Gavin MacIver captures Ontario Juvenile Boys’ Championship at Ontario Summer Games
Peter MacKellar
WINDSOR— The Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Juvenile (U17) Boys’ Championship, held in conjunction with the Ontario Summer Games, wrapped up on Aug. 10 with the final round of play. After many lead changes and names atop the leaderboard, it was Scarborough’s Gavin MacIver who took the title in the end with a final round of one-under (69) to bring his tournament total to three-over.
The 16-year-old Cherry Downs Golf & Country Club member entered the final round in a tie for third at four-over. But after round-two leader, Niagara Falls’ Jaret Chipman, faltered during the day, MacIver was able to take advantage.
“The final round started off ok,” said MacIver. “The leader (Chipman) was playing well. Then we got to the back nine and I had the lead. I soon found out that Jake (Bryson), in the second last group, was one up on me. Things really turned around on 11 and 12 when I birdied them and got the outright lead. I just brought it home from there.”
MacIver put a string of three birdies on four holes together on the ninth, 11th and 12th holes to help galvanize his round. In the process, he was also able to move ahead of Dunrobin’s Jake Bryson who also held the lead during the round.
“I was rolling in a lot of putts. I made a 20 footer on 12 downhill, which really got things going, from there I just tried to par the rest of the holes,” said MacIver.
It was that putting along with his play off the tees that MacIver attributed his success to. “My putting and shots from the tee were the strongest parts of my game this week. I gave myself good birdie chances all week. Today, I made all my short putts and drained a couple long ones that got my game going.”
Bryson, a member of the GAO’s Ottawa Regional Team, finished the day at even par (70) and was four-over for the tournament, earning the silver medal.
Rounding out the podium was Waterloo Regional Team and Greenhills Golf Club member Jackson Bowery. Bowery, the London resident, shot a three-over (73) and ended the tournament three shots back at six-over.
The Golf Association of Ontario would like to thank the volunteers and staff from Roseland Golf & Curling Club, along with the Ontario Summer Games for hosting the championship.
The Ontario Juvenile Boys’ Championship is a 54-hole competition that features the province’s best junior golfers under the age of 17 competing for the Mike Weir trophy. This year the event is contested as part of the 2014 Ontario Summer Games.
Madeline Marck-Sherk wins Ontario Juvenile Girls’ Championship at Ontario Summer Games
Peter MacKellar
WINDSOR— The Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Juvenile (U17) Girls’ Championship, held in conjunction with the Ontario Summer Games, came to an end on Aug. 10 at the Roseland Golf & Curling Club in Windsor. When the final putt was drained, it was Ridgeway’s Madeline Marck-Sherk who walked away with the Juvenile Girls’ trophy and the Ontario Summer Games’ gold medal.
Marck-Sherk, 16-years-old from the Bridgeway Country Club and the GAO’s Waterloo Regional Team, got out to a great start during the round with birdies on the first and third holes. She would add an eagle on the 14th and finished the day two-under (70) to end the tournament at even par.
“It was a big week for me. I was able to drain some putts today and with a score of 70, I can’t have any complaints. It was such a great tournament and I am just so happy to have won this,” said Marck-Sherk.
After the round, Marck-Sherk credited her performance to her strong putting. “The early putts helped a lot, I was able to keep the momentum going and continue strong throughout the round. Coming into the tournament I knew there was a chance for me to win and making it to the final group, I knew there was a possibility.”
Finishing second was Ottawa’s Grace St-Germain. The Team Ontario and Hylands Golf Club member finished the day one-over (73) to end the tournament at five-over. Marck-Sherk spoke about what playing in the final group with the 2014 Canadian Junior Girls’ and Quebec Women’s Amateur champion was like. “It was tough, I knew she would be tough competition. We are good friends and I was honoured to play with her. She played well today, the nerves were there for me, but I was able to overcome them.”
Picking up the bronze medal was London resident and London Hunt and Country Club member Isabella Portokalis. Portokalis, a Waterloo Regional Team member, finished the day one-over (73) and ended the tournament at eight-over.
The Golf Association of Ontario would like to thank the volunteers and staff from Roseland Golf & Curling Club, along with the Ontario Summer Games for hosting the championship.
The Ontario Juvenile Girls’ Championship features the province’s best junior golfers under the age of 17 competing for the Sandra Post trophy. Past champions of the event include Post, Jessica Shepley, Alena Sharp, Stephanie Sherlock, and Rebecca Lee-Bentham. This year the event was contested as part of the 2014 Ontario Summer Games.
ASHTON, ON— Port Credit resident Chloe Currie came into the second round of the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Ontario Bantam (U15) Girls’ Championship, Aug. 7 at the Canadian Golf & Country Club in Ashton, with a comfortable 11-shot advantage. She would see that lead to the end of the second and final round as she captured the 2014 championship.
