Hodgins wins junior stop in Banff
Winning his first weekend on the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour this season was apparently a sign of things to come for Ryan Hodgins.
The 15-year-old from Medicine Hat didn’t just win his second MJT stop in a row this past weekend in Banff, he ran away with the title.
Hodgins shot consecutive rounds of 69 on the par 71 Banff Springs layout, birdieing the final par 5 hole Monday to finish at 4-under 138 — a full 10 strokes better than anyone else in the juvenile boys division.
“Both days I was 1-under par, so I really wanted to make birdie to break 70, and I was able to do that,” Hodgins said in a press release Tuesday.
Not even the older collegiate or junior division winners went as low as Hodgins, who claimed his first victory in Lethbridge earlier this month. Already pre-qualified for the provincial juvenile and junior championship thanks to that win, all this one did was keep him well ahead in the overall points standings — and probably helped his burgeoning confidence, too.
Fellow Hatter Caleb Kinch was one of the four boys tied for second behind Hodgins, shooting two 74’s to finish at 6-over 148. Sam Bratvold shot two rounds of 86 to finish 24th in the same division.
In junior boys, Medicine Hat’s Mathieu Chapdelaine was tied for the eighth and final spot with a two-day score of 171.
Next up on the tour is a stop in Red Deer June 9 and 10.