Vancouver, B.C. (April 24, 2017) – A full field of junior golfers ranging in age from six to 12 years old played some fantastic golf at the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s Mini Tour IMG Junior Worlds Qualifier this past Sunday, April 23, at Tsawwassen Springs Golf Course in Tsawwassen, BC. The rain held off for most of the day, but windy conditions prevailed in this season-opening tournament for the Boston Pizza-presented MJT Mini Tour, which kicks off a 14 event Mini-series across the country.

The players were competing for division titles plus age-specific direct exemptions into the prestigious IMG Academy Junior World Golf Championships in San Diego, CA, this July. The four eligible winners of these exemptions were Charlene Su, Cheho An, Vanessa Zhang and Ryan Liang – all of whom won their respective division titles as detailed below.

Charlene Su, 7, of Vancouver, BC, took home the honors in the Girls 8 and under division with a score of 108 from modified tees, saying ‘she was happy, very happy to win the first tournament, and was very satisfied with her hybrid game.’ Cheho An, 8, of Surrey, BC, was the MJT Boys 8 and under winner after posting a three under par round of 67 from the modified tees.

The Atom Girls and Boys (ages 9-10) titles went respectively to Vanessa Zhang, 10, of Vancouver (74) and  Ryan Liang, 10, also of Vancouver, who fired a second 3 under par round of the day shooting a 67. 

 

The Peewee Girls (ages 11-12) winner was Tina Jiang 12, of Richmond, BC, who shot 74, and went on to say, ‘ my round was OK, my chipping has improved a lot, and was the best part of my game today.’ Nathan Szpakowicz, 11, of Vancouver, took home medalist honors in Peewee Boys with a round of 80 over the difficult 5097 yard layout. “It felt good to come out on top of the other boys,” he said afterwards. “I played to my strengths today, and was able to finish strong.”

Winners of the MJT Mini Tour Long Drive and Closest-to-the-Pin contests are noted on the tournament page on the MJT website.  The next MJT Mini Tour stop in British Columbia is on May 14^th, back at Tsawwassen Springs, and features a direct entry qualifier for the US Kids World Championship. For more information or to register, 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 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. 

 

MEDIA CONTACT: Chris Hood, Manager of Marketing & Administration, Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 1-877-859-GOLF  www.maplejt.com.