Taylor Craig/ Golf Canada

Meet Golf Ontario’s 2016 U19 Team Ontario.

NIAGARA FALLS — Some decent spring weather greeted 65 junior golfers at the second annual Golf Ontario Team Ontario Cup. The event, held April 22-24 at the Grand Niagara Golf Club in Thorold, concluded with Ottawa’s Jake Bryson capturing the boys’ Overall and Juvenile division, while Windsor’s Shawn Sehra took the Bantam title. On the girls’ side, the Overall and Juvenile divisions were won by Richmond Hill’s Monet Chun and London’s Isabella Portokalis while Maple’s Alyssa DiMarcantonio took top honours in the Bantam division.

In addition to the individual awards, the competition awarded team trophies to the best regional teams. Five regional teams (Ottawa, York, Waterloo, Niagara and Essex-Kent) along with Team Ontario players contested a two-round individual stroke-play format competition, with the top four boys, and top three girls, contributing to their team standing. The team competition was only open to the five regional teams. Taking the boys’ team trophy was Team York, and the girls’ team trophy went to Team Essex-Kent.

Final Girls Team results:

Essex-Kent    491 (+59)

York                499 (+67)

Niagara        525 (+93)

Waterloo     537 (+105)

Ottawa         596 (+164)

Final Boys Team results:

York                606 (+30)

Essex-Kent    623 (+47)

Ottawa         628 (+52)

Waterloo     636 (+60)

Niagara        650 (+74)

In the individual competition, 16-year-old Bryson, battled tough conditions and an erratic driver on day one and finished with an even-par 72. He went head-to-head with teammate Ty Celone, from Long Sault, on the second day, and shot a two-under 70, to win the Overall and Juvenile divisions by one stroke.

Taking the Bantam boys division was Team Essex-Kent member Shawn Sehra with two steady rounds of five-over 77 to finish 10-over for the tournament.

On the girls’ side, Chun of Team Ontario, took the early lead with a steady even-par 72 to take a three-stroke lead after day one. Day two saw some exciting action as her Team Ontario teammate Portokalis went out on the front nine and shot a blazing six-under and closed for a personal best five-under 67. Portokalis held a two-stroke lead as Chun played the closing hole, but after two shots to the side of the par-five 18^th green, Chun proceeded to chip in for an eagle to tie Portokalis for the Overall and Juvenile titles.

Winning the Bantam girls division was Team Ontario’s DiMarcantonio with a two-day total of seven-over 151.

Most Valuable Contributor

In addition to the on course championship, the event also featured a banquet on April 23, at the Marriott Gateway on the Falls hotel, where each team presented their Most Valuable Contributor (MVC) award.

The MVC award goes to the male and female on the team that best exemplifies: leadership, integrity, sportsmanship, team spirit and work ethic. Award winners are voted on by their teammates. Winning the awards for their squads were:

Team Essex-Kent – Brooke Mackinnon (Chatham), Shawn Sehra (Windsor), presented by Head Coach Randy McQueen

Team Niagara – Taylor Simoneau (St. Catharines), Matthew Gibson (Jordan), presented by Head Coach John White

Team Ottawa – Karianne Lefebvre (Ottawa), Tyler Read (Brockville), presented by Head Coach Adam Holden

Team Waterloo – Jillian Friyia (London), Dylan Henderson (Waterloo), presented by Head Coach Mike Martz

Team York – Madelin Boyd (Oshawa), Zack Mason (Toronto), presented by Head Coach Jeff Overholt

Team Ontario – Alexandra Naumovski (Brampton), Sam Meek (Peterborough), presented by Head Coach Reggie Millage

Ontario Summer Games Exemptions

Based on the results from the Team Ontario Cup, 15 exemptions were awarded for the upcoming Ontario Summer Games, August 9-12, in Mississauga. Gaining exemptions through their results at the Team Ontario Cup were, for girls: Karianne Lefebvre, Vaijayanti Bharkhada, Kyra Vandervoort, Shannon Coffey and Taylor Simoneau. As for boys, the following earned exemptions: Cameron Belanger, Ethan Johnston, Zack Mason, Eric (Joohyung) Byun, Eli Mathew, Carter Snowden, Luc Warnock, Shawn Sehra, Jason Maloney and Mathew Gibson.

