Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

July 1-2, 2010
Vernon, BC

For Immediate Release


BELLE CHIMES IN AS OKANAGAN JUNIOR CHAMPION; JOINS MJT TEAM CANADA TO AUSTRALIA


KELOWNA, B.C.- (July 2, 2010) – A packed field of junior golfers from BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Texas, Washington and the United Arab Emirates competed July 1st and 2nd in the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s (MJT) Okanagan Junior Championship, which played out in sunny, windy conditions at Predator Ridge Golf Resort in Vernon, BC. Players were vying for division titles on the Boston Pizza-presented tour, plus a qualifying spot in the Srixon International Junior Classic in Australia this October.

Five-year MJT veteran, Mike Belle, 18, of Burnaby, BC, fired a blistering 69 to set the pace on day one and managed to hold on to his lead with a 75 on day two to win the title of MJT Okanagan Junior Champion, the Boys 17-19 gold medal, and the spot to Australia with his 144 total score. “Definitely my tournament highlight was shooting 32 on the front and also coming down 16, 17 and 18 parring all of them,” he said. “I played in the wind well and putted great both days. It feels great to win my division.”
William Deck, 18, of Kelowna, BC, posted a closing round of 74 to take silver in the division (72-74=146), while last year’s champion, Brady Lee, 18, of Calgary, AB, fired 75-74=149 to settle for bronze.

A closely contested battle in the Boys 14-16 division saw Emmett Oh, 16, of Calgary, and Victor Baptiste, 15, of Oliver, BC, tie for the lead at 148 total score. Oh, who scored an eagle on the 14th hole, claimed the gold medal based on best second day score as he shot 76-72 to Baptiste’s back-to-back rounds of 74. Of note, however, is Baptiste’s achievement, for when he started playing on the MJT seriously one year ago, he was shooting in the 100’s, and he is now top of his division. The bronze medal went to Matthew Dorion, 16, of Surrey, BC, who carded 76-74 (150).

Logan Yanick, 13, of Courtenay, BC, ran away with his first Boys 13 and under gold medal after firing great scores of 76-77 (153), and cited his tournament highlight as when “I made a very long putt on hole number six to save par – about 40 feet! It was also very nice to have my mom, dad, aunts, uncles and grandparents watching.” He added, “Greg Gildea made a chip in on hole number three and I made bogey, so I was afraid he might make a run and catch me. I just feel great about winning; I’ve been close many times but this is my first!” The silver medal went to Brett Pasula, 13, of Red Deer, AB, who scored 86-79 (165). Washington’s Gregory Gildea, 13, of Vashon, was two strokes back with scores of 82-85 (167) and took home the bronze.

Jaclyn Lee, 13, of Calgary, broke 80 for the first time on the MJT this season and won the Girls division in style with rounds of 77-88 (165), beating her sister Carolyn, 15, who took silver (86-93=179). “My key to winning the tournament was to know that after I hit a bad shot, to just stick in there and have a good attitude, and my highlight was getting such a great score on the first day,” said Lee. “I feel great about winning with pretty good scores on a tough course.” The bronze medal went to Olivia Babichuk, 14, of Port Moody, BC (94-86=180).

The divisional winners in the Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition were Gregory Gildea, Eric Praught, 16, of Canmore, AB, Colin Hargrove, 17, of Surrey, BC, and Olivia Babichuk. The Sundog Skills competition divisional winners were Scott Lemon, 13, of Winnipeg, MB, Kyle Pasta, 15, of Calgary, Colin Hargrove and Carolyn Lee. Golf Town Comeback Awards were presented to Erik Bocale, 12, of Surrey, Rylan Visser, 16, of Lethbridge, AB, Tanner Kopan, 17, of Christina Lake, BC, and Olivia Babichuk.

The MJT will hold several tournaments in July – in British Columbia the next stop is the MJT Odlum Brown Classic-PGA of BC Junior Championship at Northview Golf Club in Cloverdale, July 27th-29th, a qualifier for exemptions into the BCGA Junior Championships. For more information or to register, please visit www.maplejt.com or call 1-877-859-4653.

About the MJT : The non-profit Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour presented by Boston Pizza is Canada’s premier and only national junior tour run exclusively by Canadian PGA Professionals. The organization hosts more than 50 events across Canada and also qualifies players for spots to international events in England, Australia, Thailand and many cities in the USA. The MJT offers annual awards, scholarships, and frequent player incentives to help reward player's performance and participation throughout each season. MJT alumni include PGA tour player Chris Baryla, players on the Nationwide and Canadian Tours, several Canadian National Junior Champions and many Future Links and Provincial Junior Champions.
Contact: Elaine Denton, Marketing & PR, MJT T: 1-877-943-1645 Email: edenton@maplejt.com