Ella Nagayo wins MJT TaylorMade Championship girls 15-18 title
Ella Nagayo is turning heads in Canada’s junior golf landscape. And she’s barely a month competing in her her home.
Playing in only her second career Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) tournament, 15-year old Alessandra Christine Nagayo claimed her second straight MJT Girls 15-18 Division title and kept her stronghold of the MJT Order of Merit in the 2019 MJT TaylorMade Championship at Lionhead Golf Club in Brampton, Ontario on July 13 and 14.
The new resident of Toronto, Ontario carded rounds of 82 and 79 for a 36-hole aggregate of 161 to win both the Hoselton trophy and the TaylorMade Championship’s Low Overall Girls score.
“The conditions were pretty difficult out there, but I handled them well,” said Nagayo in the MJT website.
For the second tournament in a row, the girl nicknamed by Edge Davao as “Swingderella” handily beat the field wnning by 11 strokes over her closest rival Grace Halcrow, 17, of Richmond Hill, who fired rounds of 90 and 82 for a 172 total good for second place. Elaine Surjoprajogo of Brampton, 18, wound up third after carding a 178 on rounds of 87 and 91.
With her win, Nagayo, daughter of former Davao City councilor and now Toronto-based labor attache for the Philippine government Rachel Zozobrado-Nagayo, now leads the Order of Merit for the girls 15-18 division with 500 points followed by Halcrow with 375, and India Tory with 325.
The former Melbourne golf scholar’s younger brother Daniel registered for the event but did not see action.
Over 80 junior golfers registered for the Boston Pizza-presented tournament where competitors slug it out for titles in seven divisions as well as spots on MJT Team Ontario in the National Team Challenge presented by Freedom 55 Financial in Niagara Falls later this summer.
Convincingly winning Low Overall and the MJT TaylorMade Championship’s Junior Boys Division with scores of 75 and 73 (148), despite drenching downpours, was Mono resident, Ranen Oomen-Danckert.
The 18-year old competitor made six birdies throughout the tournament, only one of which came on a par five. “I made some great saves during the tournament,” he said. “I made a couple of clutch putts for par and saved par on a par five after hitting three off the tee.” Two-time MJT winner, Yashin Kapadia, rounded the division in second place.
Vick Gu (72, 80 – 152), made a flurry of birdies, earning him the MJT TaylorMade Championship’s Juvenile Boys title. The 16-year-old Markham player, made nine birdies on his way to a five-shot victory over 16-year old, Charlie Cooper (79, 78 – 157), of Caledonia. “It feels really good to win this tournament, especially after all the hard work I’ve put in,” said Gu. “I can say I’m happy with the way I played knowing that I struck the ball well and had the putter working.”
The 18-year old, Brampton-local, carded rounds of 80 and 81 (161) to continue a streak of six consecutive top five finishes in MJT events.
Andreas Diogenous added to his repertoire of MJT wins, capturing the MJT TaylorMade Championship’s Bantam Boys title with scores of 79 and 75 (154). The 13-year old player out of Cambridge, who had a triple and two bogeys during his opening nine holes, said, “I had a bit of a rough start on the first day, but I was able to keep it together and stay steady.” Finishing four shots back of Diogenous, was Toronto resident, Ryan Zhao, 13, who carded a pair of 79s (158) to place second.
12-year old, Kurt Rivers, of Brampton, fired rounds of 78 and 72 (150) to win the MJT TaylorMade Championship’s Peewee Boys Division by two shots over 11-year old, Jager Pain, of Woodbridge. Pain (75, 77 – 152), had a share of the first round lead with Toronto’s Eric Zhao (75, 78 – 153), 11 after firing a 75. However, a three-under, bogey-free back nine in the second round propelled Rivers to first place. “My competitors played amazing golf and it was a very exciting finish,” claimed Rivers, who took home his first career MJT Hoselton trophy. “But the highlight of the tournament was really making new friends and gaining valuable tournament experience on a challenging golf course.”
Jamie Roslyn Camero, of Dubai, UAE, captured the MJT Girls U15 Division with scores of 86 and 80 (166). The 13-year old, two-year MJT player, obtained her first win of 2019 and second of her career. “The key for me to winning this tournament was staying calm after I had a bad hole,” she said. “I had a couple of stretches of bad holes, but I kept my composure and carried on.” Finishing tied for second were two Oakville players, Emily McKee (84, 84 – 168), 12, and Sarah Yang (83, 85 – 168), 12.
Waterloo native, Lucas Patton capped off the event’s Collegiate Division shooting scores of 83 and 87 (170). Patton, 20, said, “I enjoyed playing in the tournament because the staff are nice, the sponsors are great, and events are generally well-organized.”
The next event is the MJT Ontario GTA College Preview presented by Humber College PGM at Piper’s Heath Golf Club in Hornby.
The non-profit Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour presented by Boston Pizza is Canada’s number one-played Junior Golf Tour as well as the only national junior tour run exclusively by PGA of Canada Professionals and the ‘Road to College Golf’ in Canada. The organization is presented nationally by Boston Pizza and supported by valued Premier, Tournament and Product Partners.
The MJT hosts close to 80 events across Canada, including free Ford Go Golf Junior Clinics, the MJT Mini Tour for 7 to 12 year olds, the Collegiate Tour for 19 to 23 year olds, and multi-day events for competitive players aged 11 to 18 which are also qualifiers for international competitions. The program offers annual awards, scholarships, and frequent player incentives to help reward player’s performance and participation throughout each season. MJT alumni include many Professional Tour players and PGA of Canada Professionals, as well as Canadian Amateur, National and Provincial Junior Champions. The MJT aims to develop champions, in golf and in life, promoting the game from grassroots through to provincial, national, university and professional level.
ORDER OF MERIT: Girls 15-18
- Alessandra Christine Nagayo, 500; 2. Grace Halcrow, 375; 3. India Tory, 325; 4. Elaine Surjoprajogo , 0
