~Play completed late Friday evening following a two hour delay due to inclement weather~

HAMILTON, ONTARIO – JULY 5, 2019 – The final day of the 19th annual PING Canadian Junior Match-Play Championship was completed Friday evening. The players were forced to play through extreme heat and two delays due to inclement weather, as the weather was not on their side. This did not affect the quality of the competition on display though, as all four divisions put on a true spectacle.

The Junior Boys division, which was a tight battle all week, ended with Mathieu Lafontaine facing off in the final against Eric Yun. It was a great match-up which saw two evenly matched players at their best. In the end Lafontaine, was able to defeat Yun by a score of 5 & 3 leading to him being crowned champion in the Junior Boy’s division, after a long week. “Winning is a good feeling” he said, “I played a good match, he did too…I was two up after two, so I just played safe”.

In the Junior Girls division, after a pair of intense semi finals, Nicole Gal was able to defeat Megan Miron by a score of 5 & 4, and Vaijayanti Bharkhada earned her spot in the final by defeating the top seed Raesa Sheikh by a score of 3 & 2. This led to a hard-fought final match which saw the two girls fight through the high temperatures and humidity, as well as a significant weather delay which occurred as they prepared to hit their tee shots on 18^th hole. After resuming play around 8:30 pm, Nicole Gal was able to claim victory and her place on the championship trophy on the 18^th hole.

Chad Huber took first place in the Bantam Boys division Chad Huber with a well deserved 3 & 2 victory over the young phenom Eric Zhao. Huber and Zhao earned their places in the final with semi-final victories against Isaiah Ellis and Cameron Colbran earlier in the day respectively. After the match ended, Chad was asked about what he felt the turning point in the match was, responding “probably on 11, when I made the birdie putt to go three up, and I knew that I had a cushion and I could just match him to win.” Overall the Bantam Boys had a great turnout for their division, with many talented players putting on a show over the course of the week.

The Bantam Girls division also saw their final match delayed by the late afternoon thunderstorms in the Hamilton region. Playing in the final match Alexa Ouellet and Kelly Zhao squared off after they were able to defeat Mia Wong and Lauren Gervais respectively during their semi final matches.  The girls were set-up to hit their approach shots into the par 5, 15^th hole when play was suspended, leaving the match in limbo with Alexa sitting 3up over her opponent.  The nearly 2 hour delay was not enough to nock Alexa’s mental game and once play resumed a birdie by Alexa awarded her the championship with a 4&3 victory.

Overall, the tournament was a great success, which saw many players bring their “A” game. Many spectators were thrilled to watch the outstanding golf that was on display, and it is safe to say many people will be looking forward to the 20^th annual Ping Canadian Junior Matchplay Championship partnered by Tourism Hamilton, which will return to King’s Forest next summer.

For complete results from the PING Canadian Junior Match Play Championship hosted by Tourism Hamilton – Click Here