European teenagers win boys' and girls' titles at 

Junior Orange Bowl in Florida

CORAL GABLES,  Florida: The 52^st edition of the Junior Orange Bowl International belongs to Europe! Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan and Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela won the individual boys' and girls' prestigious titles, writes David Mackintosh, Press Officer, JOB.

Reitan posted a four-day total of 279, 5-under par with a final-round 70, resilient play for a tournament featuring stiff wind all week.

Valenzuela finished 3-under par (281) to take the Girls' Division by three strokes from France’s Agathe Laisne and South Korea’s Euikyung Shin, while frontrunner for most of the event, North Carolina’s Emilia Migliaccio, finished 5^th.   
The two title winners were the only players to finish under par for the 72-hole tournament.     

Defending champion Joaquin Niemann from Chile and Belgium’s Adrien Dumont de Chassart both birdied the 72^nd hole to tie second place on even par. 

Niemann’s attempt to become the first  boy player to repeat the title was thwarted by a balky putter, his ball striking as immaculate as ever. “It’s the way golf goes, but obviously frustrating,” he said. 

Will Dickson from Providence RI was the low USA boy, tied 7^th on 288.

“It feels amazing,” Reitan, 17, said afterwards. “That was the hardest round of golf I’ve ever played, mentally really exhausting, having to keep my emotions in check for the entire day. I was particularly pleased to avoid doing anything stupid, especially toward the end. 

"To feel all these emotions on a golf course was a really good experience and hopefully will be useful in the future.”

Asked at what stage he began to believe he could win, the charismatic young Norwegian confessed “It was never easy. After the first nine, when I led by five strokes, I was still thinking there was a long way to go. Then I bogeyed three in a row and the lead was down to two. 

"Luckily I was able to birdie the 13^th and from there on I got more comfortable. But it was only when I hit the 17^th green that I felt I had compete control.” 
Daniel List, Australian-born student at Wellington College, Berkshire, tied for 10th place on five-over-par 289 with rounds of 74, 72, 73 and 70.

Valenzuela came into the week full of confidence, having won at the Doral Junior Open the week pre-Christmas and competing in the JOBI for the third time.

“The golf course suits my game,” she said. “After last year (when she finished third) I knew that if I played my style of golf, I would have a chance. To actually achieve my ambition of winning this event, well it still has to sink in.”  

 A solid final round of 70 sealed the championship. “I enjoy attacking pins and that’s how I played today, and it worked.”

Now she’s off to challenge for the Mexican Amateur in Guadalajara, a tournament where her father was runner-up four times. “I’d love to win there for family honour, but honestly, to win the Junior Orange Bowl is truly fantastic.”

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
BOYS
6742yd Par 284 (4x71)

1 Kristoffer Reitan (Norway) 279 (70 67 72 70)

T2 Adrien Dumont de Chassart (Belgium) 284 (71 71 73 69)

T2 Joaquin Niemann (Chile) 284 (69 73 70 72)

T4  Adrien Pendaries (France) 285 (73 74 70 68)

T4 Sachin Kumar (Trinidad and Tobago) 285 (72 68 70 75

6 David Ravetto (France) 286 (71 73 69 73)

T7 Will Dickson (USA) 288 (71 74 74 69)

T7 Kieran Vincent (Zimbabwe) 288 (71 75 72 70)
T7 Jeong Weon Ko (France) 288 (72 74 70 72)

T10 Daniel List (Australia) 289 (74 72 73 70)

T10 Herik Machado (Brazil) 289 (72 75 72 70)

GIRLS

6089yd. Par 284 (4x71) 
 1 Albane Valenzuela (Switzerland) 281 (70 70 71 70)
T2 Agathe Laisne (France) 284 (76 68 73 67)
T2 Euikyung Shin (S Korea) 284 (69 69 78 68
4 Mathilda Cappeliez (France) 285 (70 73 72 70)
5 Emilia Migliaccio (USA) 287 (68 70 74 75)
6 Mika Liu (USA) 290 (75 71 72 72)
7 Sofia Garcia (Paraguay) 292 (70 74 75 73)
T8 Isabella Fierro (Mexico) 293 (77 74 76 66)
T8 Luiza Altmann (Brazil) 293 (78 70 75 70)
T8 Valeria Pacheco (Puerto Rico) 293 (77 72 71 73)

 For complete list of boys' and girls' final totals, visit www.jrorangebowl.org/golf

Death of long-serving club pro John Boath (87)
 

The funeral service for Angus-born, retired golf professional John Boath will be held at 1pm on Tuesday, January 5 at Mortonhall Crematorium, Edinburgh.
John, who was 87, died at Woodlands Nurshing Home, Livingston before Christmas.
Over a long career, Boath worked at a total of seven golf clubs, on both sides of the Border, had a spell as a tournament player and then spent the last 20 years of his working life at Braid Hills, Edinburgh.
He played his amateur golf at Carnoustie before being called up for National Service in 1946 and serving in the Middle East.

Boath had left school at 14 when he started an engineering apprenticeship which he concluded on his return from National Service.

In 1950 he started a long career as a PGA professional when he  he joined Fred Bullock, head professional at Glasgow Golf Club, Killermont as ab assistant.

After three years, Boath joined Hamish Ballingall , pro at Northumberland Golf Club, where he stayed for one year before  becoming unattached and playing tournament golf for a spell.

