The superb Harvest Golf Club in Kelowna was the sunny setting for the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s first Okanagan stop of the season, where players from B.C. and Alberta competed in four divisions over 36 holes of individual stroke play as well as the inaugural playing of the MJT Interclub competition.
The new feature on the MJT has junior golfers representing their home golf club in a team net format.
Representing the Williams Lake Golf and Tennis Club were Williams Lake twin brothers Ryan LaBossiere and Brett LaBossiere.
Both golfers were right in the thick of the competition in the boys 14- to 16-year-old individual division for the tournament, which ran from July 14-15.
Brett fired a first-round, nine-over-par 81, followed by a second-round 83 to finish up 11th in the 28-man field with a combined two-round score of 164.
Ryan shot two rounds of 83 for a combined 166 to finish 16th.
The winner, David Guterson of Calgary from the Heritage Pointe Golf Club, shot a first-round, four-under-par 68 and a second-round 75 for a combined 143 and the win. Burnaby’s Lucas Gatto took second place with two rounds of 72 for a score of 144, while Vancouver’s Colin Wang and Pitt Meadows’ Ryan Hunt tied for third place, both shooting a combined 154.
The LaBossieres combined efforts went on to land the Williams Lake Golf and Tennis Club in sixth place in the MJT Interclub Competition out of a field of 13 competing clubs.
The MJT Interclub competition between the 13 teams was won by Hazelmere Golf Club, with brothers Dylan Reichelt, Jesse Reichelt and teammate Tyle Roope scoring 139 to beat Two Eagles Golf Club by three. With the win these players will received paid entries into the MJT Okanagan Junior Championship at Predator Ridge Golf Resort in Vernon on Aug. 8-9.
Winning the Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition were Christopher Ballesteros (Northlands Golf Club), Matthew McEachran-Law (Vernon Golf Club), Jesse Reichelt (Hazelmere Golf Club) and Madison Kapchinsky (Kelowna Springs Golf Club), while the Sundog Closest to the Pin prizes went to Nicholas Jones (Kelowna Golf Club), Lucas Gatto (Vancouver Golf Club), Dylan Reichelt (Hazelmere Golf Club) and Mackenzie Field (Christina Lake Golf Club).
For best second day comeback, the Golf Town Comeback Award winners were Ballestros, Ben McNiven (Merritt Golf Club), Daniel Richardson (The Harvest Golf Club) and Kylie Jack (Two Eagles Golf Club).
Next stop on the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour is the MJT Odium Brown Classic — PGA of B.C. Junior Championship at Northview Golf Club in Colverdale on July 25-27. The 54-hole event is the top tournament on the MJT schedule and is ranked by Golf Canada/Golf British Columbia, with exemptions into the Provincial Championships 2012 and the San Diego Amateur.
