BATH— It was an early start to the day for the final round of the 2016 Investors Group Ontario Junior Girls’ Championship, on July 7 from the Loyalist Country Club in Bath. Heading into the round, defending champion, Mississauga’s Chloe Currie, had a three-shot lead. That cushion turned out to be enough as she had a solid round and cruised to the win.
Currie, a Mississaugua Golf & Country Club and Team Canada Development Squad member, played a consistent final round. The 16-year-old made only one bogey on the day, on the first hole, but went on to par the remaining 17 holes. That consistent play helped her see the tournament through as she ended the day at one-over (73) to bring her four-day tournament total to two-under (70-73-70-73-286).
“It feels incredible to defend the Ontario Junior Girls’ Championship. I was dreaming about this coming into the week and it is just awesome that I was able to win it twice!” Said Currie.
Currie recognized that winning back-to-back titles is a special feat and that she has joined some impressive company. “It is incredible, it is such an inspiration to join the great names to have won multiple times. Hopefully, I will be able to have my own accomplishments like theirs.”
When asked about the strongest part of her game, Currie pointed to her short game. “My chipping and putting were really good this week. I got up and down many times and gave myself great chances.”
Finishing in a tie for second were London’s Isabella Portokalis and London’s Ellie Szeryk. For Portokalis, the leader after the first two days, she had a rough start to the day finishing five-over on the front nine. However, the West Haven Golf & Country Club and Team Ontario member, rebounded nicely on the back nine shooting four-under to complete the round at one-over (73) and the tournament at three-over (68-74-76-73-291).
As for Szeryk, she entered the day in second three back of Currie. However, she was unable to make ground on the leader during the round. She finished the front nine two-over and then was one-over on the back. That gave her a three-over (75) for the day and a three-over for the tournament (76-69-71-75-291).
Rounding out the top five was a tie for fourth between Hornby’s Alexandra Naumovski (72-72-76-74-294) and Ridgeway’s Madeline Marck-Sherk (79-74-72-69-294) at six-over. The two played off for the final Team Ontario spot, for the Canadian Junior Girls’ Championship, Aug. 2-4 at The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. After the playoff, Naumovski, a Team Ontario member, joined Currie and Portokalis as the representatives for Ontario.
Golf Ontario would like to thank Loyalist Country Club, along with their staff and volunteers for hosting the event. Thanks also to title sponsor Investors Group and the Golf Ontario volunteers for their continued support of golf in the province.
For more information, including the final leaderboard, see the tournament site at: https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao16/event/gao1625/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 82nd time this summer and 2016 marks the first time Loyalist 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.
