Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

May 28-29, 2016
Chester, NS

Savage and McLean shortlisted for MJT Team Canada to Australia at Chester event

Chester, ON – (May 30, 2016) – Chester Golf Club, in Chester, NS, the site of the NSGA Provincial Junior Championship later this season, hosted the Boston Pizza-presented Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour Season Opener on May 28th and 29th where a full field of 81 players competed for titles in six divisions as well as the chance to be shortlisted for spots on MJT Team Canada to the Srixon International Junior Classic in Australia, this October. The final team will be announced once qualifying has completed across the country.

One of these spots went to Darmouth native, Conor Savage, 16, who won Low Overall and the MJT Juvenile Boys title after firing 74, 75 (149).  “I chose to play in this event because it was a great opportunity to get my name out there and I knew this tour had a good reputation,” he said, following the tournament.  Runner up in this division was Shaun Margeson, 16, of Fall River, NS, who shot 74, 78 (152), and third place went to Benjamine Chassé, 16, also of Fall River, who scored 78, 77 (155).

Another shortlisted spot for the Australian trip went to Heather McLean, 15, of Port Williams, NS, who won the MJT Girls U19 division after firing 86, 73 (159) for a four-stroke winning margin over her sister, Meghan McLean, 17 (81-82=163). “I feel happy that I won my division, it definitely wasn’t easy,” said Heather. “I had some tough competition!”  Third place went to Mackenzie Scott, 15, of Upper Hampstead, NB, who scored 88, 88, (176).

In the MJT Junior Boys division, Aubrey Farrell, 17, of Sydney Forks, NS, shot a 79, 74 (153) to secure first place, and commented, “It felt good to play good golf like that under a little pressure.”  There was a tie for second place at 155 total score between Jack Anderson, 17, of Halifax, NS (81, 74) and Sam Reid, 17, of Moncton, NB (77, 78).

Nathan Hogan, 14, of Bathurst, NB, out together two solid rounds of 74, 76 (150) to win the MJT Bantam Boys title by six strokes over joint runners-up, Mark Chandler, 14, of Chester, NS (79-77), and Owen Mullen, 12, of Truro, NS (77-79).

It took a playoff to determine the winner of the MJT Peewee Boys trophy, which went to Connor Trenholm, 12, from Sidney Crosby’s home town of Cole Harbour, NS, when his par on the second playoff hole defeated Dimitri Mihelakos, 12, of Halifax, NS (82-81=163). “I think my mental confidence made the difference because I never gave up and I didn’t back down,” said Trenholm, who had shot 84-79 (163) in the tournament.  Jakob Lorefice, 12, of Antigonish, NS, took third place, shooting 86, 82 (168).

Haley Baker, 14, of Brookside, NS, pulled off the winning score in the younger Girls U15 division (91,81=172), and noted, “The difference was that I stayed focused throughout the whole round, played it shot by shot, and probably the most important thing was that I had confidence in myself.”  Runner up to Baker was Mackenzie Deveau, 13, of Moncton, NB, who shot a 101, 95, and third place was claimed by Abbey Baker, 11, of Halifax, NS with a score of 101, 96.

In addition, a total of 18 prizes were also awarded to Long Drive, Closest-to-the-Pin and Comeback 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 region is the MJT-NSGA Player of the year Series at Ken-Wo Golf Club in Wolfville, NS, June 11th and 12th, which is a qualifier for the MJT International Players Championship presented by Miura Golf in Jasper, AB, will count towards the NSGA Summer Games Team and will also qualify Nova Scotia players for the CN Future Links Atlantic Canada. For more information, 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