Lepp Takes Lead after Second Round at Canadian Junior Championship

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:17:32

Saskatoon, SK - After two weeks off from golf tournaments, defending champion James Lepp of Abbotsford, BC fired a 7-under second round to take the lead at the 64th Canadian Junior Championship, conducted by the Royal Canadian Golf Association and hosted by the Saskatoon Golf & Country Club in Saskatoon, SK.

Lepp, who won last year's junior championship by a commanding 12 strokes, is looking for a repeat performance. He started the round in eighth, but three birdies on the front nine and five on the back was enough to put him at the top of the leaderboard.

Not only is Lepp the frontrunner heading into tomorrow's round, he also broke the course and championship records at Saskatoon Golf & Country Club.

The previous course record, held by five individuals, including the course's head professional Randy Volk, was 65. The new tournament record of 66 was set Tuesday by first-round leaders Michel Landry of Tracadie, NB, and Richard Scott of Kingsville, ON. Lepp wiped them both out.

"It's a definite bonus for my confidence, heading into tomorrow with the low score of the tournament and the low score of any tournament. I've never set any sort of record before," said Lepp. That's surprising considering his championship resume.

Lepp competed in the BC Amateur Championship two weeks ago. He won it. Before that, it was the 2002 BC Junior Championship. He won that too. Next week he'll play on the BC provincial team at the 98th Canadian Amateur Championship in Edmundston, NB. Right now, however, his sights are set on his game tomorrow.

"No bogeys tomorrow. I made one today on the ninth, and it was my worst hole of the round. I want to make some good putts tomorrow, and birdie the par-5s. Apart from that, pars are good," said Lepp.

First-round leader Michel Landry, now one stroke back and alone in second, adheres to the same strategy - make pars and try to birdie the par-5s. He didn't have much success today; Landry birdied just one of the course's three par-5s. Lepp, in contrast, birdied all three. Despite slipping into second place, Landry was happy with his round.

"I hit some bad shots off the tee - one would go left, the next would go right. But my short game was solid. I was up and down quite a few times, and considering I was making things difficult for myself off the tee, my short game really came through for me," said Landry.

Landry, fresh off a win at the New Brunswick Amateur, is looking forward to playing BC's best again tomorrow.

"James [Lepp] is so good. Actually, I'm surprised he shot a 70 yesterday; that's high for him. I think he'll go low again tomorrow. I'll try and follow suit," said Landry.

Leading a tight juvenile division, with a tournament score of 143, is 16-year-old David Stewart of Prince Albert, SK. Stewart shares the tenth spot overall with four juniors; he's nine strokes behind Lepp. Keven Fortin-Simard of Roberval, QC trails by one in the juvenile division, while four others, including Richard Judelson of Regina, SK, share third with 145.

James Lepp's 64 went a long way towards giving British Colombia the edge it needed to walk away with the Junior Team Championship. The team of James Lepp, Patrik Ericson of Langley, BC, Zac Hildenbrand of Summerland, BC, and Colby Lindsay of Abbotsford, BC captured the title by a convincing seven strokes over runner-up Ontario. Team New Brunswick finished third.

