Top juvenile golfers compete in Elmira

Some of the best juvenile golfers in Ontario are teeing it up at the Elmira Golf Club for Juvenile (U17) Boys and Girls Championship this week.

The three-day tournament runs Tuesday to Thursday, and with more than 90 competitors in the field, the competition is tough.

The event has been showcasing top juvenile talent aged 12 to 16 for decades, but officials say this is the first year at the Elmira club.

“To have all these great juniors come from all over Ontario right here at our club for four, five days has been fantastic,” said Jeremy Logel, general manager of Elmira Golf Club.

The loaded field is highlighted by Canadian National Team member Lindsay McGrath, as well as Cambridge’s Hannah Lee, who finished Wednesday with a birdie on the 18th hole.

“My game has been really solid. I’m really happy with how I’ve been playing,” Lee said.

“I played [this course] for the first time when I was 11 years old, so the memory’s a little foggy, but it was always a really nice course. I’m really glad to be back.”

On the boys side, it feels like a home game for Elmira Golf Club members Ethan Hall and Fraser Allen.

“[It’s] definitely pretty cool to see all these good players coming here, just see what they’re shooting,” Allen said.

“[We’ve got] lots of support, they’re all very encouraging.”

The club has been going the extra mile to put on the best tournament possible, prepping the course all season and bringing in more than 45 volunteers to make sure everything is up to par.

“It’s been a really good venue, I mean, there’s a lot of interesting holes, and the greens have been fast, very tricky this week,” said Manav Bharani, second round leader at five under.

Tournament director Connor Doyle says the course has a particularly great clubhouse at by the 18th hole.

“They have the members cheering on the kids as they come up [to the 18th hole] and it just provides an awesome experience for the players and it’s the clubs like Elmira Golf Club that we love to work with,” Doyle said.

The third and final round of the championship wraps up Thursday, with full exemption for next year’s tournament going to the winner.

“It’s going to be a shootout,” said Doyle.