Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

May 28-29, 2016
Pitt Meadows, BC

Great finish after tough start in MJT Ford Series at Swan-e-set; several qualify for major events

Pitt Meadows, BC – (May 30, 2016) – Heavy rain on Saturday May 28th caused the opening round of the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s Ford Series at Swan-e-set Bay Resort in Pitt Meadows, BC, to be shortened to nine holes, however great weather on Sunday allowed for a fine finish with players qualifying for various high level tournaments and three coming close to winning a 2016 Ford Focus SE in a hole-in-one contest sponsored by Ford of Canada and West Coast Ford Lincoln.

Firstly, Andy Jang, 15, of Langley BC and the Redwoods Golf Club, together with Braeden Cooper, 15 of Vernon, BC and the Vernon Golf Club, won paid entries into the Vancouver Golf Tour’s MTC Open at Riverway Golf Course in Burnaby, BC, on June 11, after Jang won Low Overall and the MJT Juvenile Boys division title by one stroke (38, 75=113). “My short game saved my errant tee shots,” he said. “Cooper was coming in hot, but my putting stopped him. I feel great because this is my first win of the season.”  Cooper had to settle for the runner-up position with 39, 75 (114) and third place went to Mitchell Catania, 16, of North Vancouver (43, 76=119).

The MJT Junior Boys winner, also by one stroke, was Mitchell Thiessen, 17, of Chilliwack, BC, (41, 74=115), who commented, “Tyler Leclair and I were tied going into 17 and he birdied and was up by one, then I made a birdie on 18 to win by one. I feel amazing after getting a bunch of top fives and a top three – it’s nice to put a win in there.” Hot on his heels was runner up Tyler Leclair, 19, of North Vancouver, BC, (41, 75=116) and rounding out the top three was Jackson Thornley, 18, of Vancouver, BC (40, 78=118).

Leo Harper, 13, of Burnaby, BC, triumphed as the MJT Bantam Boys winner after firing 43, 71 (114) for another one-stroke winning margin over Vancouver’s Dylan Bercan (36,79=115). Harper stated afterwards, “I chose this event because I like the guys here and it’s a great tour – I feel good because I made an improvement from yesterday and I played well.” Tony Li, 14, of Vancouver, clinched third spot by shooting 45, 73 (118).

Freddy Sun, 12, of Richmond, BC, was once again victorious in the MJT Peewee Boys division, shooting 40, 71 (111) after he started out at four under par after eight holes. “Luckily I survived the rain yesterday with a decent score of 40,” he said. “I feel pretty happy that I won, especially with two good rounds.” Second place in the division went to Cooper Humphrey, 11, of Lions Bay, BC (47, 81=128), and third place went to Junwoo Nam, 12, of Abbotsford, BC (49, 84=133).

Victorious Victoria Liu, 13, of Vancouver, playing up a division, won the MJT Girls 15-19 title with solid scores of 42, 74 (116). “This is the first time for me to win the 15 to 19 Girls division this year. On the second day, I had 13 straight pars starting on the first hole - I hit almost every green in regulation following with two putts.” Travelling up from Duvall, WA, was Sarah Lawrence, 18, who took the runner-up position (42, 76=118), and third place went to Shania Remandaban, 17, of Coquitlam, BC (44, 78=122).

The MJT Girls U15 winner’s trophy went to Jennifer Gu, 13, of West Vancouver, BC, (47, 80=127), who stated that she believed the main reason for her victory was being focused despite the rain. “I persevered although I definitely wanted to give up!” she said. “So many of my competitors played extremely well so I am proud of myself for persevering on the first day and maintaining my focus on the second.”  Second place was claimed by Mai Hayashi, 12, of Vancouver (44, 86=130), and third place in the division went to 14-year-old Sandee Park of West Vancouver (47, 84=131).                               

Andy Jang receives a direct exemption into the BC Junior Boys Provincial Championship as well as a shortlisted spot, together with Victoria Liu, on MJT Team Canada to compete in the Srixon International Junior Classic, Australia. Finalists will be announced once qualifying has completed across the country. In addition, 18 prizes were awarded to Ford Long Drive, Closest-to-the-Pin and Golf Town Comeback Winners in the tournament, whose names are all listed on the tournament page on the MJT website.

Juniors have another chance to win a new Ford Focus vehicle at the next Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour stop in BC - the MJT Ford Series at the Dunes in Kamloops on June 30-July 1.  For more information on the Boston Pizza-presented Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour, 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 Ford of Canada, TuGo, Cleveland Golf, Srixon and Aquafina, 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.

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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