Golf Ontario would like to thank our volunteer officials – Ian and Ruth Giles and Randy Millage, and the staff at both the host club Grand Niagara and Marriott Gateway on the Falls, for all of their efforts in pulling off this great event. For full individual and team results click here: https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao16/event/gao16221/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

Coral Springs, Florida— The Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Team Ontario was in Coral Springs, Florida, Feb. 4-8, for their second winter training camp of 2016. The team took part in on course, physical and psychological training at the Heron Bay Golf Club before participating in the Future Collegians World Tour (FCWT) Junior Golf Open (Feb. 6-7) also at Heron Bay.

The event turned out to be a good one for Team Ontario as they took four out of the six medals including a clean sweep of the podium on the girls’ side. Richmond Hill’s Monet Chun walked away with the gold, London’s Isabella Portokalis took the silver and Halton Hill’s Alexandra Naumovski earned the bronze. On the boys’ side it was Langton’s Peyton Callens who picked up the bronze medal.

“We were pleased with the approach Team Ontario athletes took in this FCWT event, given the time of the year, and the challenging weather conditions on day two,” said GAO Director of High Performance Andrew Moss. “Seeing where our athletes are at in the middle of winter provides great feedback to the players, and their personal coaches.  The strength of our girls’ team was very evident, and sends a great message to young female athletes across Canada.  With the strength of our golf development programs, there are great opportunities for young female athletes to access great sport experiences and education opportunities, through golf.”

Chun, 15 from the Summit Golf & Country Club, got out to an early lead during the opening round and never looked back. She finished round one at four-under (68) notching five birdies on the day. She took a one-shot lead into the second round and finished the day at even-par (72) to win the tournament by six strokes at four-under (140).

Portokalis, 14 from West Haven Golf & Country Club, also had a strong opening round finishing at three-under (69). She did fall back on the second day with a four-over (77) but her first round had given her enough of a cushion that she was able to hang on for second at two-over (146).

As for Naumovski, 18 from the Brampton Golf Club, she had a consistent tournament finishing the opening round one-over (73), which included a hole in one at the par 3 11^th, and a second round of two-over (74) to finish third with a total of three-over (147).

For Callens, 16 from the Delhi Golf & Country Club, he posted two steady rounds of 72 to card an even par (144) over the two-round event.  Callens was the only player to break par in round two, with unusually cold, wet, and windy conditions.

“A big thanks to our Head Coach Reggie Millage, and our support team of Nick Martichenko and Judy Goss, for the work they did with our team members throughout the training sessions and competitive rounds,” added Moss.

Team Ontario will now prepare for the Can-Am Junior Team Matches (March 13-20), an annual competition with the South Carolina Junior Golf Association, in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina— Three members of the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Team Ontario will be heading south to compete in the inaugural Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship. The event takes place February 13-15 at TPC Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

Peyton Callens, Ty Celone and Jake Bryson will be part of the Canadian contingent that will compete in the three-day competition, an event that has juniors from China, Japan, Philippines, Sweden, United Kingdom along with representation from eight different US states.

Celone, a resident of Long Sault, Ont. captured the CJGA Mizuno National Junior Golf Championship defeating fellow member Callens in a playoff. Both finished the four-day tournament at five over-par (293). Celone, also finished runner-up at the winners-only Nike Golf Junior Championship. In addition, Celone notched a fifth-place finish in the Ontario Juvenile Championship.

Callens, of Langton, Ont. was the winner of the CJGA PING Canadian Junior Match Play Championship defeating Mitchell MacLeod in the finals, 2&1. Entering the match play portion as the fourth seed, Callens defeated the 13th, fifth, and eighth seed before knocking off the second seeded MacLeod in the finals. Callens recently captured a bronze at the Future Collegians World Tour Junior Golf Open at Heron Bay Feb. 6-7.

