Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

September 1-2, 2019
Thornton, ON

Somerville, Lin and Yun tie for MJT Low Overall at Tangle Creek

Thornton, ON – (September 3, 2019) – The Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour held its Ontario Fall Series tournament over the Labour Day weekend in Thornton, ON, at Tangle Creek Country Club, where talented young golfers were competing on September 1 and 2 for titles in five divisions and final exemptions into the MJT Boston Pizza National Championship presented by TaylorMade and adidas Golf at the Reunion Resort in Florida later this November.

In the MJT Juvenile Boys division, an exciting playoff was needed to determine the champion between Aurora, ON’s Ryan Somerville, 15, and Toronto, ON’s Nicholas Lin, 16. Somerville (74, 73 = 147), held a one-shot lead following the first round, but a birdie on the first hole of the second day by Lin (75, 72 = 147) tied it up. Having exchanged the lead throughout the second round, a birdie by Lin on the final hole forced the playoff. In the end, it was Somerville who emerged victorious claiming his first Hoselton trophy of the season and the second of his MJT career. “I just tried to focus on hitting fairways and greens coming down the stretch,” commented Somerville. “The strongest part of my game was my ball striking.” Finishing just one shot out of the playoff was Zach Burt, 16, of Guelph, ON, who carded rounds of 76 and 72 (148) for third place.

Eric Tae Kyoung Yun, 18, earned his third straight win in the MJT Junior Boys division shooting scores 74 and 73 (147) to tie for the Low Overall score for the tournament. The Richmond Hill, ON-resident put up five birdies during the tournament and played two of his four nine holes at even par. “My driving was the strongest part of my game,” mentioned Yun. “I kept hitting fairways off the tee and that put me in position to score.” Alex Long, of Toronto, finished in second place just two shots back with scores of 80 and 69 (149). The 13-year-old player played up two divisions for this tournament and carded the lowest one-day score of the tournament from the back tees.

The Low Overall Girls score and winner of the MJT Girls 15-18 Division was North York, ON-golfer, Kelly Zhao. The 13-year-old upcoming star already has three MJT wins in 2019 and earned her fourth at Tangle Creek playing up a division. Zhao finished the tournament with scores of 75 and 76 (151) making an impressive 27 pars in 36 holes which included 10 in a row to start her first round. Alessandra Christine Nagayo, 15, of Toronto, finished in second place with scores of 75 and 81 (156). Nagayo earned her sixth consecutive top three finish since joining the MJT earlier this year. With her impressive season on the MJT, Nagayo also takes home the MJT Ontario Girls 15-18 Order of Merit title with a total of 1,737.50 points.

Fourteen-year-old Matthew Lyons, of Aurora, carded a seven-shot improvement between his two rounds to win the MJT Bantam Boys division by two shots. Lyons fired an 83 on the first day and followed it up with a 76 on day two for a total of 159. “My putting was the best part of my game,” remarked Lyons when asked about what he did well on the course. “But my tee shots and iron play were good too.” Daniel Luis Nagayo, 14, of Toronto, fired rounds of 83 and 78 (161) to take second place.

Richmond Hill’s Evan Wee, 12, shot 94 and 88 (182) in the MJT Peewee Boys division. Wee has been transitioning to the junior tour from the mini tour and we look forward to seeing him full-time on the junior tour next season.

For PLYR Long Drive, PLYR Closest-to-the-Pin and the MJT Booster Juice Comeback Award winners, please visit the highlights page for the tournament here. MJT National Championship exemptions will be sent directly to eligible players by MJT Head Office.

The next MJT event in Ontario is the National Team Challenge presented by Freedom 55 Financial at Royal Niagara Golf Club in Niagara-on-the-Lake, September 20 to 22, where teams from all over Canada, the USA, Australia and Mexico are set to compete in a college-golf type format. For more information, please visit www.maplejt.com.

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 close to 80 events across Canada, including free Ford Go Golf Junior Clinics, the MJT Mini Tour for 7 to 12 year olds, the Collegiate Tour for 19 to 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, see www.maplejt.com.