Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

July 14-15, 2018
Brampton, ON

Legends Course at Lionhead Lives Up to Legacy

Brampton, ON. (July 16, 2018) – Junior golfers aged 10 through 20 tested their skills against one of the most difficult layouts in the Country this past weekend on Lionhead Golf & Country Club’s Legends course in Brampton, Ontario at the MJT Ontario Summer Series presented by TaylorMade Golf. The beautiful Credit River winds its way through the golf course creating many forced carries off the tee or into the green adding to the difficulty. Division winners navigated these elements on their way to securing one of seven Hoselton trophies, awarded to the individual with the lowest combined gross score over the two-day competition in each division. 

Competitors were also vying for a spot to represent Team Ontario-GTA in the upcoming National Team Challenge to be hosted at Royal Niagara Golf Club from September 21- 23, 2018. For more information on the National Team Challenge, please click here.

MJT Peewee Boys 11-12: Ten-year-old Jager Pain, of Woodbridge, ON, playing on the Junior Tour as an under-ager, ran away with the boys 11-12 age group. Competing against boys mostly two years older, Pain was able to open up an eight shot lead after round one, and add to it during the final round. Pain shot 87, 90 (177) to beat runner-up Rhys Constable, 12, of Townsend, ON by 19, who shot 95, 101 (196) on the difficult layout for the youngsters. After his win, Pain said he’s “very thankful to be able to play the challenging golf courses and longer yardages the MJT offer.” 

MJT Bantam Boys 13-14: Bradley Parker, 14, of Toronto, ON was the champion on the Bantam boys division by firing impressive rounds of 80, 76 (156). Parker was able to fend off Waterloo, ON native Aiden Shah, 14, by 12 shots who finished with rounds of 81, 87 (168) for the two days. Parker was very happy with the way he performed this weekend on a very difficult golf course stating, “it was a great golf course and very challenging test of golf. I thought I played really well the whole tournament and I’m very proud of myself.”

MJT Juvenile Boys 15-16: In the deepest division of the weekend, Isiah Katsube, 16, of Elmira, ON beat 20 other boys aged 15 and 16 to win the Juvenile boys division, shooting a tournament low 75, 77 (152). Katsube was able to hold off Graem Costigan, 15, of Cambridge, ON by two shots, who finished at 76, 78 (154). Katsube gave credit to the sixth hole as his best hole of the tournament saying “I was able to hit it close both days, but only converted the birdie once.” Katsube also echoed the same message other division winners were saying, that the golf course was very difficult.

MJT Junior Boys 17-18: The Champion in the Junior Boys division was 17 year-old Kobe Smith, of Markham, ON. Smith opened up a four-shot lead after round one. But runner-up finisher Ethan Siebert, 17, of Beamsville, ON put the pressure on Smith during round two with an impressive round of 74. Smith’s rounds of 78, 76 (154) ended up being two shots better than Siebert who finished with 82, 74 (156).  

MJT Collegiate 19-24: Fresh out of her Freshman year at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan,  Rachael Rier, 19, of Hanover, ON ran away with the Collegiate division with impressive rounds of 85, 83 (168). Rier is very happy with her win saying, “this is my first MJT win since I started playing in these events four years ago. It’s nice to finally get a win.” Rier won the division by ten shots over runner-up was Melissa Gabriele, 20, of Mississauga, ON who fired rounds of 91, 87 (163). Gabriele just finished her Sophomore year Tiffin University in Tiffin, Ohio.

MJT 15-18 Girls: In another tightly contested division, Morgan Rutledge, 16, of Melancthon, ON held off Tess Scaman, 18, of Chatham, ON by two shots after shooting 90, 81 (171), compared to Scaman’s 93, 80 (173). The battle for the Hoselton trophy came down to the final few holes. Although Rutledge credits #18 as he best hole of the tournament, her solid back nine score of 37 on Sunday was the difference maker in the Girls 15-18 division. 

MJT U15 Girls: Katie Cranston, 14, of Oakville, ON was victorious in the U15 Girls division by 20 shots over Jamie Roslyn Camero, 12, of Dubai, UAE. Cranston’s rounds of 74, 78 (152) tied the Juvenile boys champion for medalist honours of the entire field. “I was happy about how I played, especially after shooting a personal best, 74, on Day 1” said Cranston. Camero, the only International player in the field, finished with scores of 88, 84 (172).  

In addition to the individual division champions featured above, overall event highlights are posted on the MJT website here which show winner details for the PLYR Long Drive, PLYR Closest-to-the-Pin, MJT Comeback Award as well as the MJT Academy Order of Merit Standings. 

The next Boston Pizza-presented Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour stop in Ontario is the MJT Ontario Summer Series at Batteaux Creek GC in Nottawa, ON, July 28-29, where positions on the MJT National Team Challenge – Team Ontario are up for grabs. 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 presented nationally by Boston Pizza and supported by valued Premier, 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, the Collegiate Tour for 19-23 year olds, and multi-day events for competitive players aged 11 to 18, which are also qualifiers 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. For more information on the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour, please visit www.maplejt.com

About TaylorMade Golf: Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, TaylorMade Golf is a leading manufacturer of high performance golf equipment and golf balls and a major force on the PGA TOUR. With industry-leading innovative products like M3/M4 metals, M3/M4 irons and TP5 golf balls; TaylorMade has one of the strongest athlete portfolios in golf, wit h six players in the current Top 12 in the world. Key athletes include Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose and Jon Rahm. Click here for the website.

Media Contact: Russ MacKay, Operations Manager, Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour rmackay@maplejt.com, 1-877-859-GOLF, www.maplejt.com.