Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

September 2-3, 2010
Langley, BC

For Immediate Release


TRILLO COMES UP TRUMPS AT MJT LINDSAY KENNEY CLASSIC


LANGLEY, B.C.- (September 3, 2010) – Competitive young golfers on the Maple leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) teed it up one last time before school starts next week, in the two-day Lindsay Kenney Classic at Belmont Golf Club in Langley on September 2nd and 3rd. Sunny, windy conditions prevailed on a course which was playing tough for the juniors who were competing for division titles plus a qualifying spot in the Texas Junior Golf Tour’s Barton Creek Holiday Classic in Texas, USA, this December.

Valentina Trillo, 16, of Port Moody, collected her MJT Team Canada golf bag and uniform at the Lindsay Kenney Classic registration table for her upcoming trip to the Srixon International Junior in Australia next month, and then proceeded to shoot 70-74 (144), winning the Girls title in fine style as well as another international exemption – this time to Texas. “The key to my victory was staying focused but relaxed at the same time – I’d constantly have a song in my head that I would hum along to while I walked or waited,” she explained. “Winning this title is definitely a confidence booster seeing as how I’ll be leaving for Australia with MJT soon where I’ll do my best to represent Team Canada.” Runner-up to Trillo was Keanna Mason, 14, of Maple Ridge, who fired 74-73 (147) and continued her consistently good golf on the MJT. Third place among the girls went to Lauren Atkinson, 17, of Bow, Washington (79-76=155).

Mike Belle, 18, of Vancouver, racked up his third Boys 17-19 division win after firing 75-72 (147) to edge Tae-In Lee by one. “I hit my irons quite well,” he summed up.”It feels good winning my division for the third time this year. There is no off season for me, though, as I’ll be playing university golf for SFU (Simon Fraser University).” Runner-up Lee, 17, of Maple Ridge, carded back-to-back rounds of 74 in the closely contested division, just one shot better than three players who tied for third: William Deck, 18, of Kelowna (78-71), Jesse Reichelt, 17, of Langley (75-74), and Matthew Dorion, 17, of Surrey (72-77).

Newcomer Alan Tolusso, 14, of Burnaby, blasted on to the scene with scores of 73-74 (147) to win the Boys 14-16 title in his first MJT outing. “The course and conditions were absolutely perfect – cool pins,” he assessed. “It feels great (to win) – it’s my first tournament.” Coquitlam juniors Kevin Vigna, 14, and Joel Robertson, 16, shot 75-76 and 74-77 respectively to tie for second place in the division at 151 total score.

There was a tie for the lead at 157 total score in the Boys 13 and under division, where another MJT newcomer, Kaleb Gorbahn, 13, all the way from Smithers, B.C., came from behind with a fine closing round of 75 to shoot 82-75 and tie with first round leader Kevin Li, 13, of Burnaby, who shot 77-80. “I love this golf course – I like the design and I like how hard the course plays,” said Gorbahn, who scooped the gold medal based on retrogression. “Kevin, who I played with both days, seemed to play way better but I kept my mind calm and I was rewarded for it. Who wouldn’t feel good (about winning) but this is pretty special because I haven’t won a tournament yet so to win a pretty big tournament like this means a lot. Thank you, MJT, for this honour!” Jake Scarrow, 13, of Dewdney, cleaned up the rest of the prizes in the division, placing third with scores of 79-82 (161) and winning both the Mr. Lube Long Drive and Sundog Closest-to-the-Pin competitions.

The other divisional winners in the Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition were Tolusso, Seung Jun Woo, 18, of Maple Ridge, and Trillo, while the other Sundog Closest-to-the-Pin competition winners were Michael Kim, 16, of North Vancouver, Woo and Michaela Abey, 17, of Abbotsford. Golf Town Comeback Awards were presented to Noah Driessen, 13, of Deroche, Lana Gill, 14, of Vancouver, Peter Matthews, 14, of Coquitlam, and Ryan Saran, 18, of Langley.

The Boston Pizza-presented tour has two more tournaments in the fall before the MJT Boston Pizza National Championship presented by Callaway in Phoenix this November: September 18th and 19th at Swan-e-set Bay Resort in Pitt Meadows, and October 16th at University Golf Club in Vancouver. 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