Reed On The Greens September 24, 2024
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioGolf.com
Photo (L-R): Chris Rocca, U17 Boys champion Logan Woodiwiss of Strathroy, Chris Rocca. Photo courtesy Lambton Junior Golf Tour.
Attending the second annual Lambton Junior Golf Tour (LJGT) Championship Invitational on Sunday, you would never have guessed 2024 was the fledgling junior loop’s sophomore season. The Huron Oaks Golf Club-hosted championship in Bright’s Grove went off without a hitch, thanks to a small army of volunteers led by Mike Rocca.
Adding some fun to the festivities, Rocca, a Sarnia dentist, announced each of the 30 golfers at the first tee and sampled some music from the song, Eye Of The Tiger, on a portable loudspeaker as each of the junior golfers teed off at the Home of Mike Weir.
U19 Boys runner-up Adam Valiquette of Kingswell Glen GC on the first tee Sunday at Huron Oaks GC. Photo: Jeffrey Reed/LondonOntarioGolf.com.
In the end, there were some familiar faces walking away with the hardware. Logan Woodiwiss of Strathroy, who captured the Junior Boys and overall championship on the Junior Tyson Tour this summer, won the U17 Boys title. Yesterday, Woodiwiss and his team from Strathroy District Collegiate Institute won the TVRA Tri-County Boys high school championship at St. Thomas G&CC. They’ll compete at WOSSAA next Monday in Union.
Andrew Sudicky won the LJGT U15 Boys title on Sunday. He won all four of the Tyson Tour events he entered this year.
Rounding out this year’s LJGT champions are: Gabriel Alexi-Turno, U19 Boys; Noah Olver, U13 Boys; Cadance Beukelare, U19 Girls; 2022 and ’23 Tyson Tour Girls champ Andrea Lai of St. Thomas, U15 Girls and U17 Girls; and Sydney Van Horne, U13 Girls.
“I believe our Tour has become such a quick success because of the people,” said Rocca. “From the organizers, Sarnia Minor Athletic Association, the sponsors, volunteers, parents and grandparents – and most importantly the players – we have re-awakened the local junior golf community.
“Each one of those groups have been integral to the achievements we have realized in two short seasons,” added Rocca. “Subtract any one of those key components of our Tour and we would have fallen dramatically short of presenting a Tour the Sarnia-Lambton area should be proud of!”
Wearing shorts and blasting music as the players were introduced at the first tee Sunday, Rocca joked that he was “bringing some LIV Golf to the Tour.”
That little bit of added fun helped make for a wonderful celebration Sunday at Huron Oaks, where youngsters were able to view some Weir artifacts on the eve of the Presidents Cup week at The Royal Montreal Golf Club.
The template for a highly-successful junior tour in the Sarnia area is now cemented in stone. Read my previous column on the Lambton Junior Golf Tour here.
To view photos of Sunday’s round, visit the LondonOntarioSports.com Facebook album here .
For championship results and photos, visit the Lambton Junior Golf Tour website at LambtonJuniorGolfTour.ca.
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Jeffrey Reed has covered junior golf in Southwestern Ontario since 1980. An eight-time writing award winner, Reed is a three-time author and much sought-after speaker. Reach him at jeff@londonontariogolf.com.
