Piazza, Miron record tour victories
Nolan Piazza has made a habit of dropping in on the Niagara Junior Golf Tour and coming away with victories.
The 16-year-old, Niagara Falls native played one stop on the tour last season at Legends on the Niagara and earned top spot.
Piazza was up to his old tricks again Monday, shooting a two-under 70 to place first in the boys U17/19 division.
Piazza’s win came once again at Legends, this time on the Battlefield portion of the course.
“I like the course and I’m confident on in. I’ve played Usshers and Battefield many, many times,” he said. “I’ve played well here in the past.”
Piazza’s 70 was good enough to edge Ben MacLean by one stroke and Matthew Martel by two.
“It was sort of up and down,” Piazza said of his round. “It felt like I would make two birdies in a row and then make two bogeys in a row.
“I played overall solid. I hit almost every green on the front nine — I only missed one green on the front — I was sort of shaky on the back but some putts fell in so overall it was a good round.”
Piazza, who is concentrating his efforts on the U.S. and Canadian junior tours this summer, enjoys coming back to his roots.
“I’m just here to have some fun with my friends,” he said. “Of course I want to play well. I don’t want to go out there and make a mess of it but it’s more to see old friends. Obviously, I don’t get to see John (tour director John White) too much so when I’m home and can come out to events — this is my second event — it’s nice to see what it used to be like when I used to play the junior tour.”
Piazza, who golfs out of Cherry Hill, played in the U.S. Junior Amateur in Ohio two weeks ago.
“I missed the cut for match play by two but it was a great experience,” he said. “It was a very tough course. I got to meet a lot of nice people and they treated us like tour players with everything they did.
“Overall, it was a good week.”
Up next for Piazza is the Canadian Junior Boys Tournament in New Brunswick in a couple of weeks.
“Obviously, I do want to play well and just getting the experience so when I’m put in that position again I’ll be able to think back to that and be able to relate back to that,” he said. ” I just take it as an experience.”
Piazza is already getting nibbles from U.S. schools.
“I talked to a few. It’s still very, very early. We’ll see what happens. There were a lot of coaches at the U.S. Juniors so that really helped so I sort of got my name out there because I was one of the people in the field.”
MIRON MARVELLOUS
Megan Miron had the round of her life to take the U-19 girls division.
The 17-year-old Hamilton native carded a one-over par 73, easily outdistancing Emily White by 10 strokes for top spot.
“I putted really, really well,” Miron said. “I surprised myself.”
Miron, who has played on the tour for two years and now has a pair of wins, began her round strongly.
“I started birdie, birdie so that was good,” she said. “I made a nice up-and-down on the first hole (par 5) and then made a long putt for a birdie on the second hole so that was a good start.”
Miron said the good start helped, but she wasn’t about to let her guard down.
“It calms you down a little bit but at the same time you have to stay on your toes. You can’t get too comfortable but it is comforting to know you started off strong.”
Take away a few struggles near the end of the round and Miron may have finished under par.
“I was under par for almost the whole round. At the end I had a bogey and then made a really long putt for par. I was able to maintain under-par status for a lot of the round and I was really happy about that.”
After her win, Miron went for the provided lunch but was careful what to order. She suffers from coeliac disease, which was diagnosed when she was in Grade 8.
“It’s definitely a big adjustment at first and for a while tying to figure it out because there are so many little things but it’s not too bad now,” she said. “It forces me to eat healthy. It’s kind of a blessing. You cannot cheat because it will hurt so bad.”
The tour continues Wednesday at Rolling Meadows.
BOYS U17/19
1. Nolan Piazza 70; 2. Ben MacLean 71; 3. Matthew Martel 72; 4. D.J. Derhodge 74; 5. Ethan Siebert 75; 6. Johnny Romak 76; 7. Blake Pingue 78; 8. Charlie Jeffries 79, Jared Sloan 79; 10. Patrick Rekowski 81, Owen Sartor 81.
BOYS U15
1. Isaiah Ellis 73; 2. Sammy Rootes 76; 3. John Kingdon 81; 4. Hudson Mielko 84; 5. Nathan Freure 85; 6. Kian Blair 88; 7. Anthony Sartor 91; 8. Liam Kirk 98; 9. Christian Rotundo 104.
BOYS U13
1. Michael Martel 78; 2. Kian Oelofse 87; 3. Elliott Christopher 93; 4. Levi Moyer 94; 5. Christian Baxter 95, Will Burleigh 95; 7. Ethan Baxter 102.
BOYS U11
1. Ben Julie, 92; 2. Trent Clarke 96; 3. Lucas Sartor 102; Graeme MacDonald 114.
U19 GIRLS
1. Megan Miron 73; 2. Emily White 83; 3. Mya Mackey 96; 4. Alexis Alderson 97; 5. Casey Kenney 99; 6. Jade Gracie 113; 7. Kate Jeffery 119.
SUPPORT US
On the right side of our web site, you will notice a yellow SUPPORT US button.
We are asking anyone who finds value in our work and is able to financially help us to click on the button and contribute whatever amount you feel is appropriate and can afford. There is no set amount. Any amount is appreciated.
The funds collected will be used to enhance and offset the expenses of running the web site.
