A clutch par putt on the ninth extra hole of a playoff gave Surrey 11-year-old Andy Liu the Peewee Boys division win during Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s season-opening tourney at University Golf Club.
Liu earned the Hoselton trophy at the MJT Humber College PGM Classic tournament, presented by TaylorMade at the course in Vancouver from March 14 to 16.
The six-division tournament was held before play on the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour was temporarily suspended due to the current COVID-19 virus pandemic.
“A packed field of young competitors showcased exceptional talent and perseverance very early in the golf season,” said operators of the tour, now in its 22nd season.
Much of the action happened in the MJT Peewee Boys division won by Surrey’s Liu.
During the final round, nine-year-old Matthew Cui, of Burnaby, scored a hole-in-one on the seventh hole, and the division needed nine extra playoff holes to determine the winner between Liu (who scored rounds of 76, 76, 79 for a three-day total of 231) and Langley’s Soohan Park (75, 80, 76, for 231).
“With both players trading opportunities to win throughout the playoff, it was Liu who made a clutch par putt on the ninth extra hole to take home the Hoselton trophy and his first win of the season, while Park had to settle for a runner-up finish after the marathon battle,” according to a Maple Leaf news release.
Tied for third place in the division were 2019 MJT Mini Tour national champion Michael Li , 11, of Vancouver (78, 79, and 75) and Surrey’s Sukhraj Singh Gill, 12 (76, 81, and 75).
Meantime, Surrey’s Joshua Ince was the Bantam Boys winner of the tournament’s PLYR Long Drive competition.
Full tourney results are posted to maplejt.com.
”The Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour would like to remind everyone that upcoming events have been suspended, to be rescheduled for play at a later date as circumstances allow, due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak allow,” tour operators said in a news release on March 17.
“The MJT is committed to ensuring the health and safety all its players, families, and personnel and wishes that everyone remain safe and healthy during these times. For more information, please visit the website at www.maplejt.com.”
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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