able to quickly mitigate the damage with birdies at Nos. 14 and 18 to end his round at even par.
On Friday, Lew held a four-stroke lead over Mayner approaching the 12th hole, parlaying birdies on Nos. 1, 8 and 10 with eight par putts to get to 12-under. Consecutive bogeys at the par-4 12th and 13th resulted in a three-shot swing against the leader, with Mayner pulling to within one stroke of Lew after converting on his birdie attempt at the 13th.
Similar to how he responded to adversity on Thursday, Lew rolled in a birdie of his own at the par-five 14th to answer back, gaining another stroke on Mayner after the B.C. native dropped a shot to fall three shots back at 8-under. Another bogey from Mayner at the par-4 16th extended Lew’s advantage to four, with the latter staying in control by rallying four-straight parrs on his way out to claim the first national championship of his career.
“Going into today, my goal was to be committed to every shot and take every shot with one hundred per cent effort, I think I did a good job of that today,” praised Lew following his round. “After 12 and 13 I just reminded myself to keep playing. I know what my abilities are, and I know I can make a couple birdies coming down the stretch.”
Lew joins a list of accomplished winners at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship, including Canadian Golf Hall of Famers Doug Silverberg (1950 Champion), George Knudson (1955 Champion), Gary Cowan (1956 Champion) and Doug Roxburgh (1970 Champion), as well as current PGA TOUR stars Nick Taylor and Adam Svensson who each won the tournament in 2006 and 2012 respectively.
“It’s really special. I know those guys started out here and started out small, gradually became bigger and that’s my goal. To be mentioned in the same sentence as both TOUR winners, I think is really special,” said Lew.
Friday’s victory secures Lew a spot in both the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship and 121st Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship in 2026. The Toronto native placed fifth individually at the 120th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship in July and will have the opportunity to make his third appearance at Canada’s oldest amateur sporting event next summer.
The win also marks Lew’s second domestic title of 2025 and first since edging out his provincial teammate Spencer Shropshire of Ramara, Ont. by a single stroke at the Junior Boys Spring Classic in May. Both victories add to an impressive year from Lew that includes four other individual titles in the United States in addition to capturing both a Willingdon Cup and Junior Inter-Provincial Team Championship trophy for Team Ontario at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship and Canadian Junior Boys Championship respectively.
Lew’s rounds of 66 and 65 throughout the opening 36 holes of this week’s Inter-Provincial Team Championship helped clinch Team Ontario a four-stroke win over Team British Columbia (B.C.) and land their third title in as many years. The squad was represented by Lew, Shropshire and Andy Dai of Markham, Ont., with the trio nabbing their Inter-Provincial Team Championship on Thursday afternoon after inclement weather delayed the second round of the Canadian Junior Boys Championship.
To view the final leaderboard at the 2025 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, presented by BDO, please click here.
