Morning Star Staff
Vernon nine-year-old phenom Ryan Vest admitted he felt a bit worried about his competitors before teeing up in the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour at The Dunes in Kamloops.
Vest shook off the doubt and rang up rounds of 75 and 77 (152) to win the Pee Wee Boys Under 12 Division for his first Tour victory.
“I’ve played on the MJT for two years and I like the tour,” he added on Canada Day. “It feels sweet to win.”
Vest won a pair of Zeal sunglasses.
Arlen DesChamp, 12, of Prince Rupert, was the runner-up shooting 80-83-163, and Junwoo Nam, 12, of Abbotsford, captured third at 80-85-165.
Golfers faced extreme-hot weather on Day 1 and some rain on the final day, but there was still some excellent scoring in the tournament, which was also a qualifier for members into the International Players Championship (IPC) presented by Miura Golf in Jasper next month.
Ely Overennay, 16 of Castlegar, took the Juvenile Boys championship in his first MJT outing after firing rock-solid rounds of 71-71 (142) for a six-stroke winning margin over Coldstream’s Brandon Chai, 15, (77-71-148).
“I worked hard out there and made some putts,” said Overennay.
There was a tie for third spot between Taylor Bourdon, 16, of Delta (80-75-155) and George Wilkins, 15, of Lake Country/Predator Ridge (78-77-155).
The next Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour is the MJT Ford Series at The Harvest Golf Club, July 18-19, in Kelowna.