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Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

The Road to College Golf, run exclusively by PGA Professionals

Press Release

May 3-4, 2003
Mayfair Lakes GC, Richmond, BC

For Immediate Release

May 5, 2003

Western Canada Junior Golf Tour to Send Two
Players to Event in New York


Richmond, B.C. ? Two Vancouver-area junior golfers will be heading to New York to take part in a noted international junior tournament next month after winning their divisions in the Western Canada Junior Golf Tour?s Alcan Junior at Mayfair Lakes Golf Course.

Nicholas Gagne of Richmond and Blake Rowe-Sleeman of Coquitlam took home top honors at last weekend?s junior event to earn berths in the 51st International Junior Masters, to be held June 23-27 in East Aurora, N.Y.
The Mayfair tournament, the fourth in the Tour?s Alcan Spring Qualifying Series, was a qualifier for boys aged 14-17.

The 16-year-old Gagne, who posted scores of 72-74 to win the Boys 14-16 division, said his off-season work on consistency ? on hitting the ball straighter and further ? was the key to his victory.

?I was solid on everything,? he said, ?(especially) on the par fives. I was three under on the par fives for the tournament.?

Rowe-Sleeman, who won the Boys 17-and-up division with rounds of 76-72, credited his win to a solid short game.

?It was my iron play, by far,? he said. ?My putter was also better today.?

Rowe-Sleeman, who was four strokes off the lead heading into the second day, said he works on concentrating on each shot ? and not on trophies ? during competition. ?I try to stay in the moment and not think about winning,? he said.

Three strokes back of Rowe-Sleeman was Burnaby?s Ryan Baik at 151, while Richmond?s Andrew Hutchison and Philip Mullin of Whitehorse were tied at third, with two-day tallies of 152.

Josh Haywood of Pitt Meadows was second in the Boys 14-16 division, with scores of 76-76, while Brendan Peters of Maple Ridge posted rounds of 81-73 to finish third.

Other winners at the Tour event included Richard Lee of Vancouver, Jessica Potter of Coquitlam and In-ah Park of Richmond.

Lee, who waged a head-to-head battle with fellow standout Jonnie Motomochi of White Rock in the Boys 13-and-under division, had a two-stroke edge late on the final day, but saw that disappear by the time the pair reached the final hole. On 18, however, he was able to sink a 14-foot downhill putt to clinch the win.

?I felt kind of nervous,? he said. ?I was surprised when it went in and then I did a fist pump.?

Both Lee and Motomochi will be heading to San Diego in July to make a repeat appearance at the Callaway Golf Junior World Championships, and Lee said his ultimate goal this year is to win that tournament. Lee finished sixth in his age group last year, while Motomochi placed ninth.

Finishing third at Mayfair among the Boys 13-and-under was Thomas Hay of Langley, who had rounds of 77-80.
In the Girls? division, Potter was thrilled to post a second-day 71 - the first-ever under-par round of her life ? and to finish in a first-place tie with In-ah Park of Richmond. Potter had shot 80 on the first day of the tournament, while Park shot rounds of 76-75 to finish at 151.

?My putting today is what saved me,? said Potter of her under-par 71. ?My ball-striking was OK, but my short game was very good.?

Like Rowe-Sleeman, she said she has arrived at a point in her game where she tries not to focus on the competition. ?The mindset I have now is not to beat someone, but to do the best I can.?

Edmonton?s Susan Nam finished third among the girls, with scores of 78-81 and a 159 finish.

Division winners in the Sundog Closest-to-the-Pin Competition were Thomas Hay of Langley, Jordan Shehowsky of Abbotsford, Bryan Neale of Mission and Dominique Pytlewski of North Vancouver.

The non-profit Western Canada Junior Golf Tour is presented by Boston Pizza and hosts tournaments for boys and girls aged 10 to 23 in four age divisions. The Tour is building on its success in the four Western provinces by expanding into Ontario this summer under the Nationwide Junior Golf Tour banner.

The next local event is the Honda Way Junior at Ledgeview in Abbotsford, May 31-June 1. For more information, please call 1-877-859-GOLF.