Vernon’s Ryan Vest played some great golf, earned some prizes and met pro athletes Max Domi and Adam Cornelson.
It was a pretty special two days in Phoenix for the 10-year-old at the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) Boston Pizza National Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.
Vest, 10, placed third for the second year in a row in the Pee Wee 12 and under boys division, with 79-68-80-227.
Hunter Thomson of Calgary, 12, won the Pee Wee title at 72-70-68-210.
His 68 was the second-lowest overall round of the day at the Legacy Golf Resort.
“I made three birdies and 15 pars and it was my first ever round without a bogey so I was really excited,” said Vest, a Grade 5 student at Silver Star Elementary.
A talented field of more than 100 young golfers had teed it up in the invitation-only event.
Hunter Penalva of Vernon, 14, was 10th in Bantam boys at 83-83-79-245. Jayden Dudas of Estevan, Sask. struck gold at 71-71-75-217.
Braeden Cooper of Vernon, 16, was 17th in Juvenile boys at 77-73-78-228.
Max Domi from the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes and MJT alumnus Adam Cornelson from the Web.com Tour were on hand to present awards at the final tournament on Canada’s No. 1 junior golf tour.
There were several college coaches scouting prospective players, and add to the number of MJT members who are signing their national letters of intent this week thanks to the MJT’s College Golf program, ‘Recruit Yourself 2 College’ (RY2C).
Callum Davison, 16, of Duncan, was the men’s overall and Juvenile division champ at 66-69-66-201.
“The MJT provides me with a place to compete against some of the best golfers in Canada,” said Davison.
He noted that a memorable moment was “hitting my three wood while on my knees because I was under a tree and it worked. I have never tried that shot in competition before but have practised it with my driver on the range.”
All players received fantastic gifting courtesy of presenting sponsor, TaylorMade-adidas Golf, and the top finishers were rewarded with TM milled putters and gift certificates galore.
The 2017 MJT national schedule will be announced in early December.