Bryson, of Dunrobin, Ont. is a second year member of Team Ontario. Last season he was fifth at the Canadian Juvenile Boys’ Championship.

Also in the field, from Port Lambton, Ont., is former Team Ontario member Brendan Seys.

“Dustin is thrilled with the quality of the field we have attracted to TPC Myrtle Beach,” said Allen Terrell, Director of Coaching/Managing Partner of the Dustin Johnson Golf School. “Dustin wanted to ensure we had a high quality international field, and we have met that goal. The experience for the players, from the time they check-in until the final putt drops, will be as good as any in junior golf.”

The first round begins this Saturday at 9 a.m. For complete tournament details including tee times, schedule of events and results please visit www.worldjuniorgolfchampionship.com.

With files from CJGA

The GAO’s Team Ontario is taking part in their first training camp of 2016 in Coral Springs, Florida. The team arrived on Saturday and will be there for five days. The first and last day they will train at Heron Bay GC and the middle three days will be at TPC at Eagle Trace.

The team will train for half the day and play 18 holes each day as well. Both physical training and technical training are emphasized at the camp.

The team had a cool surprise yesterday when they ran into LPGA pro Lexi Thompson – as she was on the course trying out a few new drivers. Each group got to sit and chat with her and she hit a few shots for each group. 

This was the second year the team got to meet Thompson as she was hanging out at Eagle Trace last year and played a few holes with each group. It was an unexpected but great surprise for the team.

Below: Team Ontario members Isabella Portokalis, Alyssa DiMarcantoinio, Sam Meek and Ty Celone pose with Thompson.

UXBRIDGE—The Golf Association of Ontario (GAO), is proud to announce the seven boys and five girls that will make up Team Ontario for 2016. The team met in full for the first time, Oct. 2-4 in Foot’s Bay, for their kickoff camp held at OviinByrd Golf Club.

The team is set for a full winter of training, which will include two camps in Florida, along with a camp/the Can-AM Matches during March Break in South Carolina. The camps will all be leading up to the start of the 2016 season, which will begin with the Team Ontario Cup in late April.

“The coaching staff and I are very excited to begin training with this very talented group of young athletes,” said GAO Manager of Sport Performance Mary Ann Hayward. “Several of the players already hold national and age category provincial titles and we are looking forward to raising their games to the next level and hopefully putting more Ontario players onto the National Development Team.”

This year’s team again highlights the quality of the GAO’s high performance programs as eleven members of the team are either returning to Team Ontario or are products of the GAO’s Regional (U17) Team Program.

With each new installment of the team, there are departures. Three 2015 members have graduated from the program and are furthering their career in the ranks of the NCAA. Unionville’s Max Sear is attending the University of West Virginia; Ruthven’s Alyssa Getty is at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and Ridgeway’s Madeline Marck-Sherk is at Florida Gulf Coast University.

The 2016 version of team Ontario will feature five returning players:

• Jason Chung, 16, from Thornhill and Thornhill Golf & Country Club, coached by Charlie Woo.

• Monet Chun, 14, from Richmond Hill and The Summit Golf & Country Club, coached by Don Lee.
• Jackson Bowery, 17, from London and Greenhills Golf Club.
• Jake Bryson, 16, from Dunrobin and Eagle Creek Golf Club, coached by Kevin Haime.
• Isabella Portokalis, 14, from London and West Haven Golf & Country Club

Joining the returnees, are the following graduates of the GAO Regional Team Program:

• Lachlan O’Hara (Team York), 15, from Mississauga and Credit Valley Golf & Country Club, coached by Jeff Overholt and Jon Roy.
• Ty Celone (Team Ottawa), 16, from Long Sault and the Upper Canada Golf Course.
• Peyton Callens (Team Waterloo), 15, from Langton and Delhi Golf & Country Club, coached by Ralph Bauer.
• Sam Meek, (Team York – 2014), 17, from Peterborough and Kawartha Golf & Country Club, coached by Henry Brunton.
• Hailey McLaughlin (Team York), 14, from Markham and Cedar Brae Golf & Country Club, coached by Gord Burns.
• Alexandra Naumovski, (Team York – 2014), 18, from Halton Hills and Brampton Golf Club.