“I made solid shots and had a plan. I went out and played the course according to my plan, the best I could. It was a challenging course. It wasn’t too long but it was tricky. There are a lot of 90 degree holes, tough bunkers and putting greens that become really fast when you’re putting downhill. You just need to get going and play steady. I think I was able to do well because I just played steady golf,” said Currie after the win.
The 14-year-old from the Mississauga Golf & Country Club had an opening round of two-over (74) and cruised through the second round finishing it at one-over (73) to end the tournament three-over for the win.
“This win would rank as the best career highlight for me so far. It is the best I have ever done in a tournament. I am so glad that I came to play this event. It was my last year to play in it and I wanted to come here, play strong, finish strong and I did.”
Currie had got herself to one-over for the tournament thanks to a birdie on the seventh hole. However, she would shoot two-over on the back nine. Still, it would not matter as Currie was able to hang on to win by an amazing 24-strokes.
“I was consistent on the par threes. My irons were great today and my putting was amazing, I made a lot of important putts that gave me momentum for the next holes,” added Currie.
Finishing second was Olivia Trieu from Richmond Hill, who ended the tournament at 27-over and Brampton’s Amanda Kerr was third at 29-over.
The Golf Association of Ontario would like to thank the members, volunteers and staff from the Canadian Golf & Country Club for hosting the championship.
ASHTON, ON— Tecumseh’s Curtis Hughes entered the final round of the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Bantam (U15) Boys’ Championship, Aug. 7 at the Canadian Golf & Country Club in Ashton, seven shots off the lead. However, thanks to the round of the tournament, Hughes was able to jump up the leaderboard and claim the title.
After his first round, the 14-year-old was seven-over, but he came back during the second round with an amazing four-under (68) to win by a four-shot margin.
“My dad, who is the head pro and director at Rochester Place Golf Course, and I took a few hours after my round yesterday just to think and process what I would needed to do to win today. I wanted to make six birdies to begin the round and to get back to even, but that didn’t happen. Still, I made a few birdies out there and was able to win,” said Hughes
The Beach Grove Golf & Country Club member began the round with birdies on the second and fourth holes. He did bogey six, but that would be the only blemish on his round. He went on to birdie the 10th, 12th and 13th holes for the win.
“I haven’t played in many event’s this year,” added Hughes. “But it was a lot of fun. I really love playing in tournaments. This is definitely the number one result in my golf career so far.”
Finishing second was Richmond Hill’s Eric Byun. Byun entered the day one off the lead at one-over for the tournament. He would finish the round six-over (78) to bring his tournament total to seven-over.
Brampton’s Jacob Presutti finished third with a second round of seven-over (79) to finish the tournament at nine-over. Rounding out the top five were Whitby’s Brendan Dunphy at 10-over, and Brampton’s Max Wang at 11-over.
The Golf Association of Ontario would like to thank the members, volunteers and staff from the Canadian Golf & Country Club for hosting the championship.
Mary Ann Hayward Successfully Defends Investors Group Ontario Senior Women’s Amateur Championship
Peter MacKellar
WINDSOR, ON – For the fourth time, Aurora’s Mary Ann Hayward will have her name engraved on the Investors Group Ontario Senior Women’s Amateur Championship trophy after her second consecutive win at the event on July 31 at Ambassador Golf Club in Windsor.
The North Halton member entered the final round with a five-shot lead and would save her best for the last day. The Canadian, Ontario and Quebec Golf Hall of Famer would finish the day six-under (66) and end the tournament at seven-under to win comfortably by 12 shots.
“I wasn’t really thinking of the number of times or back-to-back, I think just shooting 66 today is what I am going to remember from this,” said Hayward after the round.
It was obvious that the 54-year-old Hayward was on during the round as she began the day with three-straight birdies. She did have back-to-back bogeys on the fifth and sixth holes, but was able to settle down after that. She birdied the ninth and then added four more on the back nine, including one on 18 that brought the gallery to their feet, as she clinched the title.
After the round, Hayward thanked her caddie Dave Mulholland for keeping her calm after her bogeys. “Dave is a great guy. He is always encouraging me just telling me ‘you’re good, just calm down’ I tend to beat myself up a little bit, so he just reels me back in.”
Her play throughout the week was spot on but Hayward said it was her ball-striking and final-round putting that were the best parts of her game. “The ball-striking was pretty good all three days. The putter comes and goes but today it was unbelievable. I think I made almost every birdie putt I had.”
Finishing in second spot was Whitevale Golf Club member and Uxbridge resident Gail Pimm. Pimm was the only other player to finish the round under par at one-under (71) for the round. She finished the tournament at five-over.
Picking up the bronze medal was Thornhill resident and Thornhill Golf and Country Club member Judith Kyrinis who carded a final round at two-over (74) finishing the tournament at six-over. Etobicoke’s Terrill Samuel, nine-over, and Stouffville’s Ivy Steinberg, 14-over, rounded out the top five.
Hayward, along with Kyrinis and Steinberg will all represent Ontario in the inter-provincial competition at the Canadian Senior Women’s Championship, Aug. 19-21 at the Milby Golf Club in Sherbrooke, QC.
