Ontario Junior Female Golf championships at Rivendell

Jul 08, 2010

Sydney Asselstine of Hartington -out to “play her game” -just one of over 100 golfers participating at the GAO's Junior and Juvenile Ontario Championships at Rivendell.

Jim Lansdell, general manager of Rivendell Golf Club in Verona, was thrilled to be hosting over 100 of the province’s top-ranked junior female golfers for the Golf Association of Ontario's (GAO) Investors Group Juvenile and Junior Girls Ontario Championships.

On July 6 the girls teed off for the first of three days of intense play. By Thursday one of them will be going home as the Ontario Junior Champion and one as the Ontario Girls Juvenile Champion.

Claire Welsh, marketing and communications coordinator for the GAO, who had been watching since tee off time said, “It's really shaping up and looking like it’s going to be a battle until the very end. There are some pretty amazing golfers here today and I know there will be scouts out looking from some of the top schools in the States, so the girls will definitely have their game faces on and be playing as well as they can.”

I spoke to two golfers - the first, 17-year-old Augusta James from Bath, Ontario who won the Ontario Bantam Championship when she was 13.

Augusta had had a rough start to the day, with bogies on 3 of her first six holes, before recovering to a 2 over par 38 on the front nine. On the back nine she hit her stride, carding 3 birdies against one bogie for 2 under par 33. Her even par total for 18 holes put Augusta into a tie for second place, 2 shots back of the first round leader, Brittany Marchand of Brampton, the only player to break par with a score of 69

“I was a little shaky starting out but am hoping that I can pull it together tomorrow. I'd really love to win this event and feel it is a realistic goal for me,” Augusta said after her round.

I also spoke to Sydney Asselstine of Hartington, who is regular member at Rivendell and has been golfing since she was 8. I spoke to her half way through her round, after she had parred the 9th hole.

She said, “I'm just here trying to play my game. I'm not flying for the win, really just out to try to do my best and have a good time.”

Sydney shot a 13 over par 84 on the day, good enough for 33rd place among 74 participants.

This is the first time the event has been held at the Rivendell Golf Club and walking onto the course one could sense that something special was in the works. Jim Lansdell said, “We've been working towards this for the last year. The girls are loving the course and it's one that is well adapted to their game. They really have to think and place their shots.”