Alix Kong Captures MJT's Lindsay Kenney Classic

Kong started out on the MJT at age nine, shooting 107-111 at Point Roberts Golf Club; four years later she is a two handicap and has just won her second MJT division title at the Lindsay Kenney Classic at Chilliwack Golf Club, BC, on August 10-11, with scores of 77-73.
 
The two-day tournament, which played out in very wet conditions, featured four divisions for young golfers. Kong won the Girls division by nine strokes after shooting 77-73 (150).

“I feel like the work I put into my game this summer has paid off. Key to my winning was keeping my emotions in check and making the best out of bad shots," said Kong.

Dani Shap, 18, of Mission, was the runner-up with scores of 78-81 (159) and Brooklyn Kraakman, 15, of Deroche, took third place after carding 82-78 (160).
 
It was a tight three-way race to the title in the Boys 14-16 division, with MJT veteran Jay Kim, 16, of Surrey 72-76 (148) clinching top honours by defeating Callum Robinson, 15, of Langley, on the second playoff hole, also winning low overall score for the tournament. Robinson tied Kim with back-to-back 74’s to force the playoff.

“I was able to take advantage of all the par five’s which saved me a lot of mistakes,” said Kim, who qualifies for an exemption into a top junior tournament in the USA with this fine effort.

Just one stroke behind Kim and Robinson was Taizhi Yang, 15, of Langley, who also played solid golf and placed third in the division (75-74 =149)
 
Another great challenge in the Boys 17-19 division saw three 17 year-olds, hometown boy Matt Gudmundson,  Brett Sherwood of Surrey, and Kowan O’Keefe of Blind Bay, post identical scores for the two day event 79-75 (154), resulting in a three-way tie for first in this category.

Gudmundson, who took the trophy based on retrogression, commented, “The course was nice but wet. I hit good drives.”
 
Boys 13 and under division champion, Oscar Baek, 13, of Coquitlam, continued his winning streak on the MJT and overtook first-round leader Jun Kang, 13, of Port Moody, carding double 74’s (148) to win by two strokes. Kang shot 73-77 (150).

“I only have one tournament left in this category before I turn 14 so I need as many wins as possible,” said Baek. “I made a 16-yard putt for birdie on (hole) number four and feel pretty good about my second win this year.”

Tristan Desjarlais, 13, of Chilliwack, was solid through 36 holes to finish in third place (81-86=167).
 
The divisional winners in the Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition were Jun Kang, Jay Kim, 16, of Surrey, Jae Jun Lee, 18, of Coquitlam, and Brooklyn Kraakman. 

The Sundog Skills competition divisional winners were Oscar Baek, Paul Beckmann, 16, of Mission, Kowan O’Keefe, and Olivia Babichuk, 14, of Port Moody.
 
The MJT continues its British Columbia schedule next week on August 17th and 18th at Hazelmere Golf Club in Surrey, and the field is already full with a wait list.  

For more information, please visit www.maplejt.com or call 1-877-859-4653.
 
 
FULL RESULTS

MJT LINDSAY KENNEY CLASSIC AT CHILLIWACK G&CC
CHILLIWACK, BC, AUGUST 9-11, 2009
 
Boys 13 & Under
Par 71, Yardage 5819, Slope/Rating 113/67.1
1 Oscar Baek, Coquitlam, BC - -   Swan-e-Set Bay GC  74 - 74  148       
2  Jun Kang, Port Moody, BC - -  Redwoods GC    73 - 77   150       
3 Tristan Desjarlais,  Chilliwack, BC - - Falls GC     81 - 86   167       
4  Winston He,   Richmond, BC - - Mayfair Lakes GC   98 - 94   192       
5 Hunter Phelan, Whistler, BC - - Nicklaus North GC     94 - 101 195
6 Mitchell Thiessen, Chilliwack, BC- - Chilliwack G&C 102 - 98 200
7 Nathan Talarico, Cache Creek, BC - -  Semlin Valley GC 108 – 100 208    
 
Boys 14-16
Par 71, Yardage 6330, Slope/Rating 119/69.5
1 Jay Kim Surrey, BC Morgan Creek GC      72 - 76   148 Won Playoff
2 Callum Robinson Langley, BC  Hazelmere GC  74 - 74   148
3 Taizhi Yang  Langley, BC  Redwoods GC 75 - 74   149
4 Ryan Grill    Abbotsford, BC   Ledgeview G&CC      75 - 76   151
5 Khaled Attieh Saudi ArabiaArabian Ranches GC 75 - 77   152
6 Tae-In Lee    Maple Ridge, BC Swan-e-Set Bay GC   78 - 79   157
7 Tom Bang   Coquitlam, BC    Westwood Plateau   79 - 82   161
T8 Ian MatthewsCoquitlam, BC    Westwood Plateau     80 - 82   162
T8 Simon Blaker Langley, BC  Redwoods GC 79 - 83   162
10 Alex Sohn    Langley, BC  Redwood GC   81 - 83   164
11 Mitchell Anderson  Coquitlam, BC  Westwood Plateau   85 - 82   167
12 Scott Gibson  Chilliwack, BC   Chilliwack GC  83 - 86   169
13 Howard LeePort Coquitlam, BC    Redwoods GC 87 - 86   173
14 Colin Hargrove     Surrey, BC Hazelmere GC  85 - 89   174
15 Layton Harris Kamloops, BC     The Dunes 88 - 89   177
16 Victor Baptiste      Oliver, BC  Nk'mip Canyon GC   95 - 85   180
17 Paul  Beckmann   Mission, BC  Mission Golf CC 94 - 90   184
 
Boys 17-19
Par 71, Yardage 6330, Slope/Rating 119/69.5
1 Matt GudmundsonChilliwack, BC  Chilliwack GC  79 - 75   154* Retrogression
2 Brett Sherwood    Surrey, BC Surrey GC 79 - 75   154
3 Kowan O'Keefe     Blind Bay, BC  Shuswap Lake Estates  79 - 75   154
4 Andrew RasmussenDelta, BC   King's Links GC   78 - 77   155
5 Evan Scotney Victoria, BC  Victoria GC   77 - 81   158
6 Jae Jun Lee  Coquitlam, BC    Pitt Meadows GC        78 - 82   160
7 Devin Morgan      S. Surrey, BCHazelmere GC     82 - 80   162
8 Nate Beauchamp Burnaby, BC Vancouver GC     82 - 81   163Tie
8 Ryan Saran  Langley, BC  Hazelmere GC     81 - 82   163Tie
10 Steven Liu   Richmond, BC    Quilchena GC      87 - 86   173
11 Brad WahlerAbbotsford, BC   Ledgeview G&  92 - 87   179
12 Steven Diack  Coquitlam, BC    Pitt Meadows GC     85 - 97   182
 
Girls
Par 72, Yardage 5405, Slope/Rating 121/70.8
1 Alix Kong     West Vancouver, BC    Marine Drive GC   77 - 73   150
2 Dani Shap   Mission, BC  Chilliwack GCC  78 - 81   159
3 Brooklyn KraakmanDeroche, BC Mission G&CC   82 - 78   160
4 Lauren Atkinson   Bow, WA   Skagit G&CC      82 - 80   162
5 Keanna Mason     Maple Ridge, BC Redwoods GC   86 - 84   170
6 Rebecca Flynn      Whistler, BC      86 - 87   173
7 Olivia Babichuk   Port Moody, BC  Westwood Plateau Acad.  89 - 90   179
8 Danica McClellan Chilliwack, BC   Chilliwack GC   96 - 90   186