Moving day at MJT Boston Pizza National Championship presented by TaylorMade and adidas Golf sets up exciting finish
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Kissimmee, FL - (November 9, 2019) – There was a lot of movement on the leaderboard during round two of the MJT Boston Pizza National Championship presented by TaylorMade and adidas Golf. The tournament saw three divisions change leaders and many players close gaps at Reunion Resort on Saturday.
The MJT Juvenile Boys division saw 16-year-old, Cooper Lindberg, of Calgary, AB, fire a two-under, 70, in the second round to take a three-shot lead heading into the final round. Lindberg started off well recording an even-par 72 in the first round, but turned up the heat in the second round making five birdies. “I just tried to stay in the moment,” said Lindberg. “I was thinking about my next shot and trying not to worry about the outcome.” Lindberg sits alone in first currently with a two-day score of 142. Also climbing up the leaderboard was 16-year-old, Andrew Gwilliams, of Bradford, ON. Gwilliams, who represented MJT Team Canada at the Nordic Team Matches in Sweden earlier this summer, fired the lowest round on Saturday, a three-under, 69. That puts Gwilliams in a tie for second place with a total of 145 (76-69). Round one leader, Braxton Kuntz, 15, of Winnipeg, MB, followed his opening round of 70 with a 75 today to sit tied in second place with Gwilliams at 145.
The MJT Junior Boys division leaderboard also saw lots of movement after the second round with 17-year-old, Winnipeg native, Neel Soni, grabbing a share of the lead. The 2019 MJT Manitoba OOM Champion carded a one-over 73 to go along with his opening round 74 to finish at 147. Soni sits tied for the lead with the opening round leader, Kiefer Bulau, 17, of King City, ON. Bulau, after recording a first-round score of 72, followed it up with a 75 for a total of 147. Sitting in third place with back-to-back rounds of 75, is Calgary, AB-player, Nicolas-Guy Landry. The 17-year-old golfer, who also represented MJT Team Canada at the Nordic Team Matches in Sweden earlier this summer, has two-day score of 150, just three shots back of the leaders.
Thirteen-year-old, Aaron Huang, picked up right where he left off yesterday in the MJT Bantam Boys division. The Vancouver, BC golfer fired a 73 today after a 73 yesterday (146) to hold onto his six-shot lead going into the final round. “I think it’s just really nice to play a tournament with nice weather at this time of year,” said Huang. Matching Huang’s 73 today was 13-year-old, 2019 MJT Player of the Year, Ryan Vest, of Vernon, BC. Vest opened the tournament with a 79 with a two-day total of 152, putting him in solo second place.
The Vancouver, BC-boys continued their fine performances in the MJT Peewee Boys division. Twelve-year-old, Michael Li, recorded the lowest round in the division to climb from second place to a tie for the lead. Highlighting his second round was an eagle, 2, on the second hole of the Watson Course at the Reunion Resort. Li shares the lead with round one leader, Emil Liddell, also of Vancouver. The 2019 MJT BC Order of Merit winner followed his opening round of 76 with another 76 (152) today.
There was a lot of movement from round one to round two in the MJT Girls 15-18 division. Fourteen-year-old, Erin Lee, of Langley, BC, bounced back from her first round 82, with four birdies and an eagle to shoot two-under, 70 in the second round. The 2019 MJT Player of the Year and BC Order of Merit winner sits in second place after two days with a 152, one shot back. Holding tight to her first-place standing is Burlington, ON-resident, Sarah Gallagher. Gallagher followed her opening round of 75 with a 76 today (151) and looks to lead wire-to-wire for her first MJT National Championship title.
Also making a charge up the leaderboard in the MJT U15 Girls division was 14-year-old, Lydia St-Pierre, of Lévis, Quebec. St-Pierre fired a 73 today including four birdies and an eagle. She sits with a two-day score of 154 and just one shot shy of the lead. Eleven-year-old, Anna Huang, managed to hold on to her round one lead after firing a 77 today and sits with a two-day score of 153.
The MJT Collegiate division saw a reshuffling of the leaderboard with what is shaping up to be a fantastic finish tomorrow. Sitting in first place after two rounds is still 20-year-old Saskatoon, SK-resident, Keighton McNab. McNab fired an 80 today following his opening round of 75 (155) to maintain a one-shot lead. After an opening round of 81, St. Albert, AB-player, Connor Ackroyd, 19, carded a 75 in his second round to grab a share of second place at 156. Also climbing up the leaderboard was Kelowna, BC-golfer, Davide Kaiser, 21, who recorded a 76 during round two, adding to his 80 yesterday for a total 156. Kaiser and Ackroyd also share second place with Edmonton, AB-native, Dakota Smith, 23, who followed his first round of 77 with a 79 (156).
Round three of the MJT Boston Pizza National Championship presented by TalyorMade and adidas Golf will resume tomorrow at 8:00am. Starting holes can be found at www.maplejt.com.
About TaylorMade Golf Company: Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, TaylorMade Golf is a leading manufacturer of high-performance golf equipment with industry-leading innovative products like M5/M6 metalwoods, M5/M6 irons, TP5/TP5X golf balls and Spider putters. A major force on the PGA TOUR, TaylorMade has an unrivaled athlete portfolio that includes Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Matthew Wolff, Collin Morikawa, Nick Taylor and Michael Gligic.
About the adidas Group: The adidas Group is one of the global leaders within the sporting goods industry, offering a broad range of products around the core brands: adidas, Reebok, TaylorMade and Reebok-CCM Hockey. Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, the Group has more than 53,000 employees. Click here for the website.
About the MJT: The non-profit Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour presented by Boston Pizza is Canada’s number one-played Junior Golf Tour as well as the only national junior tour run exclusively by PGA of Canada Professionals and the ‘Road to College Golf’ in Canada. The organization is presented nationally by Boston Pizza and supported by valued Premier, Tournament and Product Partners. The MJT hosts close to 80 events across Canada, including free Ford Go Golf Junior Clinics, the MJT Mini Tour for 7 to 12 year olds, the Collegiate Tour for 19 to 23 year olds, and multi-day events for competitive players aged 11 to 18 which are also qualifiers for international competitions. The program offers annual awards, scholarships, and frequent player incentives to help reward player's performance and participation throughout each season. MJT alumni include many Professional Tour players and PGA of Canada Professionals, as well as Canadian Amateur, National and Provincial Junior Champions. The MJT aims to develop champions, in golf and in life, promoting the game from grassroots through to provincial, national, university and professional level. For more information, see www.maplejt.com.