Rounding out the team is: Alyssa DiMarcantonio, 12, from Maple and Station Creek Golf Club, coached by Thomas Youn.

GAO Head Provincial Coach Reggie Millage, a Class ‘A’ PGA of Canada professional from Milton, leads the Team Ontario coaching staff. Millage enters his third season with the team. Also returning this year are Athletic Therapist Andrew Hoermann, Strength and Conditioning Coach Nick Martichenko and Mental Skills Coach Judy Goss.

The team is already an accomplished group and they will look for even more success in 2016. Some highlights from the 2015 season included: Chung – CN Future Links Quebec Champion and silver in the Ontario Juvenile Boys’ Championship; Callens – AJGA Junior All-Stars at Ravenwood Champion; Celone – CJGA Mizuno National Champion; McLaughlin – Ontario Bantam Girls and Women’s Four-Ball Champion; DiMarcantonio – Ontario Peewee Girls’ Champion, Bantam Tour Hidden Lake Champion and silver at the Ontario Bantam Girls’ Championship; Chun – Ontario Junior Girls’ Match Play Champion, silver at the Ontario Juvenile Girls’ Championship and bronze at the Spring Classic; Naumovski – silver at the Ontario Junior Girls’ Championship; Meek – Bronze at the Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship; Bowery – Bronze at the Spring Classic; and Portokalis – bronze at the Ontario Bantam Girls’ Championship.

Looking ahead Team Ontario will train indoors during the winter months at Peak Performance Golf in Vaughan. ClubLink’s TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Florida will host Team Ontario training camps in January and February. During March-break, the team will head to the Wachesaw Plantation Club in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina for a training camp as well as to take part in the Can-Am Matches, an annual team-match event between the top junior golfers from Ontario and South Carolina.

About Team Ontario

The GAO Team Ontario program is a high performance training program for the top junior aged golfers in Ontario. Athletes are selected in September each year and the program runs from October through August. Team Ontario athletes receive the very best in coaching services, training/competitive opportunities, and sport science support as they strive to make Golf Canada’s National Development Team. Being selected to Team Ontario is a tremendous accomplishment and offers unparalleled support and guidance to the participating athletes and their families.

It was a hot day in Bromont, Que., for the final round of the CN Future Link Quebec Championship hosted by Golf Château-Bromont. Alyssa Getty and Jason (Chan Young) Chung fired off the day’s low rounds in their respective divisions to capture the 2015 CN Future Links Quebec Championship titles.

Before Alyssa Getty of Ruthven, Ont., teed off this morning, she was tied for fifth place and sat two strokes out of the lead. After nine holes, she found herself three back, but remained focus on the task at hand.

“My game plan was to be more aggressive today than I was the other two days and I definitely got some momentum going,” said Getty of her round today.

She played the back nine at even par, bouncing back with a birdie after a bogey on 14. Her par putt on 18 secured her third CN Future Links Championship victory in two years, including back-to-back wins at this event. Earlier this season, Getty captured the CN Future Links Ontario Championship.

Getty added that there was a little extra pressure coming into this tournament as the defending champion, but she stayed calm with her sights set on the victory. “It’s crazy. I’m so excited, especially since it’s my last year of junior golf and playing well in the CN Future Links Championships has been one of my goals. I’m really happy about having won this week and at CN Future Links Ontario this season.”

Getty’s score of 2-over 74, was the lowest in the Junior Girls division on Sunday. Her 224 total for the competition put her one stroke ahead of runner-up Sarah-Ève Rhéaume. The 36-hole co-leader and Québec City, Que. native made the turn this morning with a 1-over 37, but could not hold on for the win. She concluded the tournament with a 5-over-par round of 77.

Finishing T3 at 228 were Noémie Paré of Victoriaville, Que., and Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que., who carded rounds of 78 and 79, respectively.

In the Junior Boys division, Jason (Chan Young) Chung posted the low round for the second consecutive day. The Thornhill, Ont., native’s final round of 6-under 66 earned him the CN Future Links Junior Boys Quebec title with a three-day score of 11-under 205.

