The rain didn’t stop nearly 100 young golfers from teeing off in the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) junior worlds qualifier at Tsawwassen Springs golf course on Sunday.
Competing in six divisions in challenging weather, golfers aged seven to 12 played in conditions made more difficult by the heavy rain and winds.
“The kids did great to finish and play as well as they did,” said MJT mini tour director Lee J.H. Lee.
Surrey golfer James (Chenrui) Qiu, 10, finished first in the Boys 9-10 division with a score of 69, and was the only player to break par (70).
“I am very excited for the title because this is my first play this season,” said Qiu, in an MJT release.
“Today my putter was so hot, I got five one-putt birdies when I was on the green.”
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Other top finishers include White Rock’s Stella Sun, seven, who placed third in the Girls U8 division with her score of 86; Surrey’s April Zhang, eight, who tied for third in the Girls 9-10 division with an 88; Surrey’s Satnam Gill, 12 and Emma Kim, 10, who placed second (82) and third (88), respectively, in the Girls 11-12 division; Surrey’s Minxing Matt Li, 10, who placed second behind Qiu with a score of 73; and Surrey’s Jackson Wang, 11, who tied for third in the Boys 11-12 division, with a 76.
Siblings Jack and Jenny Guo from West Vancouver were Low Overall Boy and Girl respectively.
Qiu, like every division winner, qualified for the season-ending MJT Mini Tour National Championship this August in Tsawwassen; he was also short-listed for the IMG Academy Junior World Championship this July in San Diego, CA. In addition, the top two finishers in each division qualified for the upcoming MJT Mini Tour Order of Merit Invitational at Quilchena Golf and Country Club in Richmond on May 27.
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