Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

May 15-16, 2010
Surrey, BC

For Immediate Release

ALL ON DECK AS HE WINS SPOT TO FCWT IN THE U.S.

Surrey, BC – (May 17, 2010) – Great weather and a superbly conditioned golf course were the highlight for competitors in the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s (MJT) HSBC Golf Classic at Hazelmere Golf Club in Surrey this past weekend. HSBC has been a sponsor of the MJT for the past three years, and their tournament qualified players for international exemptions into a Future Collegiate World Tour (FCWT) event and the Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championship, both in the United States.

William Deck, 17, of Kelowna, B.C., repeated as champion of the MJT Boys 17-19 division after shooting 72-75 (147) and edging Scott Robertson, 18, of Langley, B.C., for the title and the spot to an FCWT event in the States. “It’s nice to win back-to-back tournaments over strong fields,” he said, and with reference to his goals - “I’m really looking for a lot of solid performances as well as some more wins, and see myself at the MJT National Championship.” Robertson carded 72-76 (148). Third place in the division went to Michael Wawyrk, 19, of Tsawwassen, B.C., who scored back-to-back 76’s for a 152 total.

Tony Mak, 15, of Richmond, B.C., pulled ahead of very close competition in the Boys 14-16 division and won his first MJT title by eight strokes after firing 77-74 (151). “My putting today was a lot better than yesterday. It’s my first time winning a MJT tournament and it feels pretty good,” he summed up. There was a three-way tie for second place at 159 total score between Trevor Garofano, 16, of Coquitlam, B.C., (85-74), Logan Hallwas, 15, of South Surrey (84-75) and Kieran Standen, 16, of Edmonton, Alberta (75-84).

MJT newcomer, Alex Francois, 12, of Burnaby, B.C., romped to victory in the Boys 13 and under division with great scores of 76-75 (151), and commented, “It was a very good course to play. Every shot you hit, you had to make sure that you knew what you were doing. These greens are very unpredictable.” Francois stated his goals this season are to win the Junior World Championships in San Diego, and the U.S. Kids Golf Championships, and to consistently shoot under par in every tournament. The runner-up in his division was Ian Kim, 13, of South Surrey, who fired 83-79 (162), and is the eligible qualifier for the Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championship. Another MJT newcomer, Gregory Gildea, 13, of Vashon, WA, performed well in his first outing to shoot 78-85 (163) and place third.

In the Girls division, MJT veteran Porsche Campbell, 17, of Vancouver, B.C., easily repeated as champion, shooting great scores of 78-76 (154). “The course was great, I though the greens crew did an amazing job. They really made the course a challenge,” she said. “Key to my victory was being able to come back after a bad hole – working on my mental game over the last few weeks made me able to come back a lot faster. It’s great to win back-to-back!” Runner-up was Rosie Jeon, 15, of Coquitlam, B.C., with scores of 86-79 (165), while Rachel Shi, 14, of Vancouver, placed third (87-81=168). Jeon also won the new Golf Town Comeback Award for the girls, with her seven stroke improvement over round one.

The other Golf Town Comeback Award winners were Harry Bains, 12, of Surrey, Michael Li, 14, of Vancouver, and Ian Matthews, 17, of Coquitlam.

The divisional winners in the Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition were Gildea, Hallwas, Colin Hargrove, 17, of Surrey, and Olivia Babichuk, 14, of Port Moody, B.C.. The Sundog Skills competition divisional winners were Francois, Jeff Smith, 14, of Maple Ridge, B.C., Ryan Grill, 17, of Abbotsford, B.C., and Casey Cheung, 12, of Surrey.

The next MJT tournament in British Columbia on the Boston Pizza-presented tour is the Okanagan Junior Championship at Predator Ridge Golf Resort in Vernon, July 1st and 2nd – a qualifier for the Srixon International Junior Classic in New South Wales, Australia. 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