Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

August 18-19, 2014
Surrey, BC

MJT Ford Series features four-hole playoff and four-under-pars

Surrey, BC – (August 20, 2014) – Both Tiffany Kong and Raymond Li, both from Vancouver, fired four-under-par rounds of 68 to kick-start clear leads in the Girls and Bantam Boys divisions during the opening round of the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s Ford Series at Hazelmere Golf Club in Surrey, BC, this week, gunning their way to qualify for the IMG World Junior Match Play and MJT International Players Championship respectively.

Tiffany Kong, who is only 13, closed with a 75 to shoot a 143 total and nine stroke winning margin in the MJT Girls division. “My putting on the first day gave me an exceptional 68 – I saved many putts,” she said. “All of the competitors were very good – it was a great competition and feels great to win my second MJT.” Runner-up was Haeun Park, 15, of Surrey, who shot 71, 81 (152) and third place on the podium went to Jessica Wu, 14, of Langley, BC (74, 81=155)

Raymond Li, 13, won his second MJT Bantam Boys 14 and under title by five shots (68, 76=144) over Andrew Spalti, 14, also of Vancouver (75, 74=149). “Andrew took advantage of a bad stretch and almost caught up to me,” said Li. “I got pretty lucky. It feels nice to win again after I had a slump with my driver.” The division saw a tie for third place at 154 total score between Charles Kim, 14, of Surrey, (75, 79) and Andy Kim, 14, of Langley, (73, 81=154).       

Very fine form from Surrey’s Taylor Patrick, 15, delivered him a well-deserved MJT Juvenile Boys 15-16 title after he shot 74, 70 for an even-par total of 144, beating out James Kim, 16, of Vancouver, who had opened with an impressive 69 but closed with a 78 to finish at 147. “My finish on the final day was very solid which put me in a good spot to win,” said Patrick. “The course was in great shape. It feels good to get my first ‘W’ of the year and I look forward to tournaments to come.” Third place was another tie at 149 total score between Fritz Lo, 15, of Vancouver,  (77, 72) and Nathan Bahnman, 16, of Abbotsford, BC (76, 73).       

After a three-way four hole playoff in the MJT Junior Boys 17-19 division, Jake Scarrow, 17, of Dewdney, BC (70, 75) triumphed over Marcus Brown, 18, of Surrey, (75, 70) and Nick Krystal, 18, of Port Moody, BC                                            (71, 74). “I made a 15 foot par putt on the second playoff hole to stay alive,” said Scarrow, who adds this title to one from the last MJT event. “Great course, great conditions, great to win back-to-back weeks.”   

MJT members in the province have now earned valuable Cleveland Golf Order of Merit (OOM) points throughout the season and await invitations to the prestigious MJT Boston Pizza National Championship at The Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix, AZ, on November 14-16, 2014, where a number of Division 1 college coaches will be in attendance. Further OOM points can be accumulated to win funding towards the National Championship at the upcoming MJT Lindsay Kenney One Day Fall Series at Belmont Golf Club in Langley on September 21, and University Golf Club in Vancouver on October 4. For more information or to register, 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 Canada¹s 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 Ford of Canada, Mr. Lube, Cleveland Golf, Srixon, Gatorade and Travel Underwriters, in addition to valued Tournament and Product Partners. The MJT hosts more than 70 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.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour: Elaine Denton, Director of Marketing and Administration   edenton@maplejt.com   1-877-859-GOLF