Overall championships in two divisions of the 2019 Tely Junior Golf Tour came down to a single stroke Monday in the Tour Championship, the final event of the season, at Terra Nova Golf Resort in Port Blandford.
With Order of Merit points standings tight heading into Monday, the first-place finishers in the Tour Championship stood the best chance of overall titles … and that’s how it turned out. The five winners Monday turned out to be end-of-the-season champions.
That included Sanjana Gullipalli of Logy Bay and Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s, who shot a 51 Monday over nine holes in the bantam girls section. That put her a stroke ahead of Paige Allen of Blomidon in Corner Brook. Gullipalli, who won the Thompson Bowl, and Allen had been tied in points heading into Monday.
In juvenile boys play, Jack Pelley-McHardy of Grand Falls came into Monday a stroke behind Ethan Efford of Bally Haly in St. John’s, but would have claimed the overall crown with a first-place showing. But Efford carded an 85 over 18 holes, one stroke better than Pelley-McHardy, and took the championship and Ayre Bowl.
In bantam boys, Griffen Gallant had been tied for third before Monday, but his score of 49 topped the field at Terra Nova and gave him the title and the Watson Bowl.
Luke Lahey of Grand Falls had an 82, the best 18-hole score Monday, to take the event title and overall crown in the junior boys division. The second-best full-course score Monday was an 83 by junior girls champion Taylor Cormier of Blomidon.
On Sunday, competitors prepped for Monday by taking part in the Future Links Skills Challenge. Winners in the skills competition included Maggie Gill, Blomidon (U9 girls); Gullipalli (U11 girls); Ben Preston, Pitcher's Pond Golf Club, Whiteway (U11 boys), Paige Allen (U15 girls); Evan Snow, Gander (U15 boys); and Cormier (junior girls).
In addition, four special trophies were awarded.
One went to Sam Bugden of Blomidon for best performance in the Tours three west coast events, “The West Coast Swing,” while the Hutchinson Trophy for improvement by a female player in her third year or less on the Tour went to Kali Gill of Blomidon.
The overall most improved players were Rosie Allen of Blomidon, who received the Charlie & Una Cook Award, and Geoff Kerr of Bally Haly, who received The Telegram Award.
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