Lansdowne, ON – Matthew Javier (Scarboro Golf & Country Club) and Alissa Xu (Station Creek Golf Club) claim the 2022 Ontario Juvenile Championship after three rounds of fantastic play at Smugglers Glen Golf Course.

Javier was 3-under on his day and 5-under overall as he approached the 18th hole. Sitting one stroke behind leader Luke Smith (The Thornhill Club), Javier would sink a long birdie putt and give himself a share of the lead. However, after an unsuccessful attempt to reach the green in two on the par 5 hole, Smith, a Team Ontario member, would find himself with a 15-foot putt to send it to a playoff. Smith would narrowly miss the edge of the hole, securing the victory for Javier. Smith takes home the Silver Medal after a spectacular showing this week, shooting 5-under overall (211) and putting up two rounds of 69. Jax Sisson (Pointe West Golf Club)secured third place, shooting 4-under for the tournament.

Xu held the lead for the entire day, maintaining a minimum 2-strokes ahead of the field at all times. Xu finished the tournament even par (216) with a low score of 69 in round one. Michelle Xing (Station Creek Golf Club) finished in second place, receiving the Silver Medal after a fantastic outing in today’s final round (71). Bronze Medalist Aryn Matthews (Bigwin Island Golf Club) also had a spectacular performance in today’s round, finishing 1-under (71).

Golf Ontario would like to thank all the players, staff, and volunteers for supporting the 2022 Ontario Juvenile (U17) Boys & Girls Championship. Thank you to Smugglers Glen Golf Club for hosting this amazing event. Lastly, thanks to our sponsors and partners; Adidas, Taylor Made, Golf Talk Canada, Play Golf Myrtle Beach, Humber College, StrackaLine, HUB International, BioSteel, Golf Genius, Modern Golf, Dormie, Durham Artificial Grass, Foresight Sports Canada, Baka, Nikon, and Sport Travel.

For media coverage of the 2022 Ontario Juvenile Championship, please visit the Golf Ontario Facebook Page to view our photo albums. To follow along with the leaderboard, visit our Golf Genius Page.

About the Ontario Juvenile (U17) Boys’ and Girls’ Championships

The Ontario Juvenile (U17) Boys’ Championship is a 54-hole competition featuring the province’s best junior golfers under 17, competing for the Mike Weir trophy. Notable past champions include Josh Whalen, Brandon Ng, Tim McCutcheon, Peter R. Knechtel, Bob Panasiuk, and Gary Cowan.

The Ontario Juvenile (U17) Girls’ Championship features the province’s best junior golfers under 17, competing for the Sandra Post trophy. Past event champions include Sandra Post, Jessica Shepley, Alena Sharp, Stephanie Sherlock, Rebecca Lee-Bentham, current Team Canada member Katie Cranston, and Grace St. Germain.

About Golf Ontario

Golf Ontario is Ontario’s Provincial Sport Organization focused on enhancing participation, elevating performance, and supporting the passion of golfers in Ontario. With over 100,000 individual members and 500 member clubs, Golf Ontario is one of the largest golf associations in the world.  From rating courses and keeping the integral rules of the game intact to growing the game at the grassroots level and hosting the best amateur tournaments in Canada, Golf Ontario is a passionate group dedicated to Shaping Lives Through Golf.

Instagram/Twitter/Facebook: @TheGolfOntario

To stay informed on Golf Ontario’s championship play, events, and additional updates, make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

For more information, please contact:

Peter MacKellar, Manager, Marketing and Communications, Golf Ontario;
PMacKellar@gao.ca

Adam (AJ) Abraham, Assistant, Marketing Communications, Golf Ontario;
AAbraham@gao.ca

Lansdowne, ON – From August 23 – 25, Golf Ontario presents the 2022 Ontario Juvenile (U17) Boys & Girls Championship at Smugglers Glen Golf Course.

“Smuggler’s Glen Golf Course is excited to host the 2022 Ontario Juvenile U17 Boys and Girls Championship. We appreciate this is not only the future of golf for Ontario but Canada as well,” said Jason Boyce, Director of Golf Operations at Smuggler’s Glen. “We are thrilled to see that all of Ontario’s young talent will be at Smuggler’s Glen August 22nd to the 25th.” The course is an inspiring blend of nature and design. The generous fairways and gently contoured greens set in a pristine forest environment are inviting and enjoyable. Brilliant white sand bunkers, refreshing river breezes and dramatic elevation changes will add excitement to each round.

The tournament will feature 30 girls and 60 boys, who will all compete to claim the 2022 Juvenile Championship title. Golfers will participate in 54 holes of stroke play competition, with a cut after the first 36 holes.

In the girl’s field, some key players to keep an eye on include past Golf Ontario Champions Lindsay McGrath (Rattlesnake Point Golf Club), Michelle Xing (Station Creek Golf Club), Carlee Meilleur (Loyalist Golf & Country Club) and Swetha Sathish (Hidden Lake Golf Club). Also participating in this year’s event are Team Ontario members Emma Hansen (Blue Springs Golf Club), Alissa Xu (Station Creek Golf Club) and Tara O’Connor (Victoria Park Golf Club).

