Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

May 1-15, 2010
East St. Paul, MB

For Immediate Release

SULLIVAN WINS PLAYOFF IN MJT MANITOBA SEASON-OPENER AT THE MEADOWS
Ngo, Shaw and Roadley win international exemptions


East St. Paul, MB – (May 17, 2010) – The first Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) stop on the four-event Manitoba series in 2010 finally finished on May 15th at the Meadows Golf Course in East St. Paul, a make-up day from two weeks ago as the second round of the May 1st-2nd tournament had to be re-scheduled due to rain and hail. In addition to competing for division titles, players had the chance to win international exemptions into the 58th East Aurora International Junior Masters (EAIJM) in New York, the Future Collegiate World Tour (FCWT) National Championship in Florida, and the Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championship in Illinois.

Fortunately for the field it was a sunny, hot day for their final round. Bryce Barr, 18, of Winnipeg, had the lead in Boys 17-19 after the first round on May 1st shooting 70 with a 30 on the front nine. The second round brought a bunch of low scores, however, and had to be decided on a playoff. Myles Sullivan, 17, of Portage la Prairie, and Aaron Cockerill, 18, of Stony Mountain, shot outstanding final round scores of 68 and 67 respectively to force a sudden death playoff after they tied for the lead at 139 total score. They both parred the par 5 first hole - Cockerill from out of a hazard and Sullivan missing an eight-footer. On the next hole, a par 3, Sullivan hit it to four feet and made his putt to capture the Boys 17-19 title and low overall score. “I choose to play MJT because they put on good tournaments and the field is good,” he said. “I feel good (about winning) – the weather was perfect, it was a good day and a battle between me and Aaron in the playoff.” Josh Wytinck, 18, of Glenboro, who is known to drive the ball over 300 yards regularly, finished third in the division after also firing an excellent final round of 67 (74-67=141).

Noel Ngo, 15, of Selkirk, captured his first MJT title after shooting scores of 75-72 and winning the 14-16 division by six strokes, securing the spot to the FCWT National Championship as the eligible qualifier. Ngo’s tenure on the MJT has allowed him to become more and more comfortable with competitive golf. “It feels awesome, my first win, it feels sweet,” he said. “My goal this season is to win more MJT events.” Peter Takis, 15, of Winnipeg, who works hard at his game and is no stranger to competitive golf himself, fired 79-74 to finish second by one shot over Bret Thompson, 16, also of Winnipeg, who was 76 on his final day (78-76).

MJT National Division Champion 2009, Connor Shaw of Dauphin, was playing in his final 13 and under age bracket before moving up to Boys 14-16, and showed everyone he is a true champion by winning yet again. Shaw shot rounds of 75-76 to win by nine strokes and claim the second international exemption to the EAIJM. “I play MJT to play competitive golf and help get my golf game better and to enjoy golf itself,” he said. “It feels good to finish my 13-under competitions with a win and for the rest of the season my goals are to do well against the older kids, to start shooting consistent even par rounds, and to get invited back to the nationals in Phoenix.” Travis Fredborg, 13, of Selkirk, was solid with a pair of 80’s to claim second place. Brandon Sutherland, 13, also of Selkirk, shot 79-83 to tie for third place with Aaron McIntyre, 13, of Winnipeg (81-81), at 162 total score.

Winnipeggers dominated the top finishers in the Girls division, which competed on May 1st and 8th and saw Jenna Roadley, 16, edge Bri-Ann Tokariwski, 17, by one stroke, to claim the title. Roadley, who shot back-to-back 80’s, qualifies for a spot in the Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championship. “I feel good about winning but I know there’s still room for improvement,” she summed up. “I’d like to move my stroke average to about 76.” Tokariwski carded 84-77 (161) while Breanne Fredette, 16, carded 89 – 83 (172) to place third.

The divisional winners in the Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition were Josh Wytinck, Brendan Baldwin, 15, of St. Adolphe, Connor Shaw and Winnie Hyun, 15, of Winnipeg. The Sundog Skills competition divisional winners were Breanne Fredette, Garrett Neiles, 17, of Winnipeg, Noel Ngo and Stefan Lavallee, 12, of Steinbach.

The Boston Pizza-presented Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour continues its Manitoba schedule on June 12th and 13th at Winkler Golf Club in Winkler. 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