Second Round Results are as follows:
James Lepp, Abbotsford, BC 70-64--134
Michel Landry, Tracadie, NB 66-69--135
Richard Scott, Kingsville, ON 66-72--138
Kyle Mackenzie, Listowel, ON 71-68--139
Michael Keast, Winnipeg, MB 67-72--139
Jordan Irwin, Calgary, AB 69-71--140
Ryan Lecuyer, Edmonton, AB 73-68--141
Louis-Pierre Godin, Champlain, QC 71-71--142
Joshua Dean, Richmond Hill, ON 70-72--142
Dustin Pewarchuk, Victoria, BC 71-71--142
Greg Machtaler, Summerland, BC 69-74--143
Adam Choy, Port Coquitlam, BC 71-72--143
* David Stewart, Prince Albert, SK 71-72--143
Vincent Dumouchel, Candiac, QC 73-70--143
Kyler Murphy, Thunder Bay, ON 73-70--143
Yves Lariviï¿½re, St-Eustache, QC 71-72--143
* Keven Fortin-Simard, Roberval, QC 71-73--144
Mark Vanderbeek, Kitchener, ON 71-73--144
Don Bryson, Brantford, ON 74-70--144
Ryan Yip, Calgary, AB 73-71--144
Zac Hildenbrand, Summerland, BC 74-70--144
Colby Lindsay, Abbotsford, BC 71-73--144
Craig Revell, Kingston, ON 68-76--144
Craig Alvaro, St.Thomas, ON 71-73--144
David Markle, Shelburne, ON 74-71--145
* Colin Norris, Calgary, AB 72-73--145
Rob Heynen, Calgary, AB 75-70--145
David Williamson, Halifax, NS 71-74--145
Matthew Johnston, Winnipeg, MB 74-71--145
* Dale Vallely, Lethbridge, AB 72-73--145
Nathan Ward, Summerland, BC 71-74--145
Anton Raubenheimer, Smoky Lake, AB 73-72--145
Dustin Wetherup, Oshawa, ON 72-73--145
* Richard Judelson, Regina, SK 68-77--145
Jade Dennill, Nakusp, BC 74-71--145
* Seann Harlingten, Rancho Mirage, CA 74-71--145
Robin Vallis, Aberdeen, SK 74-72--146
Brodie Flanders, Fawcett Hill, NB 71-75--146
Patrik Ericson, Langley, BC 70-76--146
* Jeff Corner, Corunna, ON 74-72--146
Renaud Langevin, Scott, QC 72-74--146
* Matthew Besaw, Oromocto, NB 74-73--147
Andrew McCarthy II, Gilford, ON 74-73--147
Ryan Swelin, Sundre, AB 74-73--147
Steve Foisy, Repentigny, QC 77-70--147
Victor Ciesielski, Cambridge, ON 76-71--147
Jordan Burwash, Vankleek Hill, ON 76-71--147
* Dane Thorogood, Calgary, AB 72-75--147
*Matthew Leon, Brampton, ON 71-77--148
Tyler Mancini, Winnipeg, MB 77-71--148
Michel Bonnier, St-Timothee, QC 71-77--148
* Ricky Allen, North Bay, ON 78-70--148
*Marc Bourgeois, Dieppe, NB 73-75--148
Paul Statchuk, Gormley, ON 76-72--148
Tim McMillan, Furdale, SK 72-76--148
Cory Thistlethwaite, Dundas, ON 73-75--148
* Jordan Mason, Delta, BC 73-75--148
*Michael Knight, Calgary, AB 76-72--148
*Rafael Lee, Burnaby, BC 73-75--148
Jonathan Whitehead, Calgary, AB 73-75--148
Liam Mulhall, Winnipeg, MB 76-73--149
Benoit Gordon, Delson, QC 76-73--149
Marc-Andrï¿½ Giroux, Rouyn-Noranda, QC 72-77--149
Nicholas Wheeler, Ingersoll, ON 75-74--149
* Andrew Milloy, Lasalle, ON 76-73--149
Ryan MacKinnon, Fredericton, NB 74-75--149
* Scott Loewen, Winnipeg, MB 78-71--149
Jordan Alford, Red Deer, AB 78-71--149
Jason Roach, St. John, NB 75-74--149
Michael Joyce, Peterborough, ON 79-71--150
Josh Taylor, Abbotsford, BC 72-78--150
* James Roxburgh, Vancouver, BC 74-76--150
Bryan Simpson, Peterborough, ON 76-74--150
* Brady Johnson, Mill Bay, BC 75-75--150
Gregory Smith, Miramichi, NB 78-72--150
David Arnold, Brooklin, ON 75-75--150
* Jesse Skelton, St. Francois - Xavier, MB 76-74--150
Kevin Dore, Dundas, ON 78-72--150
Matthew Dingwell, Charlottown, PE 78-72--150
Mark Sommerfeld, Waterloo, ON 70-80--150
Michael Buchan, Vancouver, BC 78-73--151
* Andrew Egerter, Thorold, ON 76-75--151
* Stephen Pointon, Mill Bay, BC 75-76--151
*Jason Wellings, West Flamborough, ON 76-75--151
Nicholas Laflï¿½che, Gatineau, QC 76-75--151
Jonathan Millard, Chatham, ON 76-75--151
Andrew Chapman, White Rock, BC 76-76--152
* Joshua Fleming, Calgary, AB 75-77--152
Justin Bratkovich, Hamilton, ON 79-73--152
* Robbie Greenwell, Georgetown, ON 75-77--152
Christopher Long, Edmonton, AB 80-72--152
* Paul Deuzeman, Cobourg, ON 79-73--152
Steven Beil, Stony Plain, AB 78-74--152
Chris Cramer, London, ON 74-78--152
* Daniel Roberts, Victoria, BC 76-76--152
*Davis Poscente, Calgary, AB 72-80--152
James Allenby, Langley, BC 77-75--152
Wes Pantling, Perkinsfield, ON 75-77--152
* Charles-Etienne Boucher, Montreal, QC 74-79--153
*David McGlone, Edmonton, AB 74-79--153
David Johnstone, Kingston, ON 80-74--154
Trevor Giggey, Charlottetown, PE 75-79--154
Clayton Giesbrecht, Saskatoon, SK 76-78--154
* Kyle Davey, Cambridge, ON 79-75--154
T.J. Armstrong, Liverpool, NS 79-75--154
* Mark Pothier, Weymouth, NS 78-76--154
*Hugo Chamberland-Lauzon, Anjou, QC 76-78--154
Mitch Gillis, Williams Lake, BC 74-80--154
Philip Mullin, Whitehorse, YK 74-80--154
Dustin Ng, Estevan, SK 76-78--154
* Brad Larente, Cambridge, ON 78-77--155
Brandan Price, Vancouver, BC 78-77--155
* Sean Dainty, Toronto, ON 79-76--155
*Brad Piero, Regina, SK 78-77--155
*Michael Nicholson, Dartmouth, NS 78-77--155
*Matt Gowdy, London, ON 77-78--155
*Stuart Bell, West Vancouver, BC 77-78--155
Stephan Thomas, Vancouver, BC 81-74--155
Craig Bishop, Brampton, ON 79-76--155
* Bob Thomson, Petrolia, ON 82-73--155
* Travis Fullerton, Riverview, NB 75-80--155
Kyle Scott, Oakbank, MB 77-78--155
* Matthew Tindale, Peterborough, ON 79-77--156
*Robert Mustard, Delta, ON 77-79--156
*Matthew Weaver, West Vancouver, BC 80-76--156
Sean Losier, Miramichi, NB 77-79--156
* Dongkyu Kim, Mississauga, ON 78-78--156
Bradley Moulton, Orangeville, ON 79-78--157
Terry Reilly, Winnipeg, MB 77-80--157
Matthew Jacobs, Ancaster, ON 80-77--157
Louis-Charles Godin, Lï¿½vis, QC 83-74--157
Bryon Thom, Squamish, BC 79-79--158
Andrew Jensen, Ottawa, ON 80-78--158
Luca Michielli, Cï¿½teau-Du-Lac, QC 80-78--158
Marc-Andrï¿½ Hï¿½bert, Victoriaville, QC 78-80--158
Mark Aven, Vernon, BC 88-70--158
Sumesh Sharma, Calgary, AB 78-80--158
Jared Wilkes, Drayton Valley, AB 79-80--159
* Austin Lacey, Calgary, AB 82-77--159
*Wendell Touhey, Ottawa, ON 82-77--159
Nathan Hendriks, Carlisle, ON 80-79--159
Matt Rogers, New Minas, NS 76-83--159
* Anthony Dowling, Charlottetown, PE 76-83--159
Matthew McMahon, Brockville, ON 82-77--159
Darcy Donaldson, Marathon, ON 80-80--160
Darcy Macdonald, Calgary, AB 81-79--160
* Tanner White, Fort Qu`appelle, SK 84-76--160
Ryan Wells, Charlottetown, PE 82-79--161
Trevor White, Kippens, NF 80-81--161
* Chris Welton, York, PE 79-83--162
Josh Burbidge, Newport, NS 80-82--162
Scott James, Victoria, BC 78-85--163
Blane Nieman, Saskatoon, SK 81-82--163
Colin Prentice, Bedford, NS 83-80--163
* Andrew An, Richmond Hill, ON 81-82--163
Shelby Dreher, Fort St. John, BC 85-81--166
Cody Butler, Murray Harbour North, PE 79-87--166
Justin Butt, Bonavista, NF 85-82--167
Darren Hall, Stephenville, NF 83-84--167
Jamie Currie, Rockey Point, PE 85-83--168
Josh Kavanagh, St.John`s, NF 86-82--168
Landon Urquhart, Dundee, NS 82-86--168
* Matt Fortier, Charlottetown, PE 84-85--169
Ryan Boland, St. John`s, NF 84-87--171
*Josh White, Stephinville, NF 89-90-179
*denotes Juveniles

