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Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

The Road to College Golf, run exclusively by PGA Professionals

Press Release

July 25-26, 2016
Petersburg, ON

MJT Srixon Series at Rebel Creek qualifies three for MJT Team Ontario to ITC

Petersburg, ON – July 27, 2016 – Junior golfers on Canada’s number-one played junior golf tour competed in hot, humid conditions the past two days in the MJT Srixon Series at Rebel Creek Golf Club in Petersburg, ON, battling for division titles in six age groups plus the chance to qualify for MJT Team Ontario into the International Team Challenge (ITC) at Hunters Pointe Golf Club near Niagara Falls, ON, this September. Tricky greens and pin positions made scoring tough for some, however Thomas Giroux of Georgetown, ON, fired great rounds of 70, 73 (143) to win Low Overall and the MJT Junior Boys trophy.

“The key to my win was my driver – I was very straight and long and it put me in the positions to attack the pins,” he said afterwards. “Coming down the stretch I knew I had a few shots to spare so I told myself to just hit the fairways and greens and I will hold the win.” Second place in this division went to Michael Dubois, 17, of Brantford, ON (73, 76=149) and third place to Owen Dick, 17, of Toronto (74, 76=150).  

The MJT Juvenile Boys title was won by Eric (Joohyung) Byun, 15, of Richmond Hill, ON, after he fired 70, 75 (145) to beat Cristian Bate, 16, of Beamsville, ON (73-78=151) by six strokes. “My tee shots were almost always on the fairways and greens,” said Byun, adding that he liked ‘how people were so kind and how there were so many prizes’. There was a three-way tie for third in the division at 153 total score between Joseph MacNeil, 15, of Orillia, ON (79, 74), Cole Tondeur, 16, of London, ON (77, 76), and Matt Sommerville, 16, of Baden, ON (75, 78).

Ben Hirasawa, 13, of Toronto, shot 78, 82 (160) to win the MJT Bantam Boys title by four strokes over joint runners-up Ben Bauer, 14, of Hawkesville, ON (83, 81) and Aidan Brady, 14, of Waterloo, ON (78, 86). “Coming down the stretch I was nervous and finding it hard to commit to aggressive lines rather than bail into other fairways,” said Hirasawa. “It feels nice to win my first MJT event but I am also relieved it’s over as it was tight near the top – the MJT events always seem to come down to the wire.”

Winning her second MJT Girls 15-19 title this season was Hailey Katona, 14, of Tilbury, ON, who plays up a division. Katona, who shot solid rounds of 75, 77 (152) for a two stroke victory over Kristen Giles, 16, of Georgetown, ON, (71, 83=154), commented, “I hit most of my shots solid. I was having fun (coming down the stretch), thinking about getting a ‘w’. This is my favourite tour – it’s run well and I played with great people.”  Shannon Coffey, 15, of Windsor, ON, came in third with scores of 83, 83 (166).

The younger Girls U15 division title was won by Jacqueline Giles, 13, of Georgetown, who shot 87, 95 (182) and said that she tried to ‘think about the present shot, not get ahead of myself.’ “I kept a positive attitude. I like how these tournaments are fun for everybody,” she added. Runner-up was 13-year-old Mikayla Bourgeois of Mississauga, ON, who scored 97, 99 (196).                                            

10-year-old Brett Ng of Maple, ON, was the sole peewee player in the field, and he carded decent scores of 92, 98 (190) in his first MJT outing.   

Over a dozen additional prizes were also awarded to Longball Long Drive, MJT 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, and the players who qualified for MJT Team Ontario to the ITC were Giroux, Byun and Katona.

The remaining MJT Team Ontario members will qualify at the next MJT stop at Copetown Woods Golf Club in Copetown on August 6 and 7, one of three more regular season events in the province where members can earn MJT order of merit points to qualify for the MJT Boston Pizza National Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf at The Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix, AZ, this November.  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 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:  Elaine Denton, Director of Marketing and Administration edenton@maplejt.com 1-877-859-GOLF