Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

July 7-8, 2016
Teulon, MB

McMillan Low Overall at MJT’s Teulon event

Teulon, MB – (July 8, 2016) – The Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour event at Teulon Golf Club in Teulon, MB, July 7th and 8th, offered a great practice opportunity for the upcoming provincial junior championship at Portage and Bel Acres Golf Courses next week, as golfers came out to compete for titles in six divisions plus the chance to qualify for the International Players Championship (IPC) in Jasper, Alberta, this August. 

The two-day tournament on Canada’s number-one played junior golf tour witnessed many highlights, including a hole-in-one on the par three fifth hole on day one by a very excited Nathan Powell, 18, of Winnipeg, MB, who won a special Miura Golf Gift Certificate for his accomplishment.

Low overall in the whole field went to past MJT National Champion, Ryan McMillan, 16, of Winnipeg, who won the MJT Juvenile Boys division title after firing rounds of 74, 70 (144). “Wesley (Hoydalo) had me worried on the front nine, however I ‘kept my head in the game’”, he said, quoting Troy Bolton. “This is a good tournament with good competition. Winning my division feels sick!” Runner-up in Juvenile Boys was Spencer Norrie, 16, of Morden, MB, who finished six strokes back of McMillan with scores of 74, 76 (150) and the afore-mentioned Wesley Hoydalo, 16, of Selkirk, MB, placed third (73, 79=152).                               

Defending Junior Boys champion, Colwyn Abgrall, 19, of Niverville, MB, repeated as the MJT title winner after he shot 75, 74 (149) to secure a two stroke lead, and stated, “I kept the ball in play for the majority of both rounds and made some clutch putts coming down the stretch. Cole (Ferguson) and Stefan (Lavallee) are both good players so I had to make sure I was on my game – I’s a great feeling and it’s really special to be able to defend my win from last summer.” Second and third in the division went to Stefan Lavallee, 18, of Steinbach, MB (74, 77=151) and Cole Ferguson, 17, of Winnipeg, (74, 80=154).          

Brady Bandura, 14, of Selkirk, carded 77, 79 (156) to claim the MJT Bantam Boys title over runner-up Jacob Armstrong, 14, of Winnipeg, (81, 77=158), and commented, “I feel pretty good because it was my best ’14 and under’ MJT. I stayed calm and was self-confident.” Third place was taken by 12 year-old Adam Ingram of West St Paul, MB, who was playing up a division (84, 79=163).

Winnipeggers dominated the MJT Peewee Boys division where the clear winner was Braxton Kuntz, 12, who shot solid scores of 78, 77 (155) for victory. “I just tried to stay calm,” he said afterwards. “I feel happy, because I beat everybody else in my age division.” Runner-up was Aiden Lane, 12, who shot 85, 80 (165) and Jordon McDonald, also 12, came in third (88, 81=169).                      

Rebecca Kuik, 17, of Winnipeg, won the MJT Girls 15-19 title, finishing with a strong 76 on day two (83, 76=159), and said that being able to recover from a bad shot and ‘just having fun not getting in my own way’ were a ‘huge help’ along the way to victory. “Winning my division is nice but the company and playing a different golf course was great.” Lexie Kopp, 17, of Matlock, MB, placed second with scores of 90, 87 (177) and Tianna Slate, 16, of Brandon, MB, placed third (92, 97=189).

In the MJT Girls U15 division, Mikyla Albert, 14, of Selkirk, defeated Brynne Paschinski, 14, of Brandon, to win the title with consistent scores of 95, 95 (190). “My goal is to eventually play in the LPGA,” Alberta said afterwards. “I feel great (about winning) but I know I can play way better.”     

MacMillan and Kuik were the eligible qualifiers for exemptions into the International Players Championship, plus a total of 15 prizes were also awarded to the Longball Long Drive, MJT Closest-to-the-Pin and Golf Town Comeback Competition winners in the tournament, whose names are all listed on the tournament page on the MJT website. 

The next Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour stop in the province is the MJT Manitoba Series at Selkirk Golf Club in Selkirk, July 25-26.  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.

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