Ashburn’s Baker, Ives lead after first round

A pair of Ashburn golfers sit atop the Nova Scotia junior boys’ and girls’ leaderboards following first-round play Monday at the 54-hole provincial championship at River Hills.

Two-time defending junior champion Abbey Baker overcame two double bogeys to fire a 6-over 78 to take a sixstroke lead in the girls’ division. Meanwhile, Gavin Ives carded a 3-over 75 and owns a two-shot advantage heading into Tuesday’s second round.

Baker, seeking the first junior girls’ three-peat since Abercrombie’s Bernadette Little turned the trick from 2011-13, had 39s on the front and back nines. She also collected three bogeys and a birdie on the par-4 16th during her round.

She leads Northumberland Links’ Abby Wamboldt, who shot a first-round 84. Ashburn’s Annika Parkash is seven strokes off Baker’s pace.

Ives countered back-toback bogeys on Nos. 3 and 4 with three birdies on his next four holes and was 1 under through 11.

But he had a double-bogey 7 on the par-5 12th and bogeys on Nos. 14 and 16 before righting the ship with a birdie 3 on 17.

Oakfield’s Logan Forward and Owen Canavan of the Nova Scotia Public Players Club are tied for second after they each carded 77s.

Forward’s younger brother Hudson Forward, Truro's Colby Bent and Keegan Eisenhauer of Avon Valley are five strokes off Ives’ pace after they each shot an 80.

The 54-hole provincial championship continues through Wednesday at the Shelburne County track.

The Canadian junior girls’ championship is July 26-29 at the Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa while the national junior boys’ tournament will be held Aug. 7-10 at Rivershore Golf Links in Kamloops, B.C.