The 60+ division winner was Sue Postian, from London and the Sunningdale Golf Club who finished the tournament 19-over. The 70+ division was won by Ellen Horton, from Collingwood and the Blue Mountain Golf & Country Club, at 54-over for the tournament.
In the district team competition, Team York won the gross and Team London picked up the net.
The Ada Mackenzie Matches Team was also announced after the final round. The matches are a team-competition between Ontario and New York State in the spring of 2015. The team members are: Hayward, Pimm, Kyrinis, Steinberg, Lynn Morrison, Andrea Blackwell, Marion Reid, Jane Hedges-Morrison, Postian and Sarah-Anne Smurlick.
The Investors Group Ontario Senior Women’s Amateur Championship is contested annually and features the province’s best female amateurs age 50 and over. Past champions of the event include Ada Mackenzie, Kay Helleur, Gayle Borthwick Hitchens and World Golf Hall of Fame member Marlene Stewart Streit.
The Golf Association of Ontario would like to thank the members, volunteers and staff from Ambassador Golf Club for hosting the championship, as well as title sponsor Investors Group for their outstanding support of amateur golf in the province.
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 18th 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.”
2014 Investors Group Junior Girls’ Championship Highlights
Peter MacKellar
Highlights from the 2014 Investors Group Junior Girls’ Championship. Held July 15-18 at the Maple City Country Club in Chatham, Ontario. The tournament was won by 18-year-old Courtney Tolton from Mitchell, Ontario.
Matt LeMay rallies from fifth to win Investors Group Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship
Peter MacKellar
GARSON, ON — Entering the final day of the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) 2014 Investors Group Junior Boys’ Championship, July 18 at Timberwolf Golf Club, Waterloo’s Matt LeMay was three shots and four spots back of the lead. However, a spectacular round of five-under (67) catapulted the 18-year-old Whistle Bear Golf Club member to the title.
The final round began with Sutton West’s Carter Simon and Cayuga’s Charles Corner in a tie for the lead at even par. But LeMay would have a bogey-free round to help him make up ground. LeMay birdied the first hole and then pared the rest of the front nine. He began the back with a birdie on 10 followed by an eagle on 11. LeMay sealed the win with a birdie on 18 to claim the championship.
After the victory, LeMay spoke about how he felt like he was in the zone for the final round. “I felt good, I hit it well but could have hit it better, there is always that. You can always hit it better, but I just really felt in control. The course seemed easy to me today.”
“It feels good to win, I haven’t won in a while especially a GAO event. The course (Timberwolf) got me the first day, as I was six-over, since then I fought back. Heading into the day I knew I could come back, I have done it in other tournaments so there was no other thought in my head. Now to have my name on the trophy with so many other great names, is an amazing feeling.”
As for Corner, he began the day with birdies on the first two holes. However, his round included five bogeys and he would finish at two-over (74). His score still was good enough to hang on for second place at two-over for the tournament.
Following Corner was a three-way tie for third place. Third round co-leader Simon fell behind early going two-over on the front nine. On the back, he would lose another stroke and finished the day three-over (75) and three-over for the tournament, a tie for third place.
The low round of the day, next to LeMay’s, went to Ancaster’s Josh Montgomery. Montgomery began the day with an eagle and despite a trio of bogeys he still managed to card a three-under (69) to earn a share of third place at three-over for the tournament.
Whitby’s Spencer Dobbs was in contention throughout the week. His final round finished at one-over (73) and he too earned a bronze medal at three-over.
The trio that tied for third were forced into a playoff to see who would be the final representative for Team Ontario for the Inter-Provincial competition at the Canadian Junior Boys’ Championship, July 29 – Aug.1 at Legends on the Niagara (Battlefield Course). After the playoff, Dobbs was the last man standing as he joined LeMay and Corner as the representatives.
Heading into the Canadian Championship, LeMay now has a new confidence that he hope will translate into results. “I feel great going into it, so we’ll just see what happens.”
The Golf Association of Ontario would like to thank the volunteers, staff and members from Timberwolf Golf Club for hosting the event as well as Investors Group for their continued support of amateur golf in Ontario.
About the Investors Group Ontario Junior Boys’ ChampionshipThe Investors Group Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship is open to male golfer18 years of age or less. More is on the line than just the Lady Eaton trophy – golfers are also vying for 34 quota spots to compete in 2014 Canadian Junior Boys’ Championship, hosted by Legends on the Niagara in Niagara Falls on July 29 to August 1. The four-day event will conclude with the final round on Friday when the champion will be crowned and the inter-provincial team will be announced.
July Issue Of Ontario Golf News Now Available
Peter MacKellar
The newest issue of Ontario Golf News is now available. Click the link below to see the July issue.
2014 Investors Group Women’s Amateur Championship Highlights
Peter MacKellar
Highlights from the Golf Association of Ontario’s 2014 Investors Group Women’s Amateur Championship, July 8-11 at the Brampton Golf Club, won by Brooke Henderson.
