The 2011 golf season may just be in its infancy for area players but a couple of local juniors were showing mid-season form in Richmond.
The Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour kicked off with its first event of the year at the Q Golf Club in the Lower Mainland.
Junior golfers in four age groups competed in the event held last Thursday and Friday.
Approximately 60 golfers took part including Tyler McKay and Brenan Moroney of the Rossland-Trail Country Club.
Competing in the 14-to-16 age group, McKay finished tied for fifth with a two-day total of 161 on the par-73 course. The 15-year-old McKay fired a 78 on Friday to post the fourth-best round of the day.
Moroney wasn’t far back. The 15-year-old Rossland golfer finished 12th in the field of 21 golfers with a 171 total.
Howard Lee of Port Coquitlam won the flight by six strokes with a 147 tally.
The tournament’s big news was a new ladies’ course record 67 posted by 17-year-old Soo Bin Kim. The Coquitlam golfer was the 2008 Canadian Junior Girls’ champion.
The Maple Leaf Tour is in its 13th season and features over 60 events across Canada. The tour continues its B.C. swing this coming weekend with an two-day event at the Morgan Creek Golf Club in Surrey.
At stake in each event are exemptions to international competitions to tournaments such as the PGA Junior Series and the Future Collegiate tour championship.