Final Round Team Championship Results:
British Columbia:
Patrik Ericson 70 76
Zac Hildenbrand 71 70
James Lepp 70 64
Colby Lindsay 71 73
Total 211 207 418

Ontario:
*Ricky Allen 78 70
Craig Revell 68 76
Richard Scott 66 72
Nicholas Wheeler 75 74
Total 209 216 425

New Brunswick:
*Marc Bourgeois 73 75
Brodie Flanders 71 75
Michel Landry 66 69
Sean Loiser 77 79
Total 210 219 429

Alberta:
Ryan Lecuyer 73 68
Ryan Swelin 74 73
*Dale Vallely 72 73
Ryan Yip 73 71
Total 218 212 430

Manitoba:
Matthew Hohnston 74 71
Michael Keast 67 72
Tyler Mancini 77 71
Terry Reilly 77 80
Total 218 214 432

Saskatchewan:
Blane Nieman 81 82
*Brad Piero 78 77
*David Stewart 71 72
Robin Vallis 74 72
Total 223 221 444

Quebec:
Michel Bonnier 71 77
Marc-Andrï¿½ Giroux 72 77
Benoit Gordon 76 73
Matthew McMahon 82 77
Total 219 227 446

Nova Scotia:
*Michael Nicholson 78 77
Colin Prentice 83 80
Matt Rogers 76 83
David Williamson 71 74
Total 225 231 456

Prince Edward Island:
Jamie Currie 85 83
*Anthony Dowling 76 83
Trevor Giggey 75 79
Ryan Wells 82 79
Total 233 241 474

Newfoundland:
Justin Butt 85 82
Darren Hall 83 84
Josh Kavanagh 86 82
Trevor White 80 81
Total 248 245 493

The RCGA, the governing body of men's amateur golf in Canada, determines national policies and standards relating to the game on behalf of its almost 300,000 members. In addition to conducting Canada's six national amateur championships, the RCGA also conducts three professional tournaments: the Bell Canadian Open, the AT&T Canada Senior Open and the new Bank of Montreal Canadian Women's Open. Information about all RCGA events and programs can be found on the Internet at www.rcga.org.