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The Road to College Golf, run exclusively by PGA ProfessionalsPress Release
November 21-22, 2009
Litchfield Park (Phoenix Area), AZ
MJT’S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP A HUGE HIT IN SUNNY ARIZONA
Phoenix, AZ - (November 25, 2009) – Junior golfers from across Canada qualified all season-long on the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour for the 11th annual MJT National Tour Championship in the superb setting of Phoenix, AZ, this past week. The elite field of 73 invited players from as far afield as Comox, British Columbia to Digby, Nova Scotia and many places in between, played November 21st and 22nd at the Wigwam Golf Club, competing for age division national titles in a 36-hole stroke play format, with the overall winner receiving an exemption into the 2009 Texas Junior Golf Tour’s Barton Creek Holiday Classic this December.
Riley Fleming, 16, of Airdrie, Alberta, is now Texas-bound after firing great rounds of 73-75 (148), also winning the Boys 14-16 MJT National Championship title by nine strokes on the challenging layout of the Gold Course. “The tournament was amazing, as always it was run great and it was a great golf course,” he said. “It felt great to win and it really felt like all my hard work is paying off.” Tied for second place in Fleming’s division with a score of 157 were Truman Tai, 15, of Markham, Ontario (80-77), and Scott Mazur, 16, of Winnipeg, Manitoba (76-81).
A playoff decided the MJT Boys 17-19 National Champion after Ryan Werre, 17, of Redcliff, Alberta, tied with Texas Junior Masters champion, Michael Blair, 18, of Burlington, Ontario, for the lead in this tightly contested division. Werre, who fired 75-76 to Blair’s 74-77, won on the second playoff hole. Both striped their drives on the first playoff hole - a par five - and then hit hybrid clubs in over 240 yards. Werre almost holed his 50-yard pitch shot and had a tap-in birdie, and Blair’s shot burned the left edge for an eventual birdie as well. On the second hole, after great drives by both players, Blair’s ball found the water on his second shot and Werre, who recently signed to Texas El Paso University’s golf team, parred for victory. Third place in the 17-19 division went to Andrew Richot, 17, of Lethbridge, Alberta, who shot 75-77 (152).
The MJT Boys 13 and under National Champion was Connor Shaw, 13, of Dauphin, Manitoba, who fired 80-74 to pull into the lead and edge MJT Cleveland Golf Player of the Year for this division, Patrick Murphy, 12, of Crossfield, Alberta (80-75), for the title. “I stayed calm through the whole tournament and didn’t let any bad shots bother my whole round,” cited Shaw as his reason for victory. “My highlight was finishing the tournament proud of what I have done, not just this week but all of this year. It feels good to say I did well after not golfing in over a month (in Manitoba) and to say I can compete with Canadian golfers my age.” Zach Sackett, 13, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, took third place with scores of 82-78 (160).
In the Girls division, Porsche Campbell, 16, of Vancouver, British Columbia, captured the MJT National Championship in style after carding 77-78 (155). Campbell raced from the awards ceremony straight to the airport to catch a flight to Bangkok where the MJT has her competing in the 2009 Singha Thailand World Junior Golf Championship later this week. Runner-up to Campbell was 13-year-old Keanna Mason of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, who shot 80-81 (161). Becky Martin, 16, of Medicine Hat, Alberta, and Jamie Oleksiew, 15, of South Surrey, British Columbia, both shot 80-84 to tie for third place.
The divisional winners in the Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition were: Boys 13 and under: Patrick Murphy and Nathan Corrin, 13, of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; Boys 14-16: Riley Fleming and Derek Mathes, 16, of Kitchener, Ontario; Boys 17-19: Braeden Mueller, 18, of Regina, Saskatchewan and Michael Blair; and in Girls: Winnie Hyun, 14, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Keanna Mason.
The Sundog Closest-to-the-Pin competition divisional winners were: Boys 13 and under: Nathan Corrin and Hunter Phelan, 13, of Whistler, British Columbia; Boys 14-16: Riley Fleming and Joe McDonald, 16, of Lethbridge, Alberta; Boys 17-19: Alex Jardine, 17, of West Vancouver, British Columbia and Brett Sherwood, 17, of Surrey, British Columbia; and in Girls: Winnie Hyun and Porsche Campbell.
Team Alberta, consisting of Riley Fleming, Ryan Werre, Andrew Richot and Rhys Tosczak, 17, of Calgary, repeated as winners of the inter-provincial competition at the championship. Numerous draw prizes were also randomly awarded and participants were treated to the Phoenix Coyotes hockey game versus the Philadelphia Flyers courtesy of Boston Pizza, MJT presenting sponsor. For more information, please visit www.maplejt.com.
About the MJT
The non-profit Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) is presented nationally by Boston Pizza and is Canada’s premier and only junior golf tour run exclusively by Golf Professionals. The MJT is proud to play a role in developing young players, including several Canadian National Champions and many Future Links and Provincial Champions. The MJT also provides opportunities for young Canadians to learn how to golf and introduces players as young as four years old to the game via free instructional clinics. In addition, the MJT encourages young players to further their education with scholarship awards. For more information, please visit www.maplejt.com or call 1-877-859-GOLF.
Contact:
Elaine Denton,
Marketing & PR, MJT
T: 1-877-943-1645
Email: edenton@maplejt.com