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The Road to College Golf, run exclusively by PGA ProfessionalsPress Release
June 7-8, 2003
Picture Butte, AB
June 9, 2003
WCJGT GOLFERS AWARDED SPOTS IN FUTURE LINKS WESTERN CHAMPIONSHIP
Picture Butte, AB ? Five junior golfers from Alberta have been handed spots in a top-rate tournament in Edmonton after posting strong finishes in a Western Canada Junior Golf Tour event at the challenging Picture Butte Golf Course last weekend.
Winning berths in the nationally-ranked Future Links Western Championship, to be held July 28-31 at Highlands Golf Club, were Rhys Royer of Calgary, Braden Graham of Medicine Hat, Mark Robinson of Lethbridge, and Mackenzie Renner and Breanne Neufeld, both of Coaldale.
The WCJGT Junior at Picture Butte, which featured extreme weather conditions ? balmy, summer-like temperatures on the first day, but cold, wind and thunder on the second ? was a qualifier for two bantam division players, aged 13 and under, and three juniors, aged 14-18.
Royer, 13, was awarded a spot in the Future Links Championship after posting scores of 77-77 to win the Boys 13 and under division of the WCJGT event.
?Although I didn?t play my best, I still played good enough to win,? said Royer. ?I love the Western Tour events. The golf course was fantastic and the greens are great.?
Fifteen-year-old Renner, who shot 80-77 to take top honors among the girls, said she drove the ball particularly well, but that her short putting was less than ideal. Coaldale?s Denielle Neufeld was second among the girls, with scores of 86-81, while her 13-year-old sister Breanne Neufeld shot 84-84 to take third spot.
Mitchell Fox of Okotoks was seven strokes off the lead going into the second round, but posted a two-under Par score of 70 to edge Robinson and win the Boys 14-16 division. Robinson had scores of 73-78, while Will Porter of Cranbrook, B.C., shot 79-73 to finish third.
Lethbridge standout Dale Vallely missed a one-foot putt on the 36th hole to wind up in a first-place tie with Braden Graham and Lethbridge?s Justin Nagy in the Boys 17-and-up division.
?I can?t believe I missed it, but I?m relieved to have won anyway,? Vallely said, who took the division title on a countback. Both Vallely and Nagy shot 72-75, while Graham posted rounds of 70-77 to also finish with a 147 two-day tally.
Solid performances were also turned in by Jace Barros of Edmonton and Christopher Dowling of Calgary, who both shot 80-76 in the Boys 13-and-under division.
Winners of the Sundog Skills Competition were Neil Pulongbarit of Edmonton, Lamont Healy of Coalhurst, Cayde Brown of Nanton and Anisha Chong of Lethbridge.
The non-profit Western Canada Junior Golf Tour is presented by Boston Pizza and hosts tournaments for boys and girls aged 10-23 in four age divisions. The Tour is building on its success in the four Western provinces by expanding into Ontario this summer under the Nationwide Junior Golf Tour banner.
The next Alberta event is the WCJGT Junior at Magrath Golf Course, July 3-4. For more information or to register, please call 1-877-859-GOLF.