Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

June 12-13, 2010
Olds, AB

For Immediate Release

PIPER LEADS THE WAY ON MAPLE LEAF JUNIOR GOLF TOUR AT OLDS

Olds, AB – (June 14, 2010) – The Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) finally had good weather in Alberta, with sunny skies and little wind during the tournament on Olds Central Highlands Golf Course in Olds on June 12th and 13th marking the first nice weekend on the Alberta schedule this season.

Kevin Piper, 18, of St. Albert, playing in his first MJT event, managed two strong rounds of 69-73 (142) to win his first MJT title and capture the qualifying spot for an Open Invitation to a Future Collegiate World Tour (FCWT) event of his choice in the USA. “This is kind of surreal – I was gunning for the FCWT qualifying spot, it leaves me speechless,” was Piper’s reaction to receiving the Boys 17-19 gold medal and low overall. Piper has played in numerous junior events, but he added “I have never won on this kind of stage, this is very important for me for the rest of the year. It has given me a lot of confidence.”

Finishing second among Boys 17-19 and winning the silver medal was John Moug, 17, of Calgary. Moug’s rounds of 72-75 (147) placed him just ahead of MJT regular Connor O’Reilly, 18, of Edmonton, who fashioned rounds of 74-74 (148) over the demanding Olds Central Highlands Golf Club.

Kylie Barros, 18, of Edmonton, who currently attends the University of British Columbia, just returned home from the RCGA College and University Championships in Fredericton, NB, where her team won the National Championship, and continued her whirlwind week closing with a one-under-par 72 to edge Becky Martin, 17, of Medicine Hat, in the Girls division. Barros shot rounds of 79-72 (151) to claim the gold medal, while Martin had two great rounds of 78-75 (153) to finish a couple back and win silver. “This is just the cherry on top for me, first winning the RCGA Championship and now this, what a great week!” said Barros, who along with her brother, Jace, has competed on the MJT for eight years. Finishing in third and winning the bronze medal was Mieke Heyns, 17, of Lethbridge, who carded rounds of 80-76 (156).

Patrick Murphy of Crossfield continued to amaze as a 13 year old who has moved up a division into the Boys 14–16, after he fired great rounds of 71-74 to tie for the lead with Derek Rucki, 16, of Chestermere (73-72), and go into a playoff. Murphy won the gold medal on the first playoff hole after he parred and Rucki’s tee shot ended right and under a tree, where he needed to pitch it up by the green but failed to get it up and down to force another hole. Following the playoff win, Murphy was “excited about playing up, and just wanted to play well on a larger scale.” Tying for third place at 148 total score was MJT newcomer Kyle Pasta, 15, of Calgary, who shot 72-76, and Mack Penner, 16, of Lethbridge (71-77).

In the Boys 13 and Under Division, 10-year-old Brendan Brown of Calgary got his first win on the MJT shooting rounds of 79-76 (155) to claim the Cleveland Wedge prize, a Boston Pizza gift card and the gold medal. “This feels wonderful, I am so excited!” was all Brown could say about his win. Red Deer boys, Brett Pasula (84-77) and Allan Pruss (78-83), both aged 13, tied for second place at 161 total score.

The divisional winners in the Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition were Connor O’Reilly , Jeffrey James of Edmonton, Riley Fleming of Airdrie, and Kat Kennedy of Okotoks. The Sundog Skills competition divisional winners were Alex Corrigan of Calgary, Derek Rucki, Kevin Piper and Becky Martin. New to the prize table are the Golf Town Comeback Awards, which went to Nolan Bruin of Red Deer, Devon Schearer of Claresholm, and Calgarians Anthony Stirling and Carolyn Lee.

The Boston Pizza-presented Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour continues its Alberta schedule on June 26th and 27th at The Links at Spruce Grove in Spruce Grove, a qualifier for the CAN-USA Team Matches in Tempe, AZ, this December. For more information, 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