Daly wins first title on junior tour
Morgan Daly’s first victory on the Niagara District Junior Golf Tour was a long time coming.
The 17-year-old Sir Winston Churchill student fired a 71 to capture top spot in the boys17/19 age group at Rockway Vineyards Friday after four frustrating seasons without a win.
“I was looking for the win,” Daly said. “This is my first one and it’s really good to get that out of the way.”
Daly has come close before — he tied for third last season at Twenty Valley after double bogeying the final hole — and placed eighth last week with a 64.
Daly easily outdistanced Cole Thompson of Sawmill by six strokes.
“I figured I would probably win today and I was right,” said Daly, who is a member of the St. Catharines Golf and Country Club. “I didn’t think it would be by that many strokes but it was by that many strokes.”
Daly said he tries not to think too much about where his score is in relation to the other golfers.
“I try not to keep track of that because I don’t want to know where I am. It tends to me being nervous. I just try and play the best I can,” he said.
Daly said he had a consistent round.
“I was just driving the ball pretty well. I was hitting it pretty straight and pretty far and that’s what you need. I was able to get a lot of short wedges into my hands and able to attack the par fives. That contributed a lot. The rest of my game was pretty good as well. It wasn’t spectacular, but it wasn’t bad.”
Daly was also able to avoid any disaster holes.
“That’s more of a mental thing. When you have a blowup hole, it’s tough to rebound from. I just had threes, pars and bogeys and that keeps your game level. You don’t want a roller-coaster of a round.”
Daly, who began playing golf when he was 11, was a member of Sir Winston’s team which participated at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations tournament last fall.
He plans on returning to school for one semester before making a decision on university.
UNDER-19 GIRLS
Sierra Kowalyshyn of Sawmill made it two wins in two starts in the U-19 girls division.
The 13-year-old Stoney Creek resident shot a 76, three strokes better than runner-up Mikayla Lacey of Port Colborne.
Kowalyshyn’s 69 last week at Brock was good enough to win by one stroke over defending points champion Casey Kenney of Sawmill. Kenney was fourth with an 84 Friday.
Brennan Turner of Pen Lakes also repeated in the U-13 boys division, firing a 75. Turner won last week with a 65.
Trent Clarke of Sawmill fired a 75 to earn top spot in the U-15 boys division.
The tour continues Wednesday, July 13 at Sawmill.
LEADERBOARDS
Under-13 boys: Brennan Turner, Pen Lakes 75; Carter Thompson, Sawmill 88; Vince Belardi, Sawmill 93; Daxx Partridge, St Catharines G&CC 96; Landon Friesen, Sawmill 98; Jack Vitiello, Sawmill 99.
Under-15 boys: Trent Clarke, Sawmill 75; Andrew Burciul, Sawmill 76; Joseph Zupanic, Sawmill 77; Matthew Gray, Sawmill 77; Kian Oelofse, Lookout Point 79; Ben Julie, Sawmill 80; Chase Partridge, St Catharines G&CC 85; Gavin Christie, Twenty Valley 89; Dawson Dermatas, St Catharines G&CC 95; Lucas Sartor, Players Club Ottawa 97.
Under-17/19 boys: Morgan Daly, St Catharines G&CC 71; Cole Thompson, Sawmill 77; Anthony Sartor, Players Club Ottawa 78; Aidan Lopinski, Lookout Point 79; Ben Kelly, Sawmill 79; Elliott Culp, St Catharines G&CC 79; John Kingdon, Sawmill 80; Alec Linton, Sawmill 83; Connar White, Bridgwater, 84; Jack Ilskens, Lookout 84.
Under-19 girls: Sierra Kowalyshyn, Sawmill 76; Mikayla Lacey, Port Colborne 79; Anisha Ghosh, Player’s Club, Hamilton 82; Casey Kenney, Sawmill 84; Sophia Reid, Lookout Point 112.
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