When there’s a Will, there’s a way
The game of golf is a never-ending lesson in overcoming adversity.
Shots go astray, bad breaks abound and the golfer best-equipped to deal with a little trouble and tough luck often ends up on top of the leaderboard.
Sawmill golfer Will Burleigh has made a habit of finishing first this season in the under-15 division of the Niagara District Junior Golf Tour. He continued that trend Friday at Willodell when his three over par 75 gave him a six-shot victory and his third win on the tour this summer.
The 14-year-old Grimsby resident is well-equipped to deal with any problems that arise after dealing with a brain tumour when he was seven and eight years old.
“Will had been having quite severe headaches and doctors discovered he had a brain tumour,” his mother, Denise Burleigh, said. “He had surgery and two months later they did another MRI and they realized it has come back so they had to do surgery again. And then he went through chemo and radiation.”
Will has now been cancer-free for six years.
“Definitely, it’s realizing that things don’t always go your way and even when you have adversity, you keep trying,” Denise said. “He is just driven and he wants to succeed in school, in sports and whatever he does. He always gives 100 per cent and that was really huge in his recovery when he was sick because it took him two or three years to get back to where he was.”
Will’s health scare gave him a new perspective on life.
“It definitely made me a lot stronger than I would be if I hadn’t had it because now I realize that some of the challenges that I go through now are nothing compared to what I went through,” he said. “You also realize what you have and you are grateful for what you have.”
In his first year on the junior tour, he finished second overall in the under-13 division and last year he was third in the under-15 division. Win three wins on the tour already this year, he is in the hunt for his first overall championship in under-15 action.
“Over the winter, I focused a lot on my short game and it has really improved. That’s a big part of why I am playing better this year,” Will said. “I alway want to be the best that I can be in almost everything I do. It helps in school and will help someday when I get a job.”
Denise has seen that drive and determination first-hand.
“He has always been very driven and always a competitive kid who loved sports,” she said. “Every year he has improved.”
Denise feels there are a number of factors that have made her son a good golfer.
“Will does well at golf because he loves it. He has never complained about going and asks to go to Sawmill almost every day to hit balls on the range and chip and putt. We are grateful for the junior program at Sawmill and for his coach, Brody Whetham, who has encouraged him to continue to work to be his best.”
The family is thankful the tour provides a competitive environment close to home.
Will has high hopes for the summer.
“This year I am hoping to qualify for the bantam provincials and I guess I will see what happens from there.”
Other winners Friday included: Sawmill’s Casey Kenney in the under-19 girls division; Lookout Point’s Isaiah Ellis in the under-19 boys division; and, Sawmill’s Matthew Grey in the under-13 boys division.
Ellis defeated Lookout Point’s Benjamin Hebert in a playoff after they finished regulation play tied at three under par with 69s. After both birdied the first playoff hole, Ellis won when he chipped in for an eagle on the second hole.
The tour continues Monday, July 26 at Legends on the Niagara Battlefield; Wednesday, Aug. 4 at Twenty Valley; and Monday, Aug. 23, at Beechwood in Niagara Falls.
Following are the complete results from Friday’s Niagara District Junior Golf Tour stop at Willodell (par 72).
Under-19 girls: Sawmill’s Casey Kenney 80; Sawmill’s Sierra Kowalyshyn 86; Port Colborne’s Mikayla Lacey 87.
Under-19 boys division: Lookout Point’s Isaiah Ellis 69 (won in playoff); Lookout Point’s Benjamin Hebert 69; Golf Canada ClubHouse’s Sammy Rootes 72; Lookout Point’s Matthew Martel 73; Ottawa Players Club’s Noah LeBrasseur 74; Port Colborne’s Andrew Scott 75; Lookout Point’s Michael Martel 76; Beechwood’s Anthony Sartor 77; Sawmill’s Hudson Mielko 78; St. Catharines’ Morgan Daly 79; Lookout Point’s Aidan Lopinski 79; Sawmill’s Nathan Freure 79.
Under-15 boys division: Sawmill’s Will Burleigh 75; Sawmill’s Andrew Burciul 81; Ottawa Players Club’s Angelo Butera 82; Sawmill’s Cole Thompson 82; Ottawa Players Club’s Alec Linton 82; Ottawa Players Club’s Aidan Smith 84; Hamilton Players Club’s Jack Ilskens 87; Sawmill’s Leighton Wurm 92; Lookout Point’s Kian Oelofse 93; St. Catharines’ Christopher Elliott 93.
Under-13 boys division: Sawmill’s Matthew Gray 80; St. Catharines’s Chase Partridge 84; Sawmill’s Joseph Zupanic 85; Sawmill’s Trent Clarke 87; Twenty Valley’s Gavin Christie 88; Peninsula Lakes’ Brennan Turner 89; St. Catharines’ Daxx Partridge 90; Golf Ontario Players Club’s Fulkerson 91; Golf Canada ClubHouse’s Ryan Kirkpatrick 98; Beechwood’s Lucas Sartor 99.
