Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour - Vancouver Island Series

Despite the tough course and conditions Haddad, 17, fired rounds of 73 and 68 for a 141 total to win low overall and the Boys 17-19 division gold medal by an eight stroke margin.

"I found the course to be a good challenging golf course, and it was in great shape for the tournament," said Haddad. "My key to victory was keeping the ball in play all week. I only had one penalty stroke and my ability to make all the putts I needed to keep my good score going. It feels really good to win my division; I know there were some really good players looking for the win there."

Second place went to Eric Brinkworth, 17, of Victoria (76 78--154), while third was claimed by Austin Hurlbut, 17, from Dubai in the U.A.E. (78 81--159).

With files from MLT
Tight competition in the Boys 14-16 division saw a tie for the lead at 149 total score between Brayden Ericksen, 16, of Parksville, B.C. (78-71), and Greg Palmer, 16, of Port Alberni, B.C. (73-76). Ericksen edged Palmer for the gold medal based on retrogression and was the eligible qualifier for a spot on MJT Team Canada in the CAN-USA Team matches at the Ritz-Carlton at Dove Mountain in Tuscon, Arizona, on December 10-12, 2010.

"The course was in great condition for the tournament. I found the greens very true," said Ericksen. "The key to my victory was playing steady, and to make less mistakes today than I did yesterday. I did it by playing smart and making a few putts early. I am happy with winning my age category because it was my first MJT event and I move into the older division next year."

The tough competition continued with another tie for third place at 153 total score between Victorians Alex Cartwright, 16, who shot 78-75, and Darren Day, 16, who was 75-78.

Twelve-year-old Naomi Ko of Victoria blasted her way on to the MJT scene in the Girls division, winning her first outing with outstanding scores of 72-73 (145). The MJT expects to be seeing many more great scores from this young player in the future. Runner-up was Keanna Mason, 13, of Maple Ridge, B.C., who carded solid rounds of 78-74 (152) to edge third place finisher, Lauren Atkinson, 17, of Bow, WA, by one stroke.

The Boys 13 and under gold medal was won in style by MJT veteran, Logan Yanick, of Courtenay, B.C., after he fired a fantastic closing round of 70 to finish at 79-70 (149). Yanick declared that the Highland Pacific course is one of his new favourites and wanted to thank his coach (and MJT Tournament Director), Robert Ratcliffe, for such a fun and successful season after working hard together this year.

"Chris Ballesteros was giving me a good run until he caught a bad break on the ninth hole and made a triple," said Yanick. "Kyle (Panaktalok-Olin) was fun to play with as well. Overall it was a great way to finish the season and even better to have my grandparents there to see my fourth win in a row."

Ballesteros, 11, of Vancouver, B.C., finished second in the division after shooting 77-86 (163) while Panaktalok-Olin, 13, of Victoria, finished third (87-92=179).

The divisional winners in the Mr. Lube Long Drive Competition included Chris Ballesteros, Brayden Ericksen, Matt Haddad and Casey Cheung of Surrey, B.C. The Sundog Skills competition divisional winners were Ethan Ko of Victoria, Craig O'Dell of Victoria, Eric Brinkworth and Keanna Mason. The Golf Town Comeback Awards went to Tai Phan of Victoria, Andy Freeman of Regina, SK, Kyler Bourgeault of Qualicum Beach and Keanna Mason.

The Boston Pizza-presented Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour continues its multi-day tournament schedule in British Columbia with the Lindsay Kenney Classic at Belmont Golf Club in Langley on September 2nd and 3rd and the B.C. Series at Swan-e-set Bay Resort in Pitt Meadows on September 18th and 19th.
For more information, please visit www.maplejt.com or call 1-877-859-4653.

FULL RESULTS: MJT Vancouver Island Series
Highland Pacific GC, Victoria, BC

Boys 13 & Under
Par 71, Yardage 5861, Slope/Rating 115/68.4

1 Logan Yanick Courtenay, BC Crown Isle GC 13 79 - 70 149
2 Christopher Ballesteros Vancouver, BC Northlands GC 11 77 - 86 163
3 Kyle Panaktalok-Olin Victoria , BC Royal Colwood GC 13 87 - 92 179
4 Tai Phan Victoria , BC Highland Pacific GC 11 101 - 85 186
5 Walker Campbell Paget, Bermuda Mid Ocean Club M 12 96 - 96 192
6 Ethan Ko Victoria, BC Olympic View 9 96 - 101 197

Boys 14-16
Par 71, Yardage 6603, Slope/Rating 123/71.4

1 Brayden Ericksen Parksville, BC Pheasant Glen GC 16 78 - 71 149*Retrogression
2 Greg Palmer Port Alberni, BC Alberni GC 16 73 - 76 149 Tie
3 Alex Cartwright Victoria, BC Canmore G&CC 16 78 - 75 153*Retrogression
4 Darren Day Victoria, BC Royal Colwood GC 16 75 - 78 153 Tie
5 Matthew Broughton Victoria , BC Royal Colwood GC 16 82 - 78 160
6 Riley Peel Qualicum Beach, BC Pheasant Glen GC 16 81 - 81 162
7 Mark Valliere Nanaimo, BC Morningstar GC M 15 88 - 79 167
8 Brett Saremba Qualicum Beach, BC Pheasant Glen M 16 81 - 87 168
9 Mitchell Campbell Paget, Bermuda Mid Ocean Club M 15 93 - 94 187
10 Kevin Jia Wen Wang Richmond, BC M 16 102 - 92 194
11 Craig O''Dell Victoria, BC Highland Pacific GC 15 103 - 94 197
12 Nathan Talarico Cache Creek, BC Semlin Valley GC 14 96 - 107 203
13 Andy Freeman Regina, SK Joanne Goulet GC 15 110 - 96 206

Boys 14-16
Par 71, Yardage 6603, Slope/Rating 123/71.4

1 Matt Haddad Qualicum Beach, BC Pheasant Glen GC 17 73 - 68 141
2 Eric Brinkworth Victoria, BC Victoria GC 17 76 - 78 154
3 Austin Hurlbut Dubai, U.A.E Arabian Ranches 17 78 - 81 159
4 Matt Matheson West Vancouver, BC Seymour G&CC 17 85 - 81 166
5 Michael Wawryk Delta, BC Beach Grove GC 19 84 - 84 168 Tie
5 Nathan Haussmann Victoria, BC Uplands Golf Club 17 82 - 86 168 Tie
7 Andrew Allan Powell River, BC Myrtle Point GC 17 86 - 84 170
8 Ryan Saran Langley, BC Hazelmere GC 18 88 - 86 174
9 Cam Harris Victoria , BC Gorge Vale GC 17 89 - 86 175
10 Kyler Bourgeault Qualicum Beach, BC Pheasant Glen GC 17 92 - 85 177
11 Anthony Butler Ashcroft, BC Cache Creek GC 18 100 - 97 197
12 Craig Ryan St. Albert, AB Glendale G&CC 18 86 - 86 WD

Girls
Par 71, Yardage 4996 Slope/Rating 116/69.2

1 Naomi Ko Victoria, BC Olympic View 12 72 - 73 145
2 Keanna Mason Maple Ridge, BC Redwoods GC 13 78 - 74 152
3 Lauren Atkinson Bow, WA Skagit G&CC 17 75 - 78 153
4 Casey Cheung Surrey, BC Hazelmere GC 12 91 - 97 188
5 Emma Rigsby Courtenay, BC Comox GC 15 118 - 120 238