Young golfers from across Ontario were drawn to the Loyalist Country Club in Bath, Ontario this past weekend, May 13/14, for the playing of their annual junior showcase.
More than sixty juniors made the trip to play in the event, being contested for the 8th time, and offering an opportunity for both novice and experienced golfers to test themselves on a course that has been the previous host to the PGA TOUR Canada and numerous Golf Ontario Championships.
The players were also competing for a spot in the Road To The TPC Toronto event to be held in late July during the week of the PGA TOUR Canada’s Osprey Valley Open.
Play was took place in eight divisions, some a little thinner than others in respect to the number of competitors, but the wide age range of golfers was a positive sign for organizers.
Winners in the various divisions were:
Peewee Girls: Olivia Pattison
Peewee Boys: Owen Copp
Bantam Girls: Adrianna Salilila
Bantam Boys: Wilson Doornekamp
Juvenile Girls: Kyla Lederer
Juvenile Boys: Nate Ditto
Junior Boys: Yaorui Xu
Junior Girls: Jimin Kim
Notable play through the 36 of competition included playoffs that were required in two divisions.
In the Juvenile Girls class it was Kyla Lederer who had to face off with Naomi Goh. Lederer, playing in just her third tournament ever, was markedly nervous headed into the extra stanza. Even so she managed to stripe her tee shot and canned a tricky three foot putt to capture her first ever tournament title.
The Junior Boys division saw the biggest drama when Bode Stephen, Rowan MacDonald, and Yaorui Xu each completed regulation play at a score of 149. Bode was eliminated on the 1st extra hole, leaving Xu and MacDonald to settle the title. On the 2nd extra hole, things turned in MacDonald’s favour after he drilled a tee shot down the middle on Loyalist’s 10th hole while Xu found the fairway bunker. That was no deterrent to Xu who calmly struck his bunker shot to fifteen feet from the hole while MacDonald found the fringe some twenty feet below the hole.
After MacDonald missed his birdie attempt, Xu found the bottom of the cup to grab the win and complete the 2023 Loyalist Junior Golf Showcase in style.
For full results see the link here.
