JELINEK, CARESTIA AND LACHAINE DEMARCHI CLAIM TOUR STOP #2 TITLES

Luca Carestia first playoff hole

By: Michaela DiMarcantonio

HAMILTON, Ont. – The Hamilton Halton Junior Golf Tour (HHJGT) members teed it up Monday morning for the second tour stop of the season at Glendale Golf & Country Club. Jack Jelinek posted one of two rounds under par to take the Junior Boys title at Tour Stop #2. In the Bantam division, Luca Carestia claimed the crowned after making par on the first playoff hole. The 2014 HHJGT Junior Girls Champion, Elanna Lachaine DeMarchi won her first event of the 2015 season.

 Jack Jelinek set the pace for the day with a birdie on the first hole at Glendale Golf & Country Club.

He added an eagle to his card on hole 14, he holed out on the par 4 on his second shot from the rough. “I thought it was plugged in the rough, but it was just really thick so I just chunked it out and it landed 15 yards short and rolled up,” commented Jake on his shot into 14. “I didn’t see it, but they guys told me it was in so that was a nice surprise.”

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Jack Jelinek

Luca Carestia

Elanna Lachaine-DeMarchi

Jelinek was also pleasantly surprised to find that a new club in the bag would be the secret to his success at Glendale Golf & Country Club. “My putter was really strong today, I didn’t three putt and I had around 30 putts. It’s actually a brand new putter, so I think I will be keeping it in the bag.”

Jelinek’s new putter helped him capture the Junior Boys division win at Tour Stop #2 and a total of 300 HHJGT merit points for his performance. 

Joining Jelinek under par was Thomas Giroux with a 1-under 71 to finish runner-up in the Junior Boys division and collect 250 points. Giroux’s round featured back-to-back birdies on holes 12 and 13.  

In third place for the Junior Boys division was Ben Kenel with a 2-over par 74. His round was highlighted by an eagle on the par 5 hole 12. Kenel earned 225 points for his third place finish. 

In the Bantam division extra holes were once again required to determine the champion. Luca Carestia and Jamie Zucker posted matching rounds of 82 before heading back to the course for a playoff. Carestia claimed the Bantam title for Tour Stop #2 with a par on the first extra hole and was awarded 300 order of merit points. Zucker earned 250 points for his runner-up finish. 

“It feels good, it’s the first win of my career,” shared Carestia of his victory. “It felt nice to finally get the ball in the hole and get that first win for it. A lot of things were helping me today, putting was good especially the last five or six holes, and I kept the ball in play off the tee, hit some good bunker shots and a lot of greens.”

In third place in the Bantam division was the Tour Stop #1 champion Ryan Kennedy with a score of 84 to add 225 points to this tally. 

In the Junior Girls division, after an absence from the first tour stop, the 2014 HHJGT Girls Champion Elanna Lachaine DeMarchi returned to capture her first event of the season with a score of 87. Her scorecard featured a birdie on the second hole at Glendale Golf & Country Club.

“I was driving the ball well today so that set me up in a good position to enter the greens,” Lachaine DeMarchi commented of her round. 

Elanna Lachaine DeMarchi sets her sights on defending her Junior Girls title and collected 300 points towards achieving this season long goal. 

Ellis Harvie posted a round of 95 for her second runner-up finish of the season and 250 merit points. In third place collecting 225 points was Abby White with a score of 98.

Full results from Tour Stop #2 at Glendale Golf & Country Club are available on the Taylor Leibow leaderboard here.  

A selection of photos from Tour Stop #2 are available to view on the HHJGT Facebook page here.  Follow the HHJGT on Twitter and Instagram. 

The HHJGT will continue with its 2015 season at Rattlesnake Point Golf Club (Sidewinder) on Tuesday July 21.