KANATA— Heading into the final round of the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Investors Group Junior Girls’ Championship, at Loch March Golf & Country Club, it looked like it was a formality and that Port Credit’s Chloe Currie would walk away with the trophy. However, Hornby’s Alexandra Naumovski had other plans.
Beginning the day, Currie, from the Mississaugua Golf & Country Club, held a six-stroke lead and Naumovski, from the Brampton Golf Club, was seven shots back. However, Currie, a member of Team Ontario, would shoot a five-over (77), opening the door for Naumovski. Naumovski finished her final round, two-under (70) and forced a playoff with the two players tied at 13-over for the tournament.
During the playoff, Currie landed her approach shot to within four-feet of the hole, while Naumovski overshot the green. That led to Currie sinking her birdie putt to survive the charge and hang on to win the Junior Girls’ Championship (75-73-76-77-301).
After the win, Currie talked about her week. “I felt good about my game, I was striking my irons well and hitting my three wood and hybrid consistently. The first round went well and then I built a big lead after the second. The third round played out normally and then today, well the front nine was interesting but I pulled it together on the back nine.”
Currie went on to talk about the late charges from her competitors. “Both Alex and Kristen played really well today. The playoff was definitely a highlight because I put it close to the hole and was able to make the birdie putt. Standing on 18 for the playoff I was nervous. I had never been in one before and I knew how close I was to winning a major tournament. It is just an honour to win because of all the great past champions. ”
While her charge fell just short, Naumovski still had a strong tournament and captured the silver medal (79-80-72-70-301). Rounding out the top three was Richmond Hill’s Kristen Wong at 16-over (78-78-74-74-304). Both Naumovski and Wong will join Currie on Team Ontario for the inter-provincial competition at the Canadian Junior Girls’ Championship, Aug. 4-7, at Deer Park Golf Course in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.
The GAO would like to thank the host club Loch March, along with their staff and volunteers for helping to run the event. Thanks also to all of the GAO volunteers along with title sponsor Investors Group for their continued support of golf in the province. For all tournament information and the final leaderboard see the tournament site at: http://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao15/event/gao1521/index.htm
About the Investors Group Junior Girls’ Championship
The Investors Group Ontario Junior Girls’ Championship is contested annually and features Ontario’s best amateur female golfers age 18 and under. Established in 1927, the championship is being played for the 81st time this summer and 2015 marks the first time Loch March Golf & Country Club has hosted. The event has a wealth of notable past champions including World Golf Hall of Fame member Marlene Streit, Sandra Post, Sue Hilton, Alena Sharp, Jennifer Kirby and Brooke Henderson.
