Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

August 15-16, 2015
Caledon, ON

Presutti perfect at MJT’s Osprey Valley tournament

Alton, ON – (August 17, 2015) – A full field of junior golfers from all over Ontario on the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour enjoyed fantastic course conditions at Osprey Valley Hoot Course in Alton, ON, this past August 15th and 16th weekend, where six division champions were crowned in the race to qualify via MJT order of merit points for the MJT Boston Pizza National Championship at Reunion Resort in Florida this November. Day one had very little wind and provided some impressive scores in the hot and most humid conditions of the summer so far.

‘A lot of hard work on my game and a desire for winning’ led Jacob Presutti, 15, of Brampton to fire off perfect rounds of 70, 70 (140), finishing at four-under-par for the tournament to win both Low Overall and the MJT Juvenile Boys title. “I hit it to one foot on the 18th hole on day two but ended up missing that putt for a 69,” he added. “It feels very cool to call myself a champion and it means a lot to play the way I did.” Runner-up in his division was Eric Shea, 16, of Brantford (78, 71=149), and there was a tie for third at 152 total score between Ewan MacBain of Toronto (80, 72) and Jordy Denomme of Waterloo (75, 77).

The MJT Junior Boys trophy went to 18-year-old Christian Ethier of Haileybury who shot 75-71 (146) to come from behind and edge out both Sam Kreze of Kitchener (76-71=147) and Devin Bartlett of Cambridge (72-75=147). “I made consecutive birdies on five and six after making a double on hole three, and the way I played down the stretch was the reason I made (the victory)  happen,” Ethier said afterwards.

A phenomenal opening round of 67 vaulted a veteran of the MJT winner’s circle into first place in the MJT Peewee Boys division, where Shawn Sehra, 12, of Windsor, closed with a 74 to shoot 141 for his sixth title this season. Sehra commented that his highlight was ‘a string of four straight birdies from holes 10 to 13 on day one’ and that he only missed two greens and three fairways in the ‘perfect’ event. This division saw a tie for second place at 160 total score between Yutaka Nohdomi of Toronto, ON (81, 79) and Zach Burt of Guelph (79, 81).                                              

In the MJT Bantam Boys division, Dylan Henderson, 14, of Waterloo, carded solid scores of 77, 74 (151) to win by four strokes over Zachary Katzenstein of Thornhill (81, 74=155). Third place went to Bennett Ruby of Waterloo (79, 77=156).

Thunder Bay’s Alexandra Demko, 16, won the MJT Girls 15-19 trophy after shooting 78, 80 (158) to beat runner-up Elanna DeMarchi of Cambridge (81-84=165), by seven strokes. Demko said afterwards, “It was really great to win my second MJT title on such a beautiful golf course against a strong field. I had so much fun with my competitors.”  Tatiana Hulan of London, who was playing in her last event and is now heading to Lake Superior State University in Sault St. Marie, Michigan on scholarship, took third place (93, 86=179).

En route to her goal of qualifying for the MJT National Championship at Reunion Resort, Emily Zhu, 11, of Richmond Hill, fired strong scores of 73, 79 (152) on the shorter yardage to run away with the MJT Girls U15 title over Mikayla Bourgeois of Mississauga (93-93) and JiaYin Joy Liu of Waterloo (101, 89). Zhu stated, “My putting was fabulous, my attitude was in control. This win means that I’ve got more chance to qualify for the MJT at Reunion.”

The divisional winners of the on-course competitions were as follows:

Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition:

U15 Girls: Emily Zhu • Richmond Hill, ON
15-19 Girls: Francesca Santos • Whistle Bear • Kitchener, ON
Peewee Boys: Kayden White • Whistle Bear GC • Kitchener, ON
Bantam Boys: Noah Romeo • Whistle Bear GC • Puslinch, ON
Juvenile Boys: Jacob Presutti • Brampton Golf Club • Brampton, ON
Junior Boys: Ethan Hurst • Credit Valley • Mississauga, ON

Sligo Closest-to-the-Pin Competition:

U15 Girls: JiaYin Joy Liu • Whistle Bear GC • Waterloo, ON
15-19 Girls: Elanna DeMarchi • Cambridge • Cambridge, ON
Peewee Boys: Kayden White • Whistle Bear GC • Kitchener, ON
Bantam Boys: Trevor Harris • Granite Ridge • Milton, ON
Juvenile Boys: Ewan MacBain • Donalda • Toronto, ON
Junior Boys: Jack Quirke • Westmount GC • Waterloo, ON

Golf Town Comeback Award for best second day improvement in score:

U15 Girls: JiaYin Joy Liu • Whistle Bear GC • Waterloo, ON
15-19 Girls: Madeleine Gehan • Whistle Bear GC • Kitchener, ON
Peewee Boys: Ryan Macbain • Donalda • Toronto, ON
Bantam Boys: Jakob Ain • Oakdale Golf & Country Club • Toronto, ON
Juvenile Boys: Justin Knebel • Trafalgar G&CC• Georgetown, ON
Junior Boys: Jarrod Dishman • Windsor, ON

The final MJT regular season tournament in Ontario for 2015 is the MJT Ontario Series at Grey Silo Golf Club in Waterloo, August 29th and 30th. For more information or to register please visit www.maplejt.com.

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 Tugo, 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.
- 30 -

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