Nick Taylor Leads after a Blustery 1st Round
at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship
Sussex, New Brunswick (RCGA) – Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. took an early first round lead despite extreme wind conditions at the 2006 Canadian Junior Boys Championship conducted by the Royal Canadian Golf Association.

Taylor, a member of the National Junior Boys Amateur Team, fired a one over-par 71 to open up a five-stroke lead on Brad Revell of Kingston, Ont. Revell, the 2005 Investor’s Group Ontario Junior Boys champion, sits second at 76, while four others sit tied for third at 77.

“It was a good round, but the course is hard and the wind was definitely trouble,” said Taylor, 18. “I just had to go out and play my game; you really can’t do much about the weather. I hit the ball solid and that was good.”

Wind was a major factor playing havoc for all competitors today as scores ballooned well past par. At one point, winds measured 48 km/hr with gusts reaching a high of 61 km/hr.

“One bad shot and it costs you three strokes. The wind was just unbelievable,” said David Bryne of Essex, Ont., who is one of the four tied for third. “I pounded my drive on 10 and it only went 219 yards, just unreal. It was like that on every shot. By far this is the toughest competitive round I’ve ever played in my life.”

“This golf course was going to challenge the field regardless of conditions,” said RCGA Tournament Director Nathan Brooks. “I’ve never seen winds this strong in a competitive round and the players really struggled to adjust.”

Defending champion Mitchell Fox of Okotoks, Alta, had a disappointed day battling the wind conditions, carding an 82 and sitting tied in 49th place. 2005 Juvenile Champion Matt Hill of Bright’s Grove, Ont., faired better then Fox, shooting a 79 and is tied in 14th. This year the 17 year-old Hill is competing as a junior.

2004 Champion Rafael Lee of Burnaby, B.C. is tied for third at 77 while 2004 Canadian Men’s Amateur champion Darren Wallace of Langley, B.C. opened with a 78 and is tied with seven others in seventh place.

In the juvenile standings five sit tied for first place with Brett Caines of Courtland, Ont., Jeremy Foran of London, Ont., Brian Churchhill-Smith of Oakville, Ont., Michaël Boutin of St-Hilaire, Que. and Mathieu Rivard of Granby Que. all posting a 79, nine over-par opening round.

In inter-provincial team championship play, British Columbia has a seven stroke lead over Québec. The 2005 defending champions sit first at 227 while Québec is at 234. Ontario is in third just a stroke back of Québec at 235.

Play continues at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship tomorrow with the second round teeing off at 7:30 am (ADT). Following tomorrow’s play the RCGA will crown the Canadian Junior Boys inter-provincial team champion. The third and fourth rounds are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

As part of the RCGA’s Pathway to Champions, the Canadian junior boy’s champion will earn an exemption into the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. The pathway could very well continue in two weeks with two Canadian Open exemptions awarded to the Canadian Men’s Amateur champion and runner-up. Mississaugua Golf & Country Club will host the Canadian Men’s Amateur this year from August 11-18. This year’s Canadian Open will be played September 4-10 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

The future of Canadian golf is on showcase this week as the province hosts both the Canadian Junior Boys Championship and the Royale National Junior Girls’ Championship. Bathurst will host the nation’s top junior girls’ while Sussex hosts the best junior boys. Updates, player fields as well as live scoring for both championships can be found online at www.rcga.org.