Highlights of the 2006 Canadian Optimist Junior Golf National Championships
From August 13th to 16th, 2006 talented junior golfers from the Provinces of Quebec to British Columbia gathered in Ingersoll, Ontario to compete in the 15th Annual Canadian Optimist National Championships. Golfers from the U.S. state of Montana also attended as they are part of a joint Canadian and United States Optimist District. The Championships have 6 age divisions and results are based on 54 hole aggregate scores. Some top finishers in each age division earned a spot in the prestigious 2007 Optimist International Junior Golf Championships at the PGA National Resort and SPA in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
The Ingersoll Golf and Country Club Course was in perfect condition again and other than some rain on the afternoon of the first day, wonderful golf conditions prevailed. The competition was keen and a few play-offs were required to decide the final standings.
Boys 16-18 Division – Kevin Giesbrecht of Carman, Manitoba shot par on the first day and was tied for third place. From that point on it was no contest as he carded a three under par 69 on the second day to take a 7 stroke into the championship round. He posted another 3 under 69 on the last day and won the division and overall tournament champion honours. Jamie MacDonald of Lasellete, Ontario, the leader after the first round, finished second with a 220 total that was 10 strokes behind Kevin.
Boys 14-15 Division – This was a closely contested division with 6 players within 5 strokes headed in the final round. Mitch Sutton of London, Ontario, a previous Optimist National Champion in a lower age division, shot a par 72 on the final day. Although he was 1 stoke off the lead headed into the final round, his consistent rounds of 74-76-72 for a total of 222 was the key to beating Steven Bridgland of London by 6 strokes. The leader headed in the championship round, Stephane Dubois of Brantford, Ontario, had to go to a play-off to take third place over Austin Steinberger of East Selkirk, Manitoba. Both had a 54 hole total of 229.
Boys 12-13 Division – Another division that required a play-off: This time it was for the division championship. Four players were within 5 strokes of Nolan Cooper of Petrolia, Ontario who had a 1 stroke lead at 151 heading into the last round. Tyler Stone of Peterborough, Ontario shot a par 72 in the championship round to move into a tie with Nolan. He shot an eagle in the play-off to win the division. Darren Young of Woodstock, Ontario had a fine tournament with his 54 hole total of 229 only one stoke behind Tyler and Nolan.
Boys 11 and under Division – Wade Chen of Scarborough, Ontario led this division from wire to wire. He shot 77-81-74 for a tournament total of 232 and won the tournament by 10 stokes. Brett McIntosh, London, Ontario shot 242 to finish second while third place was taken by John Nalbandian of Brampton, Ontario.
Girls 15-18 Division – Tara McFadden of Thomasburg, Ontario had a very strong tournament shooting 73-77-70 for a four over tournament total of 220. Natalie Gleadall of Stratford, Ontario finished in second place with rounds of 73-80-75 and a total of 228. Lauren Rousseau of Winnipeg, Manitoba was third with a 240 total.
Girls 14 and under Division – Brianna Cooper of Kincardine, Ontario shot 80 on both of the first two rounds to take a 6 shot lead into the championship round. A final round of 84 gave her a 4 stoke win over Robyn Doig of Seaforth, Ontario. Corey Crosson of London, Ontario placed third with a tournament total of 257.
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