SAINTE-JULIE, Qué. – The Canadian Junior Boys Championship is set for Aug. 9-12 at Vallée du Richelieu – Le Club in Sainte-Julie, Que.
The 156-player field includes five of seven Team Canada National Junior Squad members; Félix Bouchard (Otterburn Park, Qué.), Jean-Philippe Parr (St-Célestin, Qué.), Malik Dao (Notre-Dame-Ile-Perrot, Qué.), Owen Mullen (Shortts Lake, N.S.), and Willy Bishop (Victoria, B.C.).
“We are delighted to have the Canadian Junior Boys Championship running again,” said tournament director Adam Lloyd. “The team at Vallée du Richelieu has worked incredibly hard in preparation for this week and it shows with the excellent course conditions.”
The winner of the championship will receive an exemption into both the 2022 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship at Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver (Aug. 1-4) and the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Oregon (July 25-30).
Christopher Vandette of Beaconsfield, Que. became the first back-to-back champion of the event since 2009, with his victory at the 2019 championship.
The championship will be contested on the par 72, 7,056 yard Rouville Course at Vallée du Richelieu. The club has played host to a number of PGA, LPGA, and PGA TOUR Champions Tour events.
“We are excited to be able to offer our young members the opportunity to experience a national tournament either as a spectator, volunteer or participant,” said Patrice Forcier, the club’s general manager.
The Canadian Junior Boys Championship is a 72-hole stroke play event, with a 36-hole cut to the low 70 players and ties. In the event of a tie at the end of four rounds, there will be a hole-by-hole playoff immediately following completion of 72-holes.
The 72-hole tournament returns for the first time since 2019, after the pandemic caused the cancellation of Golf Canada’s 2020 competitive season. The practice round will be conducted on Sunday, August 8th.
Previous winners of the Canadian Junior Boys Championship include PGA TOUR player Nick Taylor (2006), and Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member George Knudson (1955).
Click here for the full field and tournament information.
NOTABLES
Félix Bouchard
The 17-year-old from Otterburn Park, Que., is in his first year as a member of Team Canada. In 2020 he was a quarterfinalist at the Québec Junior Match Play and in 2019 he finished second at the Future Links Fall Series (East). In 2017, he won the Future Links Junior Skills Challenge National Final in the boys 12-14 division.
Jean-Philippe Parr
The 17-year-old from St-Célestin, Qué., is in his second year as a member of Team Canada. In 2020, he won the Quebec Junior and Juvenile Boys Championship, and finished in a tie for 12th at the AJGA Junior All-Star Invitational. In 2019, he won both the AJGA Junior at Southpointe and the Future Links Fall Series East.
Malik Dao
The 17-year-old from Notre-Dame-Ile-Perrot, Qué., is in his second year as a member of Team Canada. In 2020, he won the Québec Men’s Amateur Championship and in 2019 he won the Future Links Atlantic and the Québec Junior Boys Match Play. He also finished second at the 2019 Future Links Fall Series East.
Owen Mullen
The 17-year-old from Shortts Lake, N.S. is in his first year as a member of Team Canada. In 2020, he won the Nova Scotia Junior Boys Championship and finished fourth at the Nova Scotia Men’s Amateur. In 2018, he won the Future Links Atlantic Championship.
Willy Bishop
The 17-year-old from Victoria, B.C., is in his first year as a member of Team Canada. In 2020, he won the B.C. Junior and Juvenile Championship and finished seventh at the B.C. Men’s Amateur Championship. In 2019, he finished sixth at the Future Links Fall Series (West).
Ben MacLean
The Team Ontario member from Niagara Falls, Ont., finished second at the Alberta Golf 2020 Junior Boys Championship, and fifth at the Golf Ontario 2020 Juvenile Boys Championship. In 2019, MacLean finished tied for second at the Golf Ontario Juvenile Boys Championship and tied for thid at the Golf Canada Future Links Ontario.
Jeevan Sihota
In 2020, Sihota, of Victoria, B.C., finished sixth at the Billy Horschel Junior Championship and tied for fourth at the Vista Valley Junior, both AJGA events. In 2019, Sihota finished tied for third at the Future Links Pacific Championship, second at the AJGA’s Kyle Stanley Championship and tied for ninth at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship. In 2017, Sihota won the Future Links Pacific Championship.
FAST FACTS
The first championship was held in 1938, which was won by James Hogan.
The junior champion earns an exemption into the 2022 Canadian Men’s Amateur and U.S Junior Amateur Championships.
Canadian Golf Hall of Famers who have won the championship include Doug Silverberg, George Knudson, Gary Cowan and Doug Roxburgh.
In 1970, the 16-and-under Juvenile Championship was added to the event. It runs concurrently with the competition and the winner receives the Jack Bailey Trophy.
In 2018, Christopher Vandette won the Juvenile and Junior titles, thanks to a final round 6-under-par 65.
Ten golfers have won both the Juvenile and Junior titles: Jim Rutledge, Jeff Makahon, Rob McMillan, Jesse Collinson, Dustin Risdon, Gord Scutt, Rafael Lee, Mitch Sutton, Charles-Éric Bélanger and Vandette.
Current PGA TOUR player Nick Taylor captured the title in 2006.
The lowest single-round score in the tournament’s history is a 62, achieved in the third round in 2017 by Calvin Ross, a Fredericton, N.B. product. Ross went on to win the championship.
Christopher Vandette was the last competitor to win back-to-back titles, doing so in 2018 and 2019.