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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

August 30-31, 2010
Victoria, BC

For Immediate Release

HADDAD HOT AT HIGHLAND PACIFIC ON MJT
Ericksen edges Palmer for CAN-USA spot

Victoria, B.C. – (September 1, 2010) –
A field of junior golfers which included players from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Washington State, Bermuda and the United Arab Emirates, competed in the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s (MJT) Vancouver Island stop at the very challenging Highland Pacific Golf Course in Victoria, BC, on Monday and Tuesday, August 30th and 31st, under difficult weather conditions.

Despite the tough course and conditions, Matt Haddad, 17, of Qualicum Beach, B.C., closed with a stellar 68 to win low overall and the Boys 17-19 division gold medal. Haddad, of Pheasant Glen Golf Club, shot 73-86 (141) to lead the field by eight strokes. “I found the course to be a good challenging golf course, and is was in great shape for the tournament,” he said. “My key to victory was keeping the ball in play all week. I only had one penalty stroke and my ability to make all the putts I needed to keep my good score going. It feels really good to win my division; I know there were some really good players looking for the win there.” Second place in the Boys 17-19 division went to Eric Brinkworth, 17, of Victoria, who fired 76-78 (154), while third was claimed by Austin Hurlbut, 17, all the way from Dubai in the U.A.E. (78-81=159).

Tight competition in the Boys 14-16 division saw a tie for the lead at 149 total score between Brayden Ericksen, 16, of Parksville, B.C. (78-71), and Greg Palmer, 16, of Port Alberni, B.C. (73-76). Ericksen edged Palmer for the gold medal based on retrogression and was the eligible qualifier for a spot on MJT Team Canada in the CAN-USA Team matches at the Ritz-Carlton at Dove Mountain in Tuscon, Arizona, on December 10-12, 2010. “The course was in great condition for the tournament. I found the greens very true,” said Ericksen. “The key to my victory was playing steady, and to make less mistakes today than I did yesterday. I did it by playing smart and making a few putts early. I am happy with winning my age category because it was my first MJT event and I move into the older division next year.” The tough competition continued with another tie for third place at 153 total score between Victorians Alex Cartwright, 16, who shot 78-75, and Darren Day, 16, who was 75-78.

12-year-old Naomi Ko of Victoria blasted her way on to the MJT scene in the Girls division, winning her first outing with outstanding scores of 72-73 (145). The MJT expects to be seeing many more great scores from this young player in the future. Runner-up was Keanna Mason, 13, of Maple Ridge, B.C., who carded solid rounds of 78-74 (152) to edge third place finisher, Lauren Atkinson, 17, of Bow, WA, by one stroke.

The Boys 13 and under gold medal was won in style by MJT veteran, Logan Yanick, of Courtenay, B.C., after he fired a fantastic closing round of 70 to finish at 79-70 (149). Yanick declared that the Highland Pacific course is one of his new favourites and wanted to thank his coach (and MJT Tournament Director), Robert Ratcliffe, for such a fun and successful season after working hard together this year. “Chris Ballesteros was giving me a good run until he caught a bad break on the ninth hole and made a triple,” said Yanick. “Kyle (Panaktalok-Olin) was fun to play with as well. Overall it was a great way to finish the season and even better to have my grandparents there to see my fourth win in a row.” Ballesteros, 11, of Vancouver, B.C., finished second in the division after shooting 77-86 (163) while Panaktalok-Olin, 13, of Victoria, finished third (87-92=179).

The divisional winners in the Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition included Chris Ballesteros, Brayden Ericksen, Matt Haddad and Casey Cheung of Surrey, B.C. The Sundog Skills competition divisional winners were Ethan Ko of Victoria, Craig O’Dell of Victoria, Eric Brinkworth and Keanna Mason. The Golf Town Comeback Awards went to Tai Phan of Victoria, Andy Freeman of Regina, SK, Kyler Bourgeault of Qualicum Beach and Keanna Mason.

The Boston Pizza-presented Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour continues its multi-day tournament schedule in British Columbia with the Lindsay Kenney Classic at Belmont Golf Club in Langley on September 2nd and 3rd and the B.C. Series at Swan-e-set Bay Resort in Pitt Meadows on September 18th and 19th. 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