Canada T3 At Toyota Junior Golf World Cup

Team members Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., Albin Choi, Richard Jung, both of Toronto, and Conners of Listowel, Ont., combined for the low round of the day at 10 under par to catapult Canada into its bronze medal finish, tying for third with Denmark and Thailand at 15 under par.

(Files from Golf Canada)

"We knew we had a strong team coming in," said team Head Coach Henry Brunton. "I can't give the guys enough credit for bouncing back after a sluggish start and playing full-hearted all the way through."

Japan won by 14 strokes to claim its third Toyota Cup and first since 1997. The team, which held a six-stroke advantage entering the final round, got off to a quick start with Asaji and Taihei Sato collecting birdies on the first hole. The Japanese squad played the back nine at 4-under to post 7-under for the day and 30-under 822 for the tournament.

The Americans, who entered the day in second place, fell to third before a birdie on No. 18 by its final counter Yaroslav Merkulov moved the USA back to second at 16-under.

The reigning champion, Argentina, dropped to sixth at 8-under and was followed by South Africa (-6), Australia (-2), India (E), (Germany +12), Colombia (+24) and Guatemala (+56).

"We got off to a very strong start and kept plotting along all the way through," said Brunton. "Corey Conners was obviously a star. It was a just a solid day for the entire team and I was very proud of them."

Eighteen-year-old Conners was a sensational competitor, shooting 66 in the final round and 131 (-10) over the last 36 holes to finish co-medalist.

"I was playing really well coming into the tournament so I was pretty confident," said Conners. "The first few rounds I played really well, but couldn't get any putts to drop at all. The final two rounds I putted really well and made a lot of birdies which enabled me to score well and medal."

Conners, along with Yosuke Asaji of Japan and Denmark's Lucas Bjerregaard tied for medalist honors at 10-under 274 and will share the Maruyama Cup, which is presented to the individual cham¬pion.

Svensson, 16, had a terrific week finishing T16 with a score of 282 (-2). He shot 67 in the final round, including an 18 foot birdie on the 18th hole. His teammate Jung, 18, was just as solid, shooting 70 on the final round and finishing in 21st with 285 (+1). Choi, 18, finished T34 with 292 (+8) in the final round.

Team Results
1. Japan 206-205-205-206=822 (-30)
2. United States 202-209-211-214=836 (-16)
T3. Canada 216-212-206-203=837 (-15)
T3. Denmark 212-212-207-206=837 (-15)
T3. Thailand 205-209-213-210=837 (-15)
6. Argentina 206-215-206-217=844 (-8)
7. South Africa 211-214-212-209=846 (-6)
8. Australia 219-212-205-212=848 (-2)
9. India 205-223-211-213=852 (E)
10. Germany 221-215-215-213=864 (+12)
11. Columbia 216-219-221-220=876 (+24)
12. Guatemala 230-228-220-230+908 (+56)

Top 10 Individual Results
T1. Yosuke Asaji, JPN 69-73-67-65=274 (-10)
T1. Corey Conners, CAN 73-70-65-66=274 (-10)
T1. Lucas Bjerregaard, DEN 69-68-67-70=274 (-10)
T4. Yaroslav Merkulov, USA 69-70-69-68=276 (-8)
T4. Taihei Sato, JPN 69-69-69-69=276 (-8)
T6. Brandon Stone, RSA 71-68-70-69=278 (-6)
T6. Genzo Tokimatsu, JPN 71-63-71-73=278 (-6)
T8. Thomas Sorensen, DEN 71-71-70-67=279 (-5)
T8. Poom Saksansin, THA 68-73-68-70=279 (-5)
T8. Atiwit Janewattananond, THA 68-66-72-73=279 (-5)

For more information and for full results, please visit www.wjgtc.org.

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