“It’s very surreal, I haven’t won in a couple of years,” shared Chung of the win today. “It’s really been a good past few days and I feel I’ve finally broke through with my game. It is a boost of confidence that I can hopefully take into the next couple of tournaments I will be playing. I’d like to think of it as a new chapter because I’ve never gone this low.”

Chung noted that his game plan coming into the final round was to focus on hitting fairways and greens to set him up for as many birdie chances as possible. He was able to follow though, notching eight birdies on the day. He credited his work around the greens for the victory. “I made most, if not all, of my putts from inside eight feet, so I think that’s what made the difference today.”

Finishing two strokes back in second place was Charles-Éric Bélanger with a final round 67. The Québec City, Que., product made a determined attempt to catch the leader, notching four birdies on the front nine for a 3-under 33 before adding three consecutive birdies on holes 13, 14 and 15. Third-place finisher Maxime Laoun matched Bélanger’s front nine score of 33 and went on to sign for a final round 4-under 68. The Montréal, Que., native finished the competition at 209.

Jason (Chan Young) Chung will return to the province of Quebec from August 3-6 to compete in the 2015 Canadian Junior Boys Championship at Summerlea Golf & Country Club in Vaudreuil-Dorion. Also receiving exemptions into the field were the five runners-up from this competition determined in a playoff.

Similarly, Alyssa Getty and the five finishers and ties in the Junior Girls division of the CN Future Links Quebec Championship were awarded direct entry into the field at the 2015 Canadian Junior Girls Championship to be contested from August 4-7 at Deer Park Golf Course in Yorkton, Sask. Alyssa Getty has also earned entry into a 2016 Canadian Women’s Tour event.

The CN Future Links Championships are a series of six tournaments presented by Golf Canada in partnership with CN in support of the development of junior golf. The 2015 series’ first winners were Team Canada Development Squad members Trevor Ranton (Waterloo, Ont.) and Grace St-Germain (Ottawa, Ont.) who found the podium at the championship’s Pacific edition at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort in Qualicum Beach, B.C. Ontarians Jack Simpson (Aurora, Ont.) and Alyssa Getty (Ruthven, Ont.) captured the Ontario titles in their home province at Pine Knot Golf & Country Club in Dorchester, Ont. At Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert, Sask., Alexander Smith (Calgary, Alta.) and Development Squad member Alisha Lau (Richmond, B.C.) joined the winners circle at the Prairie Championship.

For full results from the 2015 CN Future Links Quebec Championship, please visit the tournament website here.

QUALICUM BEACH, B.C. (Golf Canada) – The first event of Golf Canada’s competitive season concluded in the same way it unfolded – with a pair of Team Canada Development Squad members atop the leaderboards as Trevor Ranton and Grace St-Germain claimed victory at the 2015 CN Future Links Pacific Championship.

No one could dethrone Trevor Ranton’s reign over the Junior Boys division. After opening with a course record of 7-under 65 and following with a second round of 3-under, the Waterloo, Ont., native carded a final round of 2-under 70 to complete the wire-to-wire win. When asked about his play over the past three days, Ranton credited his quick start as a key to his success. “I was pretty happy with (my performance). Right from the start, I was playing well. I started the tournament off with two straight birdies, so I felt comfortable on the course. I was hitting a lot of good shots and making a lot of putts.”

The first year Development Squad member will now set his sights upon the CN Future Links Ontario title – a competition in which he finished T2 in 2014. “If I can keep my putter hot like this week, I’m sure I’ll have a good chance again.”

Henry Lee of Coquitlam, B.C., finished runner up with a bogey-free final round of 3-under. Tony Gil – a member of the national team Development Squad – opened the back nine with four straight birdies to claim third place. Development Squad members Étienne Papineau and A.J. Armstrong took fourth and sixth place respectively, while teammate Patrick Murphy completed the tournament T18. A.J. Ewart finished in sole possession of fifth.

