MINETT— Sudbury’s Tristan Renaud is the 2017 Investors Group Ontario Junior Boys’ Champion, that after a final round of two-under (68) on July 7 at The Rock Golf Club. Renaud, from Idylwylde Golf & Country Club, entered the final round with a four-shot lead and saw it through to the finish, capturing the title.
The 16-year-old Renaud wasted little time in extending his lead. He made back-to-back birdie putts on the third and fourth holes to drop to two-under on the day. Renaud went on to knock down another birdie on the eighth and made the turn at three-under. Renaud had one slip up on the back nine, a double bogey on the 15th, but he rebounded with birdies on the 16th and 18th to end the day with his 68. With that, Renaud completed the tournament one-over (68-75-70-68-281).
Afterwards, Renaud talked about what the win meant to him. “It means a lot that the work that I have put into my game, along with my determination, is starting to pay off. I feel like this is the first (win) of many!”
When asked about what he did well during the week, Renaud pointed to his ball striking. “For three out of the four days, I hit the ball fantastically, I did not miss a fairway. I hit great iron shots, great wedge shots, chipped well and today and the first day I putted really well.”
The Rock proved to be a big challenge for the field, but Renaud seemed to figure it out. “This course is interesting because it is not very long. I didn’t have to hit a driver, but you have to be accurate. You can’t get away with poor shots or missing to one side or the other.”
Sharing the silver medal were Richmond Hill’s Angelo Giantsopoulos and Burlington’s Marcus Khaw. Giantsopoulos, from York Downs Golf & Country Club, began the day in the second last group. He had a consistent round with two birdies and three bogeys, to end the day one-over (71). That brought him to 11-over (77-70-73-71-291) for the championship.
As for Khaw (72-76-69-74-291), from Blue Springs Golf Club, he had a tough front nine to begin the day and was four-over at the turn. While he did have a pair of double bogeys on the back nine, he erased that with four birdies to finish the day four-over (74).
Renaud, Giantsopoulos and Khaw all earned the right to represent Ontario in the inter-provincial competition at the Canadian Junior Boys’ Championship, July 31- Aug. 3 at Cataraqui Golf & Country Club in Kingston.
For more information, including pairings and the leaderboard, see the tournament site at: https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao17/event/gao174/index.htm
Golf Ontario would like to thank The Rock Golf Club, their staff and volunteers for hosting the event. Thanks also to the Golf Ontario volunteers and to title sponsor Investors Group for their continued support of golf in the province.
About the Investors Group Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship
The Investors Group Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship is open to male golfers 18 years of age and under, who have qualified through one of six qualifiers held across the province earlier this season. The Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship was first contested in 1923 at the Summit Golf & Country Club. Past winners of the event include: Gerry Kesselring, Gary Cowan, Stu Hamilton, Mike Weir, Jon Mills and Albin Choi.
LISTOWEL— Make it a junior stoke-play championship sweep for Langton’s Peyton Callens. Callens, who won the Investors Group Junior Boys’ Spring Classic earlier this year, capped off the feat on July 22 as he added the 2016 Investors Group Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship to his resume.
Callens, 16-years-old and from the Delhi Golf & Country Club, entered the final round, at Listowel Golf Club, in a three-way tie for fourth place at four-under. Playing in the second last group, Callens, a Team Ontario member, birdied the opening hole. He added a second on the par-four sixth hole but bogeyed the eighth to make the turn at one-under. On the back nine he made back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11 to get into a share of the lead. While he did bogey the 16th, he made par on the 18th, which was good enough to earn him the championship at two-under (70) for the day and six-under (71-67-74-70-282) for the tournament.
Afterwards, Callens spoke about what winning the championship meant to him. “Winning this event feels pretty good, it is one of the bigger events I have won. Winning both this and the Spring Classic means a lot to me, it has been a good Golf Ontario season, now I have to continue this play at the Canadian Junior.”
Callens admitted he wasn’t sure where he stood coming into the final few holes. “I hadn’t looked at the leaderboard. I thought I probably needed to get to eight-under to win. I was seven-under coming into 16 but I bogeyed so I thought I needed to birdie one of the last two holes. I got in with two pars and it turned out to be enough to win.”
For Callens, the strength of his game this week was his iron play. He talked about how it set him up on the greens. “I probably had at least 20 birdie putts inside 10 feet this week and that was all thanks to my iron play and ball striking.”
Now Callens will turn his attention to the Canadian Junior Championship. “My goal is always to win but this is the first time that I have played this event. I know it will be hard in Newfoundland, so I’m just looking to post good scores each day.”
