AJ Armstrong of St. Albert made the shortlist to play for his country at the SRIXON International Junior Classic in Australia as the top juvenile at last weekend’s Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour event.
Armstrong carded the winning score in the boys’ 15-16 age division at the Banff Springs Golf Club.
“It’s great to have the opportunity to play in a tournament so far away from home. It would be a cool experience,” said the Sturgeon Valley Golf & Country Club member.
The SRIXON Classic, hosted by the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation in Maitland in New South Wales, is the largest junior golf tournament in the southern hemisphere.
The MJT Tour is sending eight players to the Sept. 27 to Oct. 5 competition. Qualifying events are held in each province to determine the age-specific shortlisted players, with the low scores in relation to par, yardage and rating given the opportunity to compete for Canada.
The final team will be announced once all the qualifying across the country is competed June 23.
Armstrong, 15, was shooting to make MJT Team Canada going into the tournament.
“It was definitely in the back of my mind I guess you could say,” said the first shortlisted player.
The scratch golfer drained a three-footer to birdie the 36th hole to win the juvenile title with scores of 72-72 (144).
“It’s a par five and I found it to be a pretty easy hole. I was able to hit my second shot near the green and I chipped it close to where I had a really makeable putt,” Armstrong said. “I was playing with my buddy Noah (Lubberding of St. Albert) and we were going head to head. I was one shot up on him going into the last hole and I ended up making birdie and he made bogey so I knew I won my age group.”
However, the six-foot-two righty wasn’t sure he had secured a shortlisted spot.
“I honestly forgot about it because I was so focused on winning the tournament but once I realized it afterwards it was a bonus. It made the day better,” said the Grade 10 student at the St. Francis Xavier High School golf academy, based at the Edmonton Petroleum Golf & Country Club.
Greg Billingsley, 18, of Calgary fired rounds of 71-72 (143) to claim both the overall low and 17-19 junior championships.
Lubberding, 15, finished three shots back with rounds of 73-74 (147).
Armstrong credited his iron play and solid putting for the low score.
“I golfed really well. I didn’t hit the ball very well off the tee but I was able to scramble well and putt really good. It definitely helped my score,” he said. “I had a better second day considering that it was the final round and I had a little more pressure too. On the last couple of holes I felt it but it wasn’t too bad.”
The juvenile championship was his first in four tournaments this year and the previous best result was fourth place.
“I have a pretty busy schedule coming up and I hope to continue that success,” said Armstrong, who wrapped up the two-day PGA of Alberta Junior Masters at Wolf Creek on Friday, featuring the top 40 U18 juniors in the province. “I’m also going to play in a couple in the McLennan Ross (junior tour) this year, mainly to qualify for the tour championship at end of the year.”
Last year Armstrong estimated he played 80 rounds of golf, half of which were tournaments in western Canada and a few in the United States. He was victorious at the McLennan Ross stop in Stony Plain, the Sturgeon Valley junior club championship and the season-ending Edmonton junior championship, where he birdied the 18th hole at the Petroleum Club to get into a playoff and then birdied it again on the extra hole to defeat Pieter Peskens of Leduc.
“I had a few bad tournaments before that so to really play well there was good for my confidence,” said Armstrong.
He two-putted for the win after hitting a five-iron from more than 200 yards out to land within 20 feet of the cup after shooting rounds of 68-77, compared to 67-78 for Peskens.
“I knew I had a chance to win it so it was good.”
During the winter on the Future Collegians World Tour, Armstrong competed in two junior tournaments in Phoenix, placed fourth in both of them in the juvenile division, and one in Las Vegas.
“It was fun. We have a house in Phoenix so we go down there quite a bit and it’s good to practise in the offseason to keep sharp.”
A career-altering moment for Armstrong was two years ago at the Alberta junior championship, when he tied for eighth overall while finishing for a share of second place in the juvenile division.
“That’s probably the biggest junior tournament in Alberta and I was really nervous going into it.”
The iron play by the U18 Team Alberta golfer, one of nine to make the 2013 line-up based on last year’s results, is the key reason for his golfing prowess.
“I’ve been pretty much improving that every year. I think if I improve my putting a little bit more it would help me out a lot, but that’s the same for a lot of golfers,” said Armstrong, who carries a Calloway driver, TaylorMade three-wood, Mizuno irons and Titlist wedges and putter in his bag of tricks.
Armstrong started golfing at age four and it now consumes his life.
“I like it because you’re playing against yourself. You’re not part of a team so every mistake you make is on yourself and when you win it’s more satisfying,” said the Vincent J. Maloney Junior High School graduate and power hitter for the St. Albert Spartans’ U16 club volleyball team
His long-range goal is to go as far as he can in the sport.
“I would like to play college golf in the U.S. and see how that goes and if I continue to improve I would like to play professionally,” said Armstrong, who listed Tiger Woods, Brandt Snedeker and Jason Dufner as his favourite golfers.