Grace St-Germain birdied the second playoff hole to win the Junior Girls title in exciting fashion. The extra session was only necessary after fellow Development Squad member Michelle Kim notched a pair of birdies in her final three holes to move to 2-over par and force the playoff. “I hit a pretty nice drive. After hers went in the water, I tried to stay calm and play it smart. It was a lot of fun,” said St-Germain of the second extra hole.

“I’ll try to play as well as I played this week for the rest of the summer and try to take what I did well here and incorporate it into the rest of the tournaments,” added St-Germain when asked about her outlook for the season ahead.

Tiffany Kong and Euna Han finished in a tie for third place at 2-over 220. Development Squad member Alisha Lau completed the tournament in sixth place while teammate Naomi Ko tied for the best Junior Girls round of the day at even par to climb into a tie for seventh.

The Pacific edition of the CN Future Links Championships was the first of six junior-aged tournaments presented by Golf Canada in partnership with CN. The CN Future Links Ontario Championship – the next in the series – will be contested at Pine Knot Golf and Country Club in Dorchester, Ont. from May 22-24.

The top six Junior Boys from each CN Future Links Championship will earn exemptions into the 2015 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, to be held from August 3-6 at Summerlea Golf and Country Club in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Qué. The top six finishers on the Junior Girls side in each CN Future Links Championship will earn the right to join their peers at the 2015 Canadian Junior Girls Championship. Deer Park Municipal Golf Course in Yorkton, Sask. will host the tournament from August 4-7.

UXBRIDGE – The Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) U19 Team Ontario and five U17 Regional Teams (Ottawa, York, Waterloo, Essex-Kent and Niagara) are gearing up for the inaugural Team Ontario Cup this weekend, which will see all of the teams compete against one another. The event will take place April 24-26 at the Grand Niagara Golf Club in Thorold.

The athletes will compete in a two-day, 36-hole team-format competition with main emphasis being on team results. Results will be determined by taking the three lowest of four team member scores each day for a team gross total. Low gross individuals will be also be recognized, over the 36 holes, in Juvenile and Bantam age categories for both boys and girls, along with an overall boys and girls champion.

Each regional team will enter two teams of four boys and one team of four girls. Team Ontario will enter one team of three boys (all scores to count each day) and a second team of four boys. For the girls’ team competition, Team Ontario will enter two teams of three girls, each with all three scores counting each day. The regional teams will enter a team of four girls each. At the end of the competition, one boys team and one girls team will be crowned champion.

“This is the first event of it’s kind and we are extremely excited to see all the Team Ontario and Regional team athletes competing in the same event,” said Mary Ann Hayward, GAO Manager of Sport Performance. “They have been training as teams for the past seven months and this is their opportunity to go head-to-head. It is a great kick-off to their competitive season here in Ontario and the preparation they have done leading up to the Team Ontario Cup should help them to be much better prepared for the important event qualifiers that begin in early May.”

The event will also be used to select the team for the Ontario–Quebec Matches that will be held July 27-29 at Smugglers Glen Golf Club in Gananoque. The top two juvenile boys and girls and the top four bantam boys and girls from the regional teams will be selected to the Ontario team that will compete in the matches.

In addition, the GAO will take the opportunity to conduct testing of all Team Ontario and Regional players. Players will go through a trackman analysis, physical combine testing and a putting test. The purpose of this testing is to gage how the athletes have improved over the winter training months.

The highlight of the Team Ontario Cup will be the banquet held on April 25 at Legends on the Niagara Golf Club. All teams will be in attendance and many family members will also attend. Each team has selected their own award winner for Most Valuable Contributor (MVC) and these MVC winners will be recognized at the banquet. The MVC award goes to the person on the team that best exemplifies: leadership, integrity, sportsmanship, team spirit and work ethic.

The Team Ontario Cup will be a great event to kickoff the tournament season in Ontario and will showcase the finest junior golfers in the province. Tee times for the competition will be from 9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. each day, April 25-26, with play starting on both the first and 10^th tees. Trophy presentations are scheduled immediately following the completion of play on Sunday, which will be approximately 3 p.m.