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Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

The Road to College Golf, run exclusively by PGA Professionals

CANADA INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP CUP ENDS IN USA VICTORY



Click here for Photo Gallery of Day 1 & 2
Click here for Photo Gallery of Day 3

For Immediate Release - August 23, 2008

CANADA INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP CUP ENDS IN USA VICTORY

SURREY, BC: The Canada International Friendship Cup (CIFC) successfully concluded yesterday at Northview Golf and Country Club in Surrey, BC, with a win for Team USA, who secured a total of 25 points from the best ball, alternate shot and singles matches over the three day event. Four junior golf teams representing the USA, Canada, North America and Mexico were hosted at the event by the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT), Canada's only national junior golf tour run exclusively by Golf Professionals. The competitors played best ball and alternate shot matches in the first and second rounds on August 20th and 21st, and singles matches in the third and final round on August 22nd, accumulating points for each country.

The MJT's Team Canada players, who were outfitted by Official International Events Partner, Travel Underwriters, included Taylor Drolet of Calgary, AB, and Jun Ho Lee of Port Coquitlam, BC, for boys 15-18, Lucas Gatto of Burnaby, BC and Brenden Setter of Selkirk, MB, for boys 13-14, Connor Shaw of Thompson, MB and Donald Qiu of Richmond, BC, for boys 11-12, Keanna Mason of Maple Ridge, BC, and Jamie Oleksiew of Langley, BC, for girls, and Henry Lee of Coquitlam, BC and Christopher Ballesteros of Vancouver, BC, for boys 9-10.

Team Canada made a hard charge to win the final round of blind draw singles matches by a three point margin, and this helped secure second place with a 23 point total, only 1.5 points back of USA. Team North America came in third with 16 points and Team Mexico fourth, only 0.5 points back with a 15.5 total.

Individual scores from the singles matches were as follows:

Boys 15-18:
Match 1:Team Canada vs. Team USA
Taylor Drolet, Calgary, AB, beat Sean Etow, Santa Cruz, CA, 2-up
John Lee, Port Coquitlam, BC, beat Zack Chinn, Pebble Beach, CA 5-up

Match 2: Team Mexico vs. Team North America
Mario Lopez, Cuernavaca, Mor, lost to Darren Whitehouse, Langley, BC, 2-down
Luis Felipe Torres, Cuernavaca, Mor, beat Tom Ouellette, Langley, BC, 6-up

Boys 13-14:
Match 3: Team North America vs. Team USA
Logan Hallwas, South Surrey, BC, was all square with Simon Blaker, Langley, BC
Ian Mmbando, Lethbridge, AB, lost to Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, CA, 4-down

Match 4: Team Canada vs. Team Mexico
Lucas Gatto, Burnaby, BC, beat Manuel Collado, Xalapa, Ver, 4-up
Brenden Setter, Selkirk, MB, lost to Julio Arguelles, Cocoyoe, Mor, 1-down

Boys 11-12:
Match 5: Team Canada vs. Team North America
Donald Qiu, Richmond, BC, beat Patrick Murphy, Crossfield, AB, 1-up
Connor Shaw, Thompson, MB, lost to Jimmy Bonham, Burbank, CA, 2-up

Match 6: Team Mexico vs. Team USA
Rafael Cabrero, Puebla, Pue, lost to William Brueckner, Walnut Creek, CA, 3-down
Santiago Lopez, Varacruz, Ver, lost to Daniel Frantz, Red Bluff, CA, 3-down

Girls 11-18:
Match 7: Team Canada vs. Team North America
Keanna Mason, Maple Ridge, BC, beat Fernanda Villegas, Ensenada, Mex., 2-up
Jamie Oleksiew, Langley, BC, lost to Casie Cathrea, Livermore, CA, 3-down

Match 8: Team Mexico vs. Team USA
Ana Gabriela Morales, Xalapa, Ver, lost to Madchen Ly, Fresno, CA, 4-down
Frida Rueda, Xalapa, Ver, lost to Paige Lee, North California, CA, 7-down

Boys 9-10:
Match 9: Team Canada vs. Team USA
Christopher Ballesteros, Vancouver, BC, beat Andrew Wong, West Vancouver, BC, 6-up
Henry Lee, Coquitlam, BC, beat Ryan Slater, Gilroy, CA, 6-up

Match 10: Team Mexico vs. Team North America
Guillermo Casares, Puebla, Pue, beat Brendan Brown, Calgary, AB, 4-up
Cristobal Collado, Puebla, Pue, lost to Everton Hawkins, Irvine, CA, 3-down

The winners of the divisional Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition were Sean Etow, Bryson DeChambeau, William Brueckner, Casie Cathrea and Everton Hawkins, while the Sundog Closest-to-the Pin competition divisional winners were Taylor Drolet, Lucas Gatto, Daniel Frantz, Casie Cathrea and Everton Hawkins.

The MJT wishes to thank the participating Junior Golf Associations from California and Mexico as well as the CKG Tour for their assistance with this inaugural event. A full Olympus Photo Gallery can be found on the MJT's website at www.maplejt.com.

About the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour:
As a not-for-profit association, the national Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) is presented by Boston Pizza and helps develop Canada's junior golfers, offering clinics, tournaments, international competitions and more. Now in its 10th season, the MJT is proud to provide juniors with high level international opportunities that take the game far beyond the course and highlight the program's purpose of developing champions - in golf and in life. From free introductory clinics sponsored by Ford to 45 tournaments in 7 provinces across Canada including the major CPGA Zone-endorsed junior championships, the MJT offers a quality experience for players. For more information please visit www.maplejt.com.

Contact:
Elaine Denton, Director of Marketing and PR, MJT
1-877-859-GOLF
edenton@maplejt.com