Hard work pays off for Sawmill golfer
Nathan Freure went out on top.
The 16-year-old, Wellandport resident finished up his fourth season on the Niagara Junior Golf Tour in style, capturing the final stop on the tour at Beechwood Monday and also earning first place in the boys U19 final overall standings.
Freure, who is a member at Sawmill, placed first with 755.50 points. Michael Martel of Lookout was second at 712.33.
“Today, not too much,” Freure said when asked if he was thinking about the overall point title. “I was just trying to go out and play my game and get a good finish.”
Freure, who diligently worked on his game over the winter, admitted it was gratifying to see all the extra effort work pay off.
“It feels really good to finally have some success and have big success actually, winning the whole thing,” he said. “It’s nice.
“It’s more motivation for next year to keep going.”
Freure, who is heading into Grade 12 at E.L. Crossley, finished tied with Noah LeBrasseur of Players Club – Ottawa with a 77 following 18 holes.
The two golfers then squared off for three holes until Freure came out on top.
“The first one we both parred. I had a shaky putt to tie him and then on the second hole he made a long one to tie it back up and make par,” Freure recounted. “On the last one, I did the same thing I did on the first hole pretty much, went up and down for par, and he just had a tough time in the rough weeds but still finished strong.”
Freure figures the encounter will help him down the road.
“It’s good to get some experience under pressure.”
Freure, who made sure he kept hydrated due to the oppressive heat on the course, was pleased with his game.
“Today, I played pretty well. I had a few rough spots but I figured it out,” he said. “The course was in pretty good shape. It was wet in spots but it’s the same for everybody.”
U19 BOYS
T1. Nathan Freure, Sawmill +5 77, Noah LeBrasseur, Players Club – Ottawa +5 77; 3. John Kingdon, Sawmill +6 78; T4. Ben Kelly, Sawmill +7 79, Matthew Martel, Lookout Point +7 79, Andrew Scott, +7 79, Morgan Daly, St. Catharines Golf & Country Club +7 79; 8. Hudson Mielko, +8 80; T9. Caleb Shorthouse, Twenty Valley +9 81, Anthony Sartor, Beechwood Golf +9 81, Aidan Lopinski, Lookout Point +9 81.
Freure won in a three-hole playoff.
U19 BOYS FINAL STANDINGS
1. Nathan Freure 755.50; 2; Michael Martel 712.33; 3. Noah LeBrasseur 669.83; 4. Benjamin Hebert 607.67; 5. Andrew Scott 569.25; 6. Morgan Daly 564.42; 7. Hudson Mielko 534.17; 8. Aidan Lopinski 519; 9. John Kingdon 506.16; 10. Matthew Martel 493.25.
U19 GIRLS
Sierra Kowalyshyn of Sawmill shot an 83 to edge Anisha Ghosh of Sawmill by four strokes to place first in the U19 girls division. Hazel Templeman was the only other girl to play Monday and finished third with a 110.
Casey Kenney of Sawmill won the overall points title with 270. Ghosh was second at 230.
Kenney, a 14-year-old St. Catharines resident who will be attending Sir Winston Churchill, won six tour stops en route to the points title.
“I am so excited,” said Kenney, who is participating in the Golf Ontario U17 championship in Windsor. “This is my third year and I came close last year (third) but the older girls were always dominating.
“I finally did it.”
Kenney said with each passing victory, she felt better about her game.
“It always does help, I felt I was getting more confidence each tournament.”
U19 GIRLS
1. Sierra Kowalyshyn, Sawmill 83; 2. Anisha Ghosh, Sawmill 87; 3. Hazel Templeman, Public Player, 110.
U19 GIRLS FINAL STANDINGS
1. Casey Kenney 270; 2. Anisha Ghosh 237; 3. Sierra Kowalyshyn 193; 4. Mikayla Lacey 175; 5. Marieve Ayres 149; 6. Alexis Alderson 65.
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