MacLean and Lacey tops at Zone 3/4 golf

Ben MacLean continued his stellar play Monday at the Zone 3 and 4 golf championships at Twenty Valley.

The Grade 12 student at A.N. Myer carded an even par 72 in blustery conditions to record the low overall score and win the Zone 3 individual boys crown.

“I feel that I am pretty good in the wind so it didn’t affect me too much,” the 17-year-old Niagara Falls resident said. “I wouldn’t say there was anything I was doing quite well today. I was just being pretty consistent. I made quite a few bogeys which I hope to avoid the next time I play here.”

The Cherry Hill member started his season by placing ninth at the Golf Association of Ontario’s Junior Spring Classic and then took off from there.

The Team Ontario member: placed second in the Ontario junior championship; finished 20th at the Canadian men’s amateur championship; was fourth at the Canadian junior championship; placed fifth at the Team Canada selection camp to earn a spot on the junior national team; missed the cut at the Mackenzie Tour’s Osprey Valley Open after rounds of 77 and 72; and, most recently, placed second at the NextGen Fall Series East Championship.

He’s not sure what exactly contributed to his breakthrough summer .

“It is really hard to pinpoint a specific thing and say that’s the reason why I have been playing better,” he said. “I have been putting a lot more work into doing the right things this year than I have in previous years and that’s definitely been working so far.”

He is hoping to continue to progress in his play.

“For me, it is getting better at the things that I know work for me, maintaining what I have right now and then also trying to get better like I did this year,” he said. “Right now I’m not planning on doing any events in the States so we’re just kind of working on fitness and technical stuff in the wintertime.”

MacLean has four NCAA Division 1 offers on the table and is expecting a fifth shortly. He plans to make his decision as soon as possible.

“They are all schools that I like so it is a hard decision and I have to think over everything so that I am making the right decision.”

His ultimate choice will be based on a number of factors.

“It will be the program’s history, what I think about the coach and how comfortable I am with my coaches because that is really important with me. And then education too is also pretty important to me.”

A.N. Myer (MacLean 72, Noah LeBrasseur 84, Aidan Longley 94 and Jack Parker 98) won the Zone 3 boys team title followed by Port Colborne (Kayden Grenier 83, Connor Pelletier 87, Cole Pelletier 87 and Owen Caldwell 93) and Greater Fort Erie Secondary School (Adam Scarlett 80, Connar White 87, Ryder Fletcher 89 and Owen Stoddard 98). All three teams advance to the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association championships Oct. 4 at Twenty Valley.

Qualifying for SOSSA as individuals out of Zone 3 were E.L. Crossley’s Nathan Freure (75), Centennial’s Jack Liskens (87) and Niagara Christians’s Ethan Wells (87).

ZONE 4 BOYS

Grimsby’s Isaiah Ellis topped the individual boys Zone 4 boys division with a 78 but he wasn’t overly pleased with himself.

“It wasn’t a great day,” the 16-year-old Smithville resident said. “I was seven over on a six-hole stretch and I didn’t hit a lot of greens or fairways.”

The Grade 12 student has had a lot more good golf days than bad this summer. The Lookout Point member: tied for ninth at the Spring Classic; was second at the Ontario juvenile championship; tied for 19th at the Ontario junior championship; qualified for the Ontario men’s amateur championship but didn’t go because it conflicted with the Canadian junior championship; and, ended up tied for 38th in the Canadian junior championship which placed him in a tie for 10th in the juvenile division.

“It has been a little up and down but for the most part I played pretty good,” he said. “My putting has been really good this year and the biggest things I have improved on have been my putting and driving, My irons have always been pretty good.”

Grimsby (Ellis 78, Will Burleigh 83, Peyton Gripper 85, Colin Grosvenor 90 and Ashton Gripper 90) won the Zone 4 boys team title followed by Sir Winston Churchill (Morgan Daly 83, Elliot Culp 96, Cadyn Wilson 90 and Elliot Christopher 94) and Smithville Christian (Will Thies 85, Cole Wiersma 89, Connor Wiersma 94 and Owen Munnings 101). All three teams advance to SOSSA.

Zone 4 individual qualifiers for SOSSA were Governor Simcoe’s Luke Baranoski (84) and Nick Savioe (95), and Eden’s Will Schellenberg (95).

ZONE 3 GIRLS

Port Colborne’s Mikayla Lacey made the most of her first experience playing high school golf.

The Grade 10 student carded an 86 at Twenty Valley to record the low score among all Zone 3 and Zone 4 female golfers.

“It was a lot different than all the other tournaments I played in over the years but it was a lot of fun. I knew the girl I was playing with (Casey Kenney) and that made it even better,” the 15-year-old said. “It was just a lot slower so I had to stay focused for longer.”

She was happy with her performance Monday.

“With the wind conditions, I played fairly well,” she said. “My putting and chipping could have been a little better but everything else I did fairly well.”

Lacey is coming off a summer where she placed second overall in points on the Niagara Junior Tour.

“For me, my putting and chipping has improved a lot and that has really cut down the strokes,” she said. “I still need to keep improving though.”

She is planning to train through the winter at pro John White’s indoor facility at Brock Golf.

“He is very precise and he picks out the little things that maybe I didn’t notice before.”

Brebeuf’s Emma Leitch (88) was the only other Zone 3 girls golfers qualifying for SOSSA.

ZONE 4 GIRLS

Casey Kenney took an important step in the high school golf season Monday at Twenty Valley by carding a 90 to finish as the top female in Zone 4.

“Obviously it is important because I want to make it to OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championship),” the Grade 11 student at Sir Winston Churchill said.

In Grade 9, Kenney made it to OFSAA in the high school division but is looking to make it in the open division this time around. Sawmill will play host to the OFSAA championship Oct. 13 and 14.

“For any other sport you would want it to be somewhere else so you travel but since it is golf you want to know the golf course,” she said.

The overall girls winner on the Niagara Junior Tour came into the Zone championships after competing at the Ontario Junior Girls Match Play Championship.

“I didn’t do very well but it was fun,” she said.

She described her play Monday as not good.

“It was a slow round so that obviously doesn’t help with momentum.”

This summer, Kenney increased her distance off the tee and got better in her overall game.

Like Lacey, Kenney will be training through the winter with White.

Other Zone 4 girls golfers qualifying for SOSSA were Eden’s Dayun Kong (112) and Churchill’s Chloe Pobjoy-Ridolfo (117).