Home cooking suits Siebert
The Niagara District Junior Golf Tour stopped Monday at Lookout Point. Photo by BERNIE PUCHALSKI
A strong finished propelled Ethan Siebert to a win Monday on the Niagara District Junior Golf Tour at Lookout Point.
The graduate of Blessed Trinity shot a two over par 74 to end R.J. Derhodge’s run of three straight tournament wins in the under-19 boys division.
“I think you show up every tournament and you kind of want to win it, but you never really know until you start getting into a groove,” said Siebert, who plans to study sports management at Brock University this fall. “A couple of first shots weren’t too good, but then I started to get into a groove and it all worked out in the end.”
Siebert wasn’t sure where he stood until he tallied up his scorecard.
“I didn’t have any idea until I came in,” he said.
Siebert’s first tour win of the season had its ups and downs.
“I birdied the final hole of the day so that was good. The three birdies on the back nine helped me to an even par and that never really hurts,” he said. “I made a bad bogey on seven that kind of hurt my round, but it was good to stay in it.”
Siebert has learned to shake off a bad hole or shot, which wasn’t always the case.
“You just laugh it off,” he smiled. “I used to be pretty hard on myself, but it’s just a game. Sometimes it is hard but in the end it is a game. We’re not playing for money yet.”
Siebert plays out of Lookout Point, which he believed gave him a big advantage.
“For sure, definitely with the greens as well, there are some slopes that a lot of people don’t know. I’ve been a member up here for four years and if you play them enough times, you kind of get a feel for the greens.”
It’s a busy week on the tour with stops Tuesday at Legends on the Niagara and Wednesday at Twenty Valley.
“(You) can’t really look into the future. You have to be in the moment and in the present and just worry about what you have at hand,” he said.
HARJAI BACK ON TOP
Sukriti Harjai retuned to the winner’s circle carding a 78 to capture the girls division.
The Saint Michael Catholic High School graduate edged Taylor Simoneau by one stroke to earn her first tour victory of the season.
“The front nine I played pretty well. I shot one under and I had three birdies which was good,” she said. “My putting saved me today. The back nine was kind of rough, I had two doubles.
Harjai goes into every tournament stop trying to work on her game.
“Every round I just want to shoot my best. I don’t care what place I come in as long as I am shooting my best and what I can do to my capability,” she said. “I view this as a practice for tournaments and to control my mental game. It’s very easy to get mad at a few shots. It’s important to stay strong.”
Harjai, who is scheduled to attend the University of Victoria and study commerce this fall, is a big believer in the mental aspect of golf.
“It’s really important to have a strong mental game and concentrate on your own game and not focus on anything around you.
“I just worry about my shot. If I started work about my other shots or tomorrow, it starts to mess up my head a little but so I just try and concentrate on my next shot.”
That outlook comes in handy when a bad hole or shot or round presents itself.
“That’s golf. I’ve had rounds like that where I’m shooting high numbers and the next round is low numbers. It’s just how the day goes. You have to have the luck out there.”
U-19 BOYS
1. Ethan Siebert 74; 2. R.J. Derhodge 77, Luke Delgobbo 77; 4. Matt Gibson 79; 5. Blake McGowan 81, Patrick Rekowski 81; 7. Jared Sloan 83, Deryck Burke 83; 9. Blake Pingue 84, Charlie Jeffries 84.
U-15 BOYS
1. Isaiah Ellis 73; 2. Ben MacLean 75; 3. Matthew Martel 79; 4. Bradyn Wark 80; 5. Aidan Lopinski 84; 6. Sammy Rootes 84; 7. Benjamin Hebert 85; 8. Hudson Mielko 89; 9. Nathan Freure 92; 10. Ben Kelly 94.
U-13 BOYS
1. Michael Martel 89; 2. Levi Moyer 108; 3. Nicklaus Mooradian 147.
GIRLS
1. Sukriti Harjai 78; 2. Taylor Simoneau 79; 3. Payton Bennett 82; 4. Sasha Baker 84; 5. Megan Miron 85; 6.
Susan Leone 87; 7. Emily White 99; 8. Mya Mackey 101; 9. Alexis Alderson 107; 10. Anna Emond 113.
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