Teen golf sensation has loved the game since he was three

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This article was published 08/07/2019 (2588 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Braxton Kuntz may be young, but don’t count him out as a seasoned golfer. 

The 15-year-old has been playing for more than 10 years, after his dad introduced him to the sport at just a few years old. 

“He’d give me a plastic golf club, I’d go in the front yard and just start hitting some balls around. Since then, I’ve just been playing more and more,” Kuntz said. 

It wasn’t long after that when Kuntz played his first tournament. At just five years old, he entered a tournament at Clear Lake Golf Course with his dad. To date, the tourney is one of his favourites. 

“I have a cabin up there, so I’m there every summer. It’s the only real tournament they have in that area, so I’ve been going in it ever since I was young. It’s kind of almost a tradition now.”  

While golf is one of his favourite things to do, Kuntz said it’s tough to pinpoint what exactly it is that makes him love the sport so much. 

“There’s just something really satisfying about hitting a golf ball. I don’t know why. I just really enjoy it.” 

Still, Kuntz has come a long way since the days of swinging his plastic golf clubs. The teen is currently atop the leader board at the Manitoba Junior Men’s Golf Championship at Elmhurst Golf and Country Club.

Even Monday’s rain couldn’t put a damper on Kuntz’s third day at the championships.

He shot a 2-under par score of 69 to sit at 5-over par 220 heading into today’s final round. Kuntz has a four-stroke lead on second-place competitor Jacob Armstrong, while Carter Johnson and Neel Soni are tied for third spot with three-round totals of 228.  

“I thought I played pretty well, better than the last two days (75, 76), so I was pretty happy overall. I feel like I was a lot more consistent. The last couple days, I had a couple of bad shots that cost me a few strokes, but today, I didn’t really have too many of those, so I’m happy with that,” Kuntz said.

The Breezy Bend golfer pulled a power move on hole 13, sinking an eagle on the par-five hole. That was enough to get him to -2 on the day.

Elmhurst member Kaleb Lambert was the only other golfer in the 50-person tournament to make an eagle on Monday.

The junior men’s tourney includes multiple age brackets, with the youngest being 12 and under. The oldest group is the 17 and 18 age bracket. 

Shilo’s Spence Mott claimed the 12-and-under title with a score of 85, one stroke better than Southwood’s Terrence Rafferty. Lorien Valaquenta, also of Southwood, was third with a score of 87.

Kate Gregoire leads the junior women’s championship, which is also being played at Elmhurst and the neighbouring Pine Ridge layout. The Quarry Oaks golfer fired rounds of 84 Sunday and Monday for a score of 22 over par. Gregoire has a one-shot lead on Killarney’s Cala Korman in second, while Mikyla Albert is on third place with a 177 total. The junior women’s winner will be decided after today’s final round. 

It’s not common for Kuntz to golf and be ranked with people outside of his own age category, but he says he’s done it enough that he’s comfortable with it now. 

“It’s one of the few tournaments where I do that (golf with older people) every year; however, I’ve been in so many U18 tournaments now that I’m getting used to it. I mean, I know most of the guys I play with, so it’s not too intimidating anymore, but it sure used to be.”

Kuntz improved from Sunday’s round, where he ended the day tied for second at +7 with Armstrong, who is now at +9 and in sole possession of second place.  

While the back-and-forth nature of golf can be frustrating for some, Armstrong said it’s one of his favourite things about the sport. 

“I love how you can be really mad at one hole and just pumped up about what you did the next one. The emotions of it all is just a roller-coaster. I’ve seen every side of the spectrum of it and it’s just so funny what it does to you.”  

Golfers had to wait through a one-hour rain delay during Monday’s play, as lightning and thunder passed through the area. Although it made for an extra-long day on the course, Armstrong says that’s just all part of golf. 

“Everyone else goes through those delays with you, so the game doesn’t change, you just got to try and get the ball in the hole.” 

The junior men’s championship wraps up today at Elmhurst, with the