John's next move saw him team up again with Fred Bullock  at Moortown Golf Club, Leeds where England cricket captain Herbert Sutcliffe was the golf club captain.
The Moortown pro's shop suffered from the fact that Sutcliffe had a Leeds sports store where all the golf club members purchased their equipment.
Boath returned to Scotland and his native Angus with Bullock, who became head pro for the two Dundee muncipal golf clubs, Caird Park and Camperdown.
John succeeded Bullock in 1995

In 1970  Boath returned to England to join Ryder Cup player Dave Thomas at Dunham Forest Golf Club, Cheshire, as head assistant.
He remained there for the best part of five years and was popular with the members who had a testimonial for him, from which he received £750, a goodly sum 40 years ago.
Then Boath returned to Scotland for his final post in the PGA pro world at Braid Hills Golf Club, Edinburgh where he remained for 20 years before retiring to St Andrews

JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL  INTERNATIONAL GOLF – Day 3

REPORT FROM PRESS OFFICER

DAVID MACKINTOSH

CORAL GABLES, Florida: With 18 defining holes to play, Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan leads Trinidad’s Sachin Kumar by a stroke in the Boys Division, Chile’s defending champion Joaquin Niemann three off the lead.  

The Girls' title is also closely contested, Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela overtaking second round leader Emilia Migliaccio to lead by a single stroke, their closest challenger France’s Mathilda Cappeliez.

In yet another windy day in South Florida, the evolving story was as complex as the weather. After nine holes, by reeling off three birdies in the first four holes, Reitan led by six.

“It was all going well, then suddenly it wasn’t,” he explained. “I missed an easy chip and putt par save at 11, then hit my tee shot in the water at the par-3 12^th and took a double-bogey. I thought I’d steadied up with a birdie at the 14th but poor shots on 16 and 17 cost a couple more shots.

“Obviously I’m pleased still to have the lead. In fact, I’m glad it is just one shot, rather than three, because I think I’ll learn much more from the experience.”    

Kumar wasn’t watching his co-competitor struggles; he was fighting his own demons. “My iron game was off but fortunately my wedge game was really sharp. I had seven, maybe eight, up-and-down par saves.” Two birdies on the back-nine par fives and his day added up to 70, two better than Reitan.

Niemann, suffering from a sore throat, also carded 70 without the aid of his putter. “I didn’t make a thing all day,” he said.

In the Girls' Division, the story was similar. Migliaccio pushed her overnight lead to four at the halfway point but she too was put on tilt by a double-bogey at the 13^th, a greenside chip caught clean followed by a horrid lie. “I wasn’t hitting my irons well, and I couldn’t fix it out on the course,” she said.

Migliaccio’s bogey at the 16^th presented Valenzuela a tied lead and when the 17-year old from Geneva birdied the closing hole, she was in front for the first time. Neither girls believe in pressure of their situations. “I didn’t feel any pressure,” said North Carolina’s Migliaccio, “I just could not hit the shots as I wanted.”

“I’m not a nervous person,” said New York-born Valenzuela, whose parents moved to Switzerland when she was five. “I just go and play, try my best and see what happens.”         

For complete scores, visit www.jrorangebowl.org/golf or www.golfstatresults.com

Euan McBride best with five under par at Dalmahoy West Course


FROM WALTER BURNS
Scottish Junior Tour

Here are the results from the Scottish Junior Golf Tour Fun Family Christmas event yesterday at Dalmahoy on the West course. Thankfully the weather was fine, helping to make it a great day.

It was a better-ball team competition in addition to the individual competition which was 9:9ParGolf where only the best nine holes count.

The scoring was excellent and five of the boys shot four under par but the best score of the day was Euan McBride’s 5 under par. George Burns had the best score from the adults with 5 under par.

 

Leading Scores

 

Under 18

-5 Euan McBride (Lenzie)

-4 Fraser Kane (Kirkhill),  Andrew Thompson (Lanark)

Under 16

-4 Aidan Husenne (Haggs Castle), Greg Dalziel (Airdrie),  Craig Jackman (Dunblane)

-1 Jack Broun (Belleisle), Max McCluskey (Lenzie)

Under 14

-3 Roddy McCauley (Fereneze), Jack Lockhart (Pitreavie), Ewan Wheat (Royal Montrose)

-1 Ross Barclay (Carnoustie), Jamie Fulton (Muckhart), Callum Leeson (Pitreavie), Jonathan Murphy (Erskine)

Under 12

-1  George Cannon (Falkirk), Andrew Forbes (Haggs Castle), Thomas Rankine (Haggs Castle)

Level  Ross Laird (Falkirk), Aamar Saleem (Ladybank)

The Adults

-5 George Burns (Williamwood)

-3 Iain Fulton (Muckhart), Malcolm Kpedekpo (Dalmahoy)

-2 Callum Husenne (Haggs Castle), Stuart Jackman (Dunblane), Tommy Kelly (Fereneze)

The handicap prize was won by Ross Laird with 10 under par.

Stuart Jackman won the adults' handicap prize with 9 under par.

The team event was won by Stewart Kane, Scott Kane, Fraser Kane and Andrew Thompson with 9 under par gross 59.

The handicap team event was won by Peter and Roddy McCauley, and Tommy and Cameron Kelly with nett 48 (20 under par!)

The Team Skills Challenges were won by Karine and George Burns,  and Aidan and Callum Husenne with 62 points.

 

Thanks to all our Junior Tour families for making  our first Christmas event a great one. It will now become a regular event in our season. Weather dependent of course!

Walter Burns

Scottish Junior Golf Tour

Mob: 07951 103 827

Email: walter@scottishjuniorgolftour.co.uk

Web: www.scottishjuniorgolftour.co.uk