Scott, Kenney top Sawmill junior tour stop
Andrew Scott has had a rollercoaster ride on the golf course the past two days.
On Tuesday, playing in a Ontario junior boys qualifier at the Listowel Golf Club, the Port Colborne Country Club member saw his hopes dashed.
“It was unfortunate because I was two under through six and then there was a rain delay for about two hours. You’re not allowed to practice in between and I came back and I had lost my touch,” the 18-year-old Port Colborne resident said. “My game went to the dumps after that and I missed the cut by three. It was tough to go from playing so well and then I lost the feeling of the greens.”
The Lakeshore Catholic graduate was able to shake off the disappointment Wednesday and fired a five over par 76 at Sawmill to win the third stop on the Niagara Junior Golf Tour by one stroke.
“It was great,” he said. “I didn’t have any expectations or no clue what was going to happen but I went out, took my time and it worked out.
“I drove the ball well today and I kept myself in position off the tee.”
It was his second career win on the Niagara Junior Tour, not counting placing first in the qualifier a few years back. He won the opening event last year at Brock Golf and knows winning on the tour is never easy.
“You have to grind and you can’t give up on any shot,” he said.
Scott is presently mulling over scholarship offers from NCAA Division 3 schools, Crown College in Minnesota, Gordon College in Massachusetts and Olivet College in Michigan, and NAIA school Hope International University in California.
“I am looking to play in some tournaments, post some good scores and maybe attract a couple of better offers,” he said. “That is what I am holding out for right now.”
Like many aspiring scholarship athletes, Scott saw his most important recruiting year derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was difficult because there were no big tournaments last year for me,” he said. “It was just junior tour and just kind of working on my game. Hopefully this year, I will have a little bit more of a breakout season.”
KENNEY TOPS AGAIN
Sawmill’s Casey Kenney recorded her second straight win on the Niagara Junior Golf Tour Wednesday.
Playing on her home course, the 15-year-old St. Catharines resident carded a 10 over par 81 to record a nine-shot triumph over Port Colborne’s Mikayla Lacey.
The Grade 11 student at Sir Winston Churchill also won last year’s tour stop at Sawmill.
“My irons were working pretty good but my driver was working better.” she said. “It was a kind of joint effort with my driver and my irons.”
Kenney looked anything but a golfer who was going to go back-to-back as she tripled bogeyed her first three holes.
“I didn’t play my best but I pulled it together,” she said, adding she got back on track with a birdie on the fourth hole. “I don’t know if I was nervous or what because it was my home course. I got the birdie and it made me snap out of it. I just went back to my normal golf.”
Kenney is working hard on her game as she tries to get to the next level.
“I need to work on my putting,” she said. “It is not too, too bad right now but it could definitely improve.”
Below are top 10 results from all divisions of Wednesday’s play at the par 71 Sawmill course:
Under-19 girls: 1. Casey Kenney, Sawmill 81; Mikayla Lacey, Port Colborne 90; Anisha Ghosh, Burlington Golf and Country Club 91; Marieve Ayres, Dundas Valley 101.
Under-13 boys division: Matthew Gray, Sawmill 72; Ben Julie, Sawmill 79; Joseph Zupanic, Sawmill 84; Chase Partridge, St. Catharines Golf and Country Club 84; Dawson Dermatas, St. Catharines Golf and Country Club 87; Trent Clarke, Sawmill 88; Brennan Turner, Peninsula Lakes 89; Vince Belardi, Sawmill 98; Jackson Jones, Beechwood 99; Carter Fulkerson, Players Club 102; Daxx Partridge, St. Catharines Golf and Country Club 102; Lucas Sartor, Beechwood 103.
Under-15 boys: Will Burleigh, Sawmill 78; Angelo Butera, Players Club Ottawa 82; Cole Thompson, Sawmill 83; Andrew Burciul. Sawmill 83; Kian Oelofse, Lookout Point 84; Jack Ilskens, Players Club Hamilton 84; Alec Linton, Players Club Ottawa 89; Blake Furtney, Sawmill 89; Leighton Wurm, Sawmill 99; Cody Hawkins, Sawmill 101.
Under-17/19 boys division: Andrew Scott, Port Colborne 76; Michael Martel, Lookout Point 77; Aidan Longley, Sawmill 79; Nathan Freure, Sawmill 81; Hudson Mielko, Sawmill 81; Noah LeBrasseur, Players Club Ottawa 82; Morgan Daly, St. Catharines Golf and Country Club 83; Caleb Shorthouse, Twenty Valley 83; Elliott Culp, St. Catharines Golf and Country Club 83; Deryck Burke, Lookout Point 84.
The tour continues Monday, July 19 at Rolling Meadows; Wednesday, July 21 at Grand Niagara, Friday, July 23 at Willodell; Monday, July 26 at Legends on the Niagara Battlefield; Wednesday, Aug. 4 at Twenty Valley; and Monday, Aug. 23, at Beechwood in Niagara Falls.
