Peterborough, Ont. —Isaiah Ibit and Alissa Xu won their respective divisions to claim the NextGen Ontario Championship, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards at the Peterborough Golf and Country Club on Sunday.
The 54-hole stroke play competition marked the second tournament in the NextGen Championships and featured a starting field of 156 male and female golfers.
Ibit of Orleans, Ont., shot a final round 70 to hold off Anthony Jomphe by three shots to secure the NextGen Ontario Championship and a spot in the Canadian Junior Boys Championship.
After opening the tournament with an even score Friday, Ibit bounced back to enter the final round on Sunday atop the leaderboard by firing a five-under-par 66 on Saturday.
“After a great round yesterday, I really wanted to capitalize and come out with a win today. I started off really nice right off the bat and continued that to the back nine. Things started to go off the rails a little bit, but I was able to bring it back,” said Ibit. I knew that I definitely had the lead but there was someone who was posting some really good numbers, since they’re all good players, I’m really happy I was able to just keep in control of my emotions toward the stretch.”
Alissa Xu led from start to finish, with scores from both the first and second rounds of 70 and closed with two-over-par, on her way to a two-shot victory and earn the NextGen Ontario Championship. “Its nice to see the results of all my hard work, all the coaching and struggles I went through actually paid off,” said Xu.
Xu added “there was definitely more pressure toward the end but I’m glad that I was able to figure it out. I tired my best to focus on what was going on in the moment as opposed to what had happened in the past.”
In the Junior Boys division, the top eight players earn exemptions into the 2023 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, August 14-17, at North Bay Golf and Country Club Ltd. in North Bay, Ont.
| 1 | Isaiah Ibit (Orleans, ON) |
| 2 | Anthony Jomphe (Chicoutimi, QC) |
| 3 | Andrew Aquino (Schomberg, ON) |
| 4 | Antonie Jasmin (Blainville,QC) |
| 5 | Jordan Hwang (Richmond Hill, ON) |
| T6 | Walter Carley (Peterborough ON) |
| T6 | Max Corcoran (Ottawa, ON) |
| T6 | Jager Pain (Woodbridge, ON) |
The top eight players in the Junior Girls division have earned exemptions into the 2023 Canadian Junior Girls Championship, July 24-27, at Hampton Golf Course in Hampton, N.B.
| 1 | Alissa Xu (Richmond Hill, ON) |
| 2 | Aryn Matthews (Little Britain, ON) |
| 3 | Isabella Ferguson (Ottawa, ON) |
| 4 | Carlee Meilleur (Lansdowne, ON) |
| T5 | Lindsay McGrath (Oakville, ON) |
| T5 | Joline Truong (Mississauga, ON) |
| 7 | Rosie Bee Kim (Edmonton, AB) |
| 8 | Nobelle Park (Oakville, ON) |
The next stop in NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards will be at Athabasca Golf Club in Athabasca, Alb. for the NextGen Western Championship from June 9-11.
For the full results of the NextGen Ontario Championship click here.
About the NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards
The NextGen Championships, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards is a high-performance junior golf series which totals eight competitions. From May to July, six championships will take place across Canada where the region’s best junior golfers will compete to earn exemptions into their respective 2023 national championships. Two additional Fall Series events will be hosted to close the season. NextGen Championships provide junior players an opportunity to develop and showcase their skills at the highest level of tournament golf.