It took Neepawa's Hayden Delaloye just one tournament to join the winner's circle on the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour. He won the Bantam boys MJT tournament over the weekend at the Portage Golf Club.
He fired a first round 83 on Saturday. Delaloye woke up on Sunday and made some noise by shooting 76. That wasn't quite enough to win it in 36 holes. It took him two playoff holes before he could raise the trophy.
"It felt pretty good to win," said Delaloye. "I switched putters with my dad and I felt a lot more comfortable with it."
In the first round, Hayden had six bogies, two doubles, and a triple. He brought that down to five bogies in round two, and just one double. He also tossed in a birdie on the par 4, 15th hole.
The Portage Golf Club has become Hayden's best friend over the past few seasons. He has won the tournament three straight years.
"On Sunday morning my dad and I watched some Arnold Palmer videos and we watched the greatest game of all time, and that kind of got me ready for the day," added Delaloye. "The fairways are really big and are easy to manage.”
“17 and 18 are tougher, but I enjoy the course. The greens are also way better than they were last year, it's a good setup. It feels great to win this tournament three years in a row,” he added.
Hayden now gets a little time off to prepare and reload for his next tournament. He'll play in the Manitoba Series event at the Carman Golf Club on June 8-9. After a red hot start, Hayden is looking forward to the rest of the season, but he knows it won't be easy.
"I'm pretty confident in my game, but I know it's going to be harder this year," said Delaloye. "I moved up an age category and I'm one of the youngest players playing."
