Piazza wins second provincial junior crown
Winning his second Ontario junior boys golf championship was the second most exciting thing for Nolan Piazza last week at the Saugeen Golf Club in Southampton.
“I had shot 67 six or seven times this year, but I had never shot 66 before,” the 17-year-old Niagara Falls resident said. “I couldn’t break that barrier and I finally did it. It was the first thing that I thought of and then it was ‘Geez, I have actually won this thing again’ but I didn’t realize it was by 10 shots.”
Piazza finished the championship at 14-under (274) and his 10-stroke margin of victory made him the first multiple winner of the event since Brad Revell in 2004 and 2006. In addition to his 66, he fired rounds off 69, 69, 70 and 66 to win for the second straight time at the event. He didn’t compete at the 2019 championship because he was taking part in the U.S. Junior Amateur in Toledo, Ohio.
The Grade 12 A.N. Myer student was thrilled to be able to have his father, Mark, present for the tournament just like he was back in 2018 when he won the event as the youngest player in the field.
“He is very important,” Piazza said. “I used to just go the range with him when I was young and that’s what started it all. He would go to practice and I always wanted to go with him.”
Piazza felt confident heading into the final round.
“I was hitting it really well and, to be honest, the putts weren’t going in the first three days,” he said. “I know I was eight under but I was making a lot of short ones (putts) and not making anything else. I knew if I had some good putting, everything would come together.”
He went into last Thursday’s final round with a clear objective in mind.
“I was just trying to make as many birdies as I could and limit the bogeys.”
He started feeling comfortable and confident about his chances after the sixth hole when he had built a five-shot lead.
“I knew five was going to be a big ask if I kept making birdies. That is where I relaxed a little bit.”
His previous experience winning the Ontario junior crown was a big help.
“The first time I won I was very nervous on the last four holes just because the boy who finished second was only one shot back,” he said. “I knew I had a pretty significant lead and it wasn’t really me worrying about what they were doing. I was just trying to make as many birdies as I could.”
Winning for a second time felt much different than his first provincial crown.
“Obviously I played really well the first time I won, but this time to be under par in all four rounds and to be double digits under par was the first time I had done that in an event and I was really happy with that.”
Last week’s tournament was only the second one of the summer for Piazza. In January, he won the Canadian Junior Golf Association World Junior Challenge at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla., and then placed second at a Hurricane Junior Golf Tour event in June.
Next up on the competitive calendar for Piazza is the Ontario men’s amateur championship Aug. 11-14 at the Otter Creek Golf Club in Otterville. It will be his first trip to the men’s event.
“I know it is going to look a little different than previous years but I am still really looking forward to it,” he said. “I am always trying to win so I am just going to try and have four good rounds and see what happens from there.”
With his two Ontario junior titles on his resume, Piazza is getting some scholarship interest from NCAA schools but the COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of uncertainty.
His goal has always been to play scholarship golf in the United States.
“It’s the competitiveness of U.S. college golf and getting to travel and play in a lot of tournaments,” he said. “It would be a great experience.”
Piazza wasn’t the only Niagara golfer to perform well at the Ontario championship. Matthew Martel of Lookout Point tied for seventh at even par (74, 72, 69 and 73) and was fourth in juvenile boys. Ben MacLean of the St. Catharines Golf and Country Club tied for 10th at one over par (70, 74, 74, 71) and was fifth in the juvenile boys division. Luke DelGiobbo of Lookout Point tied for 26th at 10 over par (75, 73, 74, 76).
Previous Ontario junior boys winners from Niagara have included: Bridgewater’s Jack Gibson in 2010; Port Colborne’s Matt Graham in 2005; Sawmill’s Jeremy Julie in 1991; Lookout Point’s Joel Strickland in 1980; Willo-Dell’s Gary Stickl in 1975; Willo-Dell’s Steve Fellinger in 1974; Lookout Point’s Sandy Billyard in 1973; and, St. Catharines Golf and Country Club’s Dave Mackenzie in 1972.
