Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

July 7-8, 2010
Carman, MB

For Immediate Release

NEILES WINS SPOT TO SRIXON INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR CLASSIC IN MJT PLAYOFF

Carman, MB – (July 9, 2010) – Ed Boge, Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) Tournament Director and Canadian PGA Professional, summed up the July 7th and 8th tournament on Carman Golf Club in Carman, Manitoba, as “a fantastic two days of golf. The weather was amazing and the golf course in spectacular shape.” A full field of young golfers competed for age division titles plus a spot on MJT Team Canada to the Srixon International Junior Classic in New South Wales, Australia, this October.

The 17-19 Boys division battled it out to a playoff on the Boston Pizza-presented tour with Garrett Neiles, 17, of Winnipeg, winning the gold medal on the second hole after he had shot 75-73 and tied for the lead with Scott Mazur, 17, of Winnipeg (74-74). Mazur and Neiles went back and forth all day before finishing at 148 for the two days while the others were trying hard to catch them. “The highlight for me was walking off 17 after a four-putt and recovering by striping a tee shot on 18,” said Neiles, a six-year MJT veteran who now qualifies as low overall finisher for the Australian event. “Scotty rolled in a five-footer for birdie on 17 which had me worried. Coming down the stretch I was just thinking ‘rip the drives, be aggressive and roll in birdies.’ I feel confident and excited (about the victory).”

There was a tie for third place at 150 total score between Alex McDonald, 18, of Devlin, Ontario, and Matt Dodds, 18, of Brunkild, Manitoba. McDonald took the bronze medal based on countback, however Dodds had some compensation by winning both the Mr. Lube Long Drive and Sundog Closest-to-the-Pin Competitions for his division.

The Boys 14-16 division was extremely close with three players tied at fourth only three shots from the leader. Brett Thompson, 16, of Winnipeg, was thrilled to win his first MJT event after overtaking Noel Ngo, 15, of Selkirk, by one shot in a tight finish. “This makes me feel confident for the Manitoba Junior,” said Thompson, who fired 78-76 for a two day total of 154. Ngo carded 80-75 (155) to settle for silver. Darren Kelpin, 15, of Stony Mountain, took the bronze after playing some solid golf to beat out three others by one shot (79-77=156).

Winnipeggers made up the Girls division, where Dana Todd, 15, captured her first MJT title by playing some amazing golf and winning by eight shots with scores of 84-83 (167). “I really liked the course and it was nice to play a different course and gain experience,” she said. “Since this is my first win I am very excited and happy. Now that I have won once, I feel I can compete and maybe win again.” Winnie Hyun, 15, finished second after scoring 86-89 (175). Amy Cerasani, 17, place third (96-97=193). A special mention goes to 11-year-old Camryn Roadley, playing in her first MJT event, who improved her score by 15 shots from the first day to win the Golf Town Comeback Award and $50 gift card.

Stefan Lavallee, 12, of Steinbach, Brendan Kesterke, 10, of Headingley, and Stacy Genaille, 13, of Pelican Rapids, had one tremendous battle all playing in the final group for Boys 13 and Under. They were all square going into 18 with Lavallee making par and winning by one shot with fine scores of 83-82 (165). “Today was my best round and this is my first win so I feel really, really good,” said Lavallee. Kesterke (84-82) and Genaille (83-83) tied for second place at 166 total score. The rest of the field in this packed division were not far off with all of them playing decent golf on a tough course.

In addition to Dodds, the other divisional skills competition winners were Jon McMullen, 13, of St. Georges, Noel Ngo and Camryn Roadley for the Mr. Lube Long Drive; Stefan Lavallee, Landon Kopp, 15, of Lorette, and Amy Cerasani for the Sundog Closest-to-the-Pin. The other winners of the Golf Town Comeback Awards, in addition to Roadley, were Jon McMullen, Stephan Carswell, 16, of Winnipeg, and Luke Meadows-Birch of Winnipeg.

The Boston Pizza-presented Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour concludes its Manitoba schedule on August 17th and 18th with the MJT-Manitoba PGA Junior Championship presented by National Bank Financial at Transcona Golf Club in Winnipeg. 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