by Joe McLean
The Ottawa Valley Golf Association’s Junior Spring Classic, after a two-year break because of COVID 19, was played at the Canadian Golf & Country Club on the West course over the weekend of May 7-8, 2022.
Many mothers and fathers celebrated Mother’s Day by walking the golf course with their sons and daughters.
The ability to play in the wind was a key factor in the scoring by the 75 junior golfers playing in this year’s Spring Classic.
The winners in each division were:
Bantam Girls – Gracelyn Xiao, Rivermead Golf Club
Juvenile Girls – Sophie Foulds, Royal Ottawa Golf Club
Junior Girls – Allessandra Nagayo, Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto
Pee Wee Boys – Karson Hurlbert, Camelot Golf & Country Club
Bantam Boys – Chase Jerome, Royal Ottawa Golf Club
Juvenile Boys – Henry Dao, Richelieu Valley Golf Club
Junior Boys – Luc-Antoine De Celles, Royal Ottawa Golf Club (Playoff)
In the Junior Boys Division, Francisco Sanchez (Ottawa Hunt), Luc-Antoine De Celles (Royal Ottawa), Antoine Morisset (Blainvillier) and David Lafreniere (Ottawa Hunt) all tied for 1st place thus requiring a sudden-win playoff. Unfortunately, Francisco Sanchez had left the golf course and was almost at home when the playoff was announced and couldn’t make it back in time for the playoff.
The OVGA Junior Spring Classic was sponsored by the Nepean Optimist Club with its donation of various skill prizes. Since 2007, the Nepean Optimist Club has sponsored local junior golfers in their attempts to qualify for the Canadian Optimist National Junior Golf Championships and the Optimist International Junior Golf Championships.
Congratulations to all of the members of the local Nepean Optimist Club and indeed the worldwide Optimist Organization. They are helping the OVGA and junior golf in a big way.
The Optimist Club of Nepean has been generously supporting junior golf in our region for many years through their sponsorship of the OVGA Spring Classic. Optimist Club volunteers also come out to help with setup, registration and award presentations at this event. Their involvement is critical in helping to grow the OVGA junior program and supporting our goal of increasing youth participation in this fun and inclusive sport.
The OVGA Spring Classic presented by the Optimist Club of Nepean is the first event on the OVGA Junior Calendar each year. It is also the first event of the new season-long race to the Junior OVGA Cup sponsored by Humber College PGM. – Jim Davidson, OVGA Director of Player Development
Congratulations to all of the OVGA volunteers and rules officials as well as the CJGA Team of Ryan Shaw, Brennan Richardson and Matt Gunn, who handled the starting and scoring, for running a 1st-class tournament to start off the year for junior golfers.
