Higginbottom and Matthews share first-round lead at Investors Group Ontario Bantam Boys’ Championship; Sheikh and Friyia lead Girls’ Championship
Golf Ontario – BATH— It was a soggy start to the Investors Group Ontario Bantam Boys’ and Girls’ Championships on Aug. 22 from Loyalist Country Club in Bath. Two weather delays during the round forced the players off the course for close to two hours. When the round did wrap up it was Lakeshore’s Spencer Higginbottom and Little Britain’s Justin Matthews who held the lead in the Boys’ Championship, while Markham’s Raesa Sheikh and London’s Jillian Friyia share top spot on the girls’ leaderboard.
Higginbottom, from Beach Grove Golf & Country Club, had a good start to the day with back-to-back birdies on four and five. He would go to the turn one-under. On the back nine, he strung together a trio of birdies on holes 12-14. However, a bogey and a double on the next two holes brought him back to one-under. He added a birdie on 18 and finished the day two-under (70).
As for Matthews, from the Oshawa Golf & Curling Club, he too birdied four and five and found himself one-under at the turn. After three birdies on the back nine, he double bogeyed the 16th to finish two-under (70).
Joining Higginbottom and Matthews in tomorrow’s final group will be Oakville’s William Herbert. Herbert had a strong front nine finishing two-under with four birdies. He would bogey the 16th, but still ended the day one-under (71).
In the Girls’ Championship, it was an up and down round for Sheikh, from Cedar Brae Golf Club. She was two-over after three, but then birdied the fourth and fifth holes. However, she added two more bogeys and was two-over after nine. She would drain birdies on the 12th and 13th to get back to even. She added a bogey on the 16th and a birdie on the 18th to finish the day even par (72).
Friyia, from Highland Country Club, opened with a birdie but would go the turn at two-over. After dropping to three-over, she rebounded nicely with a trio of birdies on the 12th, 15th, and 18th holes to end the day at even par (72).
Rounding out the top three is Thornhill’s Lauren Zaretsky. Zaretsky, from the Ladies Golf Club of Toronto, was three-over after the front nine. However, thanks to a birdie on the 18th, she finished the back nine one-under to bring her total to two-over (74).
The final round gets underway tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. For more information, including the leaderboards, pairings and live streaming, see the tournament sites at: https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao17/event/gao1711/index.htm for the Boys’ Championship and https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao17/event/gao1712/index.htm for the Girls’ Championship.
About the Investors Group Ontario Bantam Championship
The Investors Group Ontario Bantam Boys’ Championship was first contested in 1923 at the Summit Golf & Country Club. The first Ontario Bantam Girls’ Championship was held in 2003. The event is open to players 14-years-old and younger as of Aug. 1. Participants on the boys’ side qualified through one of four qualifiers held earlier this summer. Notable past boys champions include: Tony Gil, Matt LeMay, Bill Hutcheson, Kelly Roberts and Tim McCutcheon. As for past girls champions, the list includes: Jennifer Kirby, Augusta James and Christina Foster.
ABOUT GOLF ONTARIO
Golf Ontario is Ontario’s Provincial Sport Organization focused on enhancing participation, elevating performance and supporting the passion of golfers in Ontario. With over 90,000 individual members and 450 member clubs, Golf Ontario is one of the largest golf associations in the world. From rating courses and keeping the integral rules of the game intact, to growing the game at the grassroots level and getting the game of golf into our school systems, to keeping the Ontario golf community aware of all relevant issues and hosting the best amateur tournaments in Canada, Golf Ontario is a passionate group dedicated to making golf better for everyone in Ontario. We share a love and passion for golf, while preserving its past, fostering its future, and championing golf’s best interests for everyone who enjoys the sport.
For more information please contact:
Darren Matte, Communications and Marketing Coordinator
Golf Ontario
905-852-1101 ext. 234
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Results for contest 2015 Bantam Championship:
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T1 Spencer Higginbottom 34-36--70 -2
T1 Justin Matthews 34-36--70 -2
3 William Herbert 33-38--71 -1
T4 Ethan Cardwell 33-39--72 E
T4 Beni Long 37-35--72 E
T4 Oscar Feschuk 34-38--72 E
T4 Zach Burt 36-36--72 E
T8 Nicholas Tanovich 39-34--73 +1
T8 Caden Holmes 37-36--73 +1
10 Thomas Latter 39-35--74 +2
T11 Connor Munro 38-37--75 +3
T11 Nolan Piazza 41-34--75 +3
T11 Kayden White 38-37--75 +3
T11 Owen Allen 39-36--75 +3
T11 Graem Costigan 36-39--75 +3
T16 Peter Blazevic 35-41--76 +4
T16 Vick Gu 37-39--76 +4
T16 Gerry Mei 38-38--76 +4
T16 Ethan Irvine 38-38--76 +4
T16 Ben MacLean 39-37--76 +4
T16 Bradley Parker 37-39--76 +4
T22 Joel Storoschuk 38-39--77 +5
T22 Yutaka Nohdomi 41-36--77 +5
T24 Kiefer Bulau 42-36--78 +6
T24 Oliver Taillefer 39-39--78 +6
T24 Andrew Gwilliams 39-39--78 +6
T24 Caden McHenry 43-35--78 +6
T24 Laurier Perrault 37-41--78 +6
T24 Jack Dool 38-40--78 +6
T30 Alex Long 39-40--79 +7
T30 Bradyn Wark 41-38--79 +7
T30 Ben Hirasawa 40-39--79 +7
T30 Ty Stansfield 38-41--79 +7
T30 Daniel Abraha 40-39--79 +7
T30 Cameron Pero 47-32--79 +7
T30 Mike Barnett 40-39--79 +7
T30 Jack Moro 45-34--79 +7
T38 Benjamin Landers 43-37--80 +8
T38 Kavith Ranchagoda 38-42--80 +8
T38 Eric Jung 42-38--80 +8
T38 Ellis Kinnaird 37-43--80 +8
T38 Jared Berry 42-38--80 +8
T43 Sam Hogan 43-38--81 +9
T43 Matthew Peesker 40-41--81 +9
T45 Mathew Hawryluk 42-40--82 +10
T45 Zander Gibson 37-45--82 +10
T45 Andrew Young 43-39--82 +10
T45 Carson Duffy 38-44--82 +10
T45 Josh Stalteri 40-42--82 +10
T45 Dylan Norrey 40-42--82 +10
T51 Ethan Gillis 39-44--83 +11
T51 Tyler Richardson 45-38--83 +11
T51 Arman Mohammed 43-40--83 +11
T51 Matthew Inglis 39-44--83 +11
55 Owen Kim 43-41--84 +12
56 SeHyeon Yi 44-41--85 +13
57 Nathaniel Gray Lamont 41-45--86 +14
58 Hunter Kolm 44-43--87 +15
59 Hunter Baird 40-48--88 +16
T60 Matthew Whitehead 45-44--89 +17
T60 Aleck Simms 48-41--89 +17
T62 Jake McBride 46-47--93 +21
T62 Benjamin Fowke 42-51--93 +21
64 Charlie Smith 47-50--97 +25
65 Dallas Burgess 49-49--98 +26
DID NOT FINISH
DQ Matthew Javier