CAMBRIDGE— The second round of the Ontario Peewee Championship looked like it was going to be a repeat of the first with more beautiful conditions at Puslinch Lake Golf Course on Aug. 1. However, early in the afternoon a storm moved in and what was originally predicted to be a short delay, brought the players in for two hours. When the round did resume it was Cambridge’s Andreas Diogenous and Ottawa’s Isabella Ferguson who were crowned champions.

The hometown advantage proved to be enough for Diogenous. The Whistle Bear Golf Club member entered the final round with a share of the lead after posting a one-under (71) in the first round. He would better himself on the second day with an impressive five-under (67) to drop to six-under (138) for the tournament.

After the win, Diogenous spoke about what part of his game helped to lift him to his impressive final round. “I would have to say my putting. I probably made half of the putts I had on the front nine and made a few 30-footers. All of my putts under 10-feet went straight in, so that was good.”

Second spot went to the other co-leader from round one, Markham’s Kevin Lee. Lee, from Station Creek Golf Club, also had a solid second round. He was two-under at the turn and after an even back nine he finished the day two-under (70). That brought Lee to three-under (141) for the championship.

Rounding out the podium was Renfrew’s Carter Jarrett. The Renfrew Golf Club member also had an under-par second round finishing at one-under (71). That, combined with his three-over (75) opening round, moved him to two-over (146) for the tournament.

Ferguson, from eQuinelle Golf Club, entered the day with a share of the lead thanks to her opening round of four-over (76). Ferguson began the round well with four straight pars. She went on to make the turn at three-over. After a bogey on 11, Ferguson would drain her only birdie of the round on the 12^th. That turned out to be critical, as she would finish the round at seven-over (79) to bring her tournament total to 11-over (155), which gave her the title by a single stroke.

Afterwards, Ferguson spoke about what was running through her mind as she clung to the lead with one hole to go. “Coming down 18, I knew I just had to maintain the lead. I knew I just had to make a par, bogey, or even a birdie would have been nice. I just wanted to play it safe and have a solid finish.”

One-shot back was Hornby’s Annika Naumovski. Naumovski, a Brampton Golf Club member, started the day with a share of first thanks to her opening round of four-over (76). She had a good start to the day with a birdie on the third hole but the difference was a double bogey on the ninth. She was even with Ferguson at the turn at three-over but finished the back nine five-over and ended the day eight-over (80). That brought her to 12-over (156) for the championship and earned her the silver medal.

Picking up the bronze was Nepean’s Lauren Gervais. Gervais began the day in fourth after a 12-over (84) opening round. Her second round was highlighted by an eagle on the third hole. She went on to finish six-over (78) bringing her to 18-over (162) for the two days.

For complete tournament information, including the final leaderboards, see the tournament sites at: https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao17/event/gao1724/index.htm for the Boys’ Championship and https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao17/event/gao1725/index.htm for the Girls’ Championship.

Golf Ontario would like to thank Puslinch Lake Golf Course, along with their staff and volunteers for hosting the event. Thanks also to the Golf Ontario volunteers for their continued support of golf in the province.

About the Ontario Peewee Championship

The Ontario Peewee Championship made its debut in 2015. The championship is hosted by the Puslinch Lake Golf Course, which has a history with Golf Ontario, hosting the Ontario Bantam Championship from 1999 to 2012. The tournament is open to males and females who are younger than 13 years of age as of Aug. 1.

CAMBRIDGE — The Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) was pleased to present the inaugural NXTee Peewee Preview Tournament on May 2 at Puslinch Lake Golf Club, in Cambridge. The event was a wrap up to the NXTee Youth Golf Training pilot project, funded in part by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, which offered off-season training to golfers 12-years-old and under. Participants from the program along with other young players teed it up in a scramble format that gave them a chance to see the course that will host the GAO’s Inaugural Peewee Championship Aug. 6-7.

“This event was a big success!” Said Mike Kelly, GAO Managing Director of Sport. “We had lots of parents, kids, coaches and teams take part and even Corey Conners starting the players off the first tee. It was a great opportunity for the GAO to get parents and kids on the course together and an excellent way to engage and keep them in golf.”

Conners was no doubt a big hit as the players were able to take pictures and ask the 2015 Masters participant questions on what it is like to be a professional player.

In total, 58 players took part in the event. The participation numbers were a welcome sight to NXTee Head Coach Doug Lawrie. “What I really like is that we had participation from as far as Lindsay and London. We had great support from golf development centres, which shows the recognition of the importance of the NXTee program. Seeing the kids participate, who were part of the pilot project this winter, really is a testament for how this program can help kids move forwards and figure out what is next for them in the sport.”

Lawrie also stressed the importance of grassroots youth programming at the provincial level to work with national programs like CN Future Links in relation to Golf Canada’s Long Term Development Plan. “What has been shown is that provincial golf associations can use programs like NXTee because it helps kids find their way in golf and map out a pathway recreationally or competitively. I think it is a great way to get them involved in the sport at an early age.”

The event also served as a building block towards the GAO Peewee Championship by allowing potential competitors to get an early look at the course that will be hosting the event. “Puslinch Lake has hosted our Ontario Bantam Championship in the past, so it is a logical move to hold our Ontario Peewee Championship here,” added Kelly. “It will be a fun and fair set up for everybody and will showcase the talents of these young kids. We owe a big thank you to the Ontario Ministry of Culture Tourism and Sport who helped get the NXTee program off the ground, which will lead into our Peewee Championship.”

While the event put the emphasis on fun and working as a team, and did not award winners, some of the teams finished with impressive scores including -5 and -3 on the boys’ side and -1 and even-par on the girls’ side.

NXTee Peewee Preview Photos

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