Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

June 28-29, 2014
London, ON

Record 8-under-par opening round shoots St-Germain into MJT history books

London, ON. – (June 30, 2014) – Grace St-Germain of Ottawa, ON, posted an eight-under-par first round score of 64, a MJT record, during the Boston Pizza-presented Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s two day MJT-PGA of Ontario Junior Championship at Forest City National Golf Course in London, ON, on June 28 and 29, where a top-rated field of 85 junior golfers competed for titles in four divisions plus the chance to qualify for the North American Junior Amateur Championship.

“We had 24 girls in that division alone and undoubtedly the talk of the event was St-Germain’s eight-under-par round,” said Dave Smallwood, MJT Tournament Director and PGA Professional, who noted that the condition of the golf course was exceptional and the committee decided to stretch out the course the second day to give the players an even better challenge. “We had two very hot and humid days which forced the players to tackle the element of staying hydrated. The Forest City National staff also did an exceptional job in helping MJT staff to get the players off and then back on the course due to a thunderstorm.”

Grace St-Germain, 15, who shot 64, 74 (138) to be crowned MJT-PGA of Ontario Junior Girls Champion, stated that her highlight was shooting 64 for the first time. “The key to my victory was taking it one shot at a time. It feels great to win. There were a lot of great girls playing and was good competition. Thank you to all the sponsors it made it a great tournament for us!” Runner-up was Diana McDonald, 16, of Kingston, ON (71, 80=151) and third place went to Madison Easterbrook, 18, of Burlington, ON (77, 76=153).    

In the Junior Boys division, cousins Nick and Tyler Schepens of London dueled in out in the fading sunlight with Nick Schepens, 19,  edging his cousin out for a one shot victory to claim the MJT-PGA of Ontario Junior Boys 17-19 Championship title with scores of 73, 73 (146).  “My personal highlight was hitting 14  out of 18 greens,” said Schepens, who now earns an exemption into the North American Junior Amateur Championship in Phoenix, AZ, this December. “It feels great to win my division. Great to know that all of my hard work is paying off.”  Tyler Schepens, 19, shot 71, 76 (147), holding off three players who tied for third at 148 total score: Dylan MacQueen, 18, of Woodstock, ON (77, 71), Colton Wyllie, 19, of Markham, ON (74, 74) and Jack Quirke, 17, of Waterloo, ON (72, 76). 

Zach St Louis, 16, of Tecumseh, ON, fired 74, 75 (149) to win the MJT-PGA of Ontario Juvenile Boys 15-16 Champion’s title by one shot over Jordy Denomme, 15, of Waterloo (77, 73=150). “I had two chip-ins in my final round,” said St. Louis. “I feel very excited to win my division title - when I was coming down the stretch I was trying to just make pars and avoid mistakes.” There was a tie for third place in the division at 153 total score between Gray Potter, 16, of Glen Williams, ON (73, 80) and Ganden Doherty, 15, of Toronto, ON (71, 82).

MJT-PGA of Ontario Bantam Boys 14 and under Champion was David Nunes, 13, of Tecumseh, who fired rounds of 79, 76 (155) to win by five strokes over Anthony Occhiuto, 14, of Guelph, ON. The top three spots in the division were rounded out by both Ryan Trocchi, 14 of London, (83, 78) and Parker Casey, 14, of Waterloo, (79, 82) who tied for third at 161.                                                          

The Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition winners were Madison Easterbrook (Beverly G&CC),  Julian Crupi (The Country Club) of Woodbridge, ON, Jordy Denomme  (Whistle Bear GC) of Waterloo, and Tyler Schepens ( Fire Rock GG). In the Sundog Eyewear Closest-to-the-Pin, the division winners were Kristen Wong ( Meadowbrook GC) of Richmond Hill, ON, Cole Tondeur (Greenhills GC) of London, Jonathan Kwon (York Downs) of Toronto, and Cooper Trew (Barrie Country Club) of Midhurst, ON. Golf Town Comeback Awards for best second day improvement in score went to Morgan Giles (Georgian Bay Club) of Clarksburg, ON, Julian Crupi, Jordy Denomme and Paul Edgar (Rebel Creek GC) of Kitchener.

Full results and a photo gallery can be seen here. 

The next Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour stop in Ontario is the MJT Nationwide Series at Carlisle Golf Club in Carlisle on July 5th and 6th, a qualifier for the FCWT at Dora. 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