Joining Callens on the tournament podium were Ancaster’s Ryan Murphy and Mono’s Isaac Maxwell who shared the silver medal at five-under for the tournament. Maxwell, from the Shelburne Golf and Country Club, began the day in sole possession of top spot and looked to be in good shape on the front nine. He birdied the first and fifth holes before a bogey on the seventh. He got that right back with a birdie on the eighth and was two-under at the turn. However, it was the back nine where he faltered. A bogey on 11, followed by a double on 12 and another bogey on 14 created a swing that saw him give up the lead. Still, he managed to limit any further damage, finishing the day two-over (74) capping off the tournament at five-under (75-66-68-74-283).
As for Murphy, he entered the day in a tie for second at five-under. He found himself two-under early in the round thanks to birdies on holes one, three, and five, with a bogey on four. After making the turn at two-under, Murphy would bogey the 14th and 18th to finish the round at even par (72). That kept his tournament total at five-under (75-66-70-72-283).
In addition to playing for the title, the top 34 golfers received a quota spot to play in the Canadian Junior Boys’ Championship, Aug. 1-4 at Clovelly Golf Course in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Team Ontario was also named for the team competition at the Canadian Junior Boys’ Championship. Representing Ontario will be Callens, Murphy and Sudbury’s Tristan Renaud who earned the spot thanks to a playoff win.
For complete tournament information, including the final leaderboard, see the tournament site at: https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao16/event/gao169/index.htm
Golf Ontario would like to thank Listowel Golf Club, along with their staff and volunteers for hosting the event. Thanks also to title sponsor Investors Group and the Golf Ontario volunteers for their continued support of golf in the province.
About the Investors Group Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship
The Investors Group Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship is open to male golfers 18 years of age and under, who have qualified through one of nine qualifiers held across the province in June and early July. The Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship was first contested in 1923 at the Summit Golf & Country Club. Past winners of the event include: Gerry Kesselring, Gary Cowan, Stu Hamilton, Mike Weir, Jon Mills and Albin Choi.
PORT HOPE – The Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Investors Group Junior Boys’ Championship wrapped up on July 24 from the Dalewood Golf Club in Port Hope. The four-round event was dominated from start to finish by Waterloo’s Trevor Ranton who hoisted the trophy at the end of the day with a final round two-under (69).
Ranton, 18 from the Whistle Bear Golf Club, gained his momentum during the first round when he shot six-under (65). He opened up a four-stroke lead that he used to see out the win during the remaining rounds.
On the final day, Ranton, a member of the Golf Canada Development Squad, started strong with a birdie on the second hole. He would give it back but was even through the turn. On the back nine, Ranton, sealed it with an eagle on the 14th, to secure the win. He finished the tournament five-under (65-72-73-69-279).
After the win, Ranton spoke about how his opening round set the tempo for the rest of the tournament. “It really allowed me to play freely, knowing that I had that cushion. When my game wasn’t going as well during the second and third day, I was still in a positive mindset because I knew that I had done that the first day and knew I could do it again.”
Ranton is no stranger to winning big events. Just last year he was crowned the GAO Junior Boys’ Match Play Champion and earlier this year he walked away with the CN Future Links Pacific title. Ranton spoke about where this win ranks for him. “It’s awesome to win this, it has been my goal since I started playing in these events. It is really nice to get it in my final junior year. I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple victories in the last year and a bit and this one is right up their at the top, with it being one of the most prestigious events in Ontario.”
Earning the silver medal was Shelburne’s Kyle Johnston, from the Shelburne Golf & Country Club. Johnston, 18, came into the final round at two-over and went on to post a two-under (69) to earn sole possession of second. He ended the tournament at even par (69-72-74-69-284).
The bronze medal was won by Peterborough’s Sam Meek, from the Kawartha Golf & Country Club. Meek, 16, was consistent throughout the tournament and finished three-over (69-73-72-73-287).
Ranton, Johnston and Meek also earned the right to represent Ontario in the inter-provincial team competition at the Canadian Junior Boys’ Championship Aug. 3-6 at the Summerlea Golf & Country Club in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec. The top 34 finishers, excluding players already exempt, also received a quota spot for the Canadian Championship.
The GAO would like to thank Dalewood Golf Club, along with their staff and volunteers for helping to run the event. Thanks also to the GAO volunteers and title sponsor Investors Group for their continued support of golf in the province. For complete tournament information, including the final leaderboard, see the tournament site at: http://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao15/event/gao1520/index.htm
About the Investors Group Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship
The Investors Group Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship is open to male golfers 18 years of age and under, who have qualified through one of 10 qualifiers held across the province in June and early July. The Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship was first contested in 1923 at the Summit Golf & Country Club. Past winners of the event include: Gerry Kesselring, Gary Cowan, Stu Hamilton, Mike Weir, Jon Mills and Albin Choi.