Key players to look out for the boys include many past Golf Ontario Champions, including last week’s Junior Match Play Champion Luke Smith (The Thornhill Club), as well as Matthew Javier (Scarboro Golf & Country Club) and Jager Pain (Golf Canada Club – Ontario). In addition, Team Ontario member Isaiah Ibit (Greyhawk Golf Club) will compete on the boy’s side.

Opening round action begins on August 23rd at 7:30 am. Check out our Golf Genius webpage for tee times and leaderboard information.
 

About the Ontario Juvenile (U17) Boys’ and Girls’ Championships

The Ontario Juvenile (U17) Boys’ Championship is a 54-hole competition featuring the province’s best junior golfers under 17, competing for the Mike Weir trophy. Notable past champions include Josh Whalen, Brandon Ng, Tim McCutcheon, Peter R. Knechtel, Bob Panasiuk, and Gary Cowan.

The Ontario Juvenile (U17) Girls’ Championship features the province’s best junior golfers under 17, competing for the Sandra Post trophy. Past event champions include Sandra Post, Jessica Shepley, Alena Sharp, Stephanie Sherlock, Rebecca Lee-Bentham, current Team Canada member Katie Cranston, and Grace St. Germain.

About Golf Ontario

Golf Ontario is Ontario’s Provincial Sport Organization focused on enhancing participation, elevating performance, and supporting the passion of golfers in Ontario. With over 100,000 individual members and 500 member clubs, Golf Ontario is one of the largest golf associations in the world.  From rating courses and keeping the integral rules of the game intact to growing the game at the grassroots level and hosting the best amateur tournaments in Canada, Golf Ontario is a passionate group dedicated to Shaping Lives Through Golf.

Instagram/Twitter/Facebook: @TheGolfOntario

To stay informed on Golf Ontario’s championship play, events, and additional updates, make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

For more information, please contact:

Peter MacKellar, Manager, Marketing and Communications, Golf Ontario;
PMacKellar@gao.ca

Adam (AJ) Abraham, Assistant, Marketing Communications, Golf Ontario;
AAbraham@gao.ca

GANANOQUE, ON— It was a chance for the Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) to showcase it’s Regional Team Program as 12 members from the three Regional Teams (Ottawa, York and Waterloo) were selected to comprise the 2014 Ontario roster for the Ontario/Quebec Matches, July 22-23 at Smugglers Glen Golf Course in Gananoque, Ontario.

Each province fielded a team of their top 12 to 16 year-old players for this annual team match play event. The teams were comprised of two juvenile (age 15-16) and four bantam (age 14 & under) players of each gender. The Ontario team consisted of: Sarah Cushing, Delana Basanisi, Haley Barclay, Isabella Portokalis, Diana McDonald, Alexandra Naumovski, Justin DiCienzo, Lachlan O’Hara, Nicklaus Naumovski, Jake Bryson, David Yoon and Kyle MacDonald.

The Ontario team was coached by Jeff Overholt, head coach of the York Regional Team. Overholt was selected as the coach for this event as a result of his York team winning the GAO Regional Team Competition held during March Break in Myrtle Beach.

This was the second consecutive year that Smugglers Glen Golf Course hosted the event and the players were eager to hit the course for the opening round four-ball matches on July 22.

Ontario got out to a good start, taking five of the six matches. O’Hara and Nicklaus Naumovski earned a 4&3 win, Bryson and DiCienzo took their match 4&3, Alexandra Naumovski and McDonald won 2up, Barclay and Cushing got the victory 4&2, and Portokalis and Basanisi won 4&3. The only loss for the team came in MacDonald and Yoon’s match where they were defeated 5&3.

Even with their lead after the first day, the team needed to have a strong second day during the singles matches as 12 points were still on the line.

The day began with the Ontario girls remaining perfect. Cushing won her match 2up, Basanisi took hers 5&4, Barclay was victorious 4&3, Portokalis earned a 5&3 decision, McDonald won 3&2, and Alexandra Naumovski posted a 6&4 win. As for the boys, unfortunately, three members of the Quebec team were struck with illness the night before resulting in forfeited matches. Bryson, Nicklaus Naumovski and DiCienzo were all awarded their matches by default. In the other three matches, things were very tight as all three went the full 18 holes. O’Hara won his 1up, Yoon, who had a pair of eagles and five birdies on the round, ended all square, and MacDonald was edged out when his opponent birdied the 18^th hole and lost 1-down.

Still, at the end of the day it was Ontario who won the 2014 Ontario/Quebec Junior Matches by a total score of 15.5 to 2.5.

GAO Manager of Sport Performance, Mary Ann Hayward, gave full credit to the Regional Team Programs for the athlete’s preparation for the event. “All the players here this week seemed very comfortable with the team format. Their regional team experience last year, as well as the March Break Regional Team Competition in Myrtle Beach, seemed to prepare them very well for these matches. Jeff Overholt did a great job with the team this week and versed them very well with the strategies for team match play. We must also give credit to Adam Holden (Team Ottawa head coach) and Mike Martz (Team Waterloo head coach) for the work they did with these regional team athletes throughout the past winter.”