Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

June 22-23, 2013
Burlington, ON

Wilson wins low overall on MJT Prodigy Series at Hidden Lake Easterbrook qualifies for MJT Team Canada to Australia

Burlington, ON – (June 24, 2013) –The Boston Pizza-presented Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) held the MJT Prodigy Series at the well-manicured Hidden Lake Golf Club in Burlington, Ontario, this past weekend, where 80 junior golfers teed it up. The two-day tournament also featured qualifying for MJT Team Canada to the SRIXON International Junior Classic in Australia, this October, with Madison Easterbrook of Burlington winning a spot. Other winners will be announced once all qualifiers across the country have completed.

“Hot and humid weather finally arrived in Ontario,” said Tournament Director and PGA of Canada Professional, Mike Skimson. “The course was in fantastic shape, but there was a huge premium on hitting fairways and greens this week as the wet spring has led to dense and think rough.”  Christopher Wilson, 18, of Toronto, ON, shot 70-74 (144) and claimed the Low Overall and MJT Junior Boys 17-19 gold medal. “I made a double bogey coming down the stretch, but birdied number 17,” said Wilson. “It feels great to win as my division is filled with talented players so I am happy to come out on top.” Finishing second in the division to claim the silver medal was Adam Graham, 17, of Sarnia, ON, who carded 74-75 (149), while there was a tie for third place at 150 total score between Colton Clemmer, 19, of Ayr, ON, (76-74) and Osama Khan, 17, of Mississauga, ON (72-78).

Tyler Nagano, 14, of Toronto, who plays up a division, carded rounds of 76-73 (149) to win the MJT Juvenile Boys 15-16 division.  “I enjoyed the experience of playing well in this division,” said Nagano. “It feels great to win after I have had such a good start to my season.”  Finishing runner-up to Nagano was Nick Hofland, 14, of Ancaster, ON, who also plays up a division, and who shot solid rounds of 75-80 (155), while Andrew Chambers, 16, of London, ON, (77-84=161) rounded out the top three.

MJT veteran Madison Easterbrook, 17, of Burlington, shot 78-78 (156) to win the Girls division gold medal and become the age-eligible qualifier for MJT Team Canada to Australia, as she battled and held on to a one shot win over Sydney Naro, 13, of Toronto, and Lorelle Weavers, 19, of Burlington.  “I am satisfied that the work I have been putting in is starting to show some results,” said Easterbrook, “and knowing that I had great competition out there, it was nice to focus and get the job done.” Naro and Weavers shot identical scores of 79-78 (157) to tie for second place.

11-year old Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Mississauga, (78-78=156) claimed the MJT Bantam Boys 14 and Under gold medal in a one-hole playoff over John Burghardt, 14, of Oakville, ON, (77-79=156).  Yellamajaru commented, “It was nice to spend so much time in the fairway plus this is a great confidence booster to my summer schedule.” Finishing in third place was Jason Fitzgerald, 14, of Burlington, who carded solid rounds of 78-82 (160).

Divisional winners of the Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition were Max Redman of Cambridge, ON, Mitchell Hardy of Kitchener, ON, Dylan McQueen of Woodstock, ON, and Meghan Bennett of Pickering, ON. Sundog Eyewear Closest-to-the-Pin Competition winners were Zack Friesen of Woodstock, Scott Herod of Cambridge, Connor McCrea of Burlington, and Meghan Bennett. Golf Town Comeback Awards went to Jeremy Henderson of Mississauga, Cameron Cox of Carlisle, Alex McKay of Kitchener, and Annika Haynes of Oakville.

Results for the full field in the MJT Prodigy Series at Hidden Lake GC can be found here.

The next Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour stop in Ontario is the Golf Canada and Golf Association of Ontario-ranked MJT-PGA of Ontario Junior Championship at Forest City National Golf Club in London on June 29-30, 2013, a qualifying event for the Beth Daniel Junior Azalea in Charleston, SC, this August.  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 number-one played Junior Golf Tour as well as the only national junior tour run exclusively by PGA of Canada Professionals and the ‘Road to College Golf’ in Canada. The organization is generously supported by Boston Pizza and Premier Partners Cleveland Golf, Srixon, Ford, Mr. Lube, Golf Town and Travel Underwriters, in addition to valued Tournament and Product Partners. The MJT hosts more than 60 events across Canada, including free Ford Go Golf Junior Clinics, the MJT Mini Tour for 7-12 year olds, and multi-day events for competitive players which also qualify juniors for international competitions. The program offers annual awards, scholarships, and frequent player incentives to help reward player's performance and participation throughout each season. MJT alumni include many Professional Tour players and PGA of Canada Professionals, as well as Canadian Amateur, National and Provincial Junior Champions. The MJT aims to develop champions, in golf and in life, promoting the game from grassroots through to provincial, national, university and professional level.

MEDIA CONTACT: Elaine Denton, MJT edenton@maplejt.com 1-877-859-GOLF  www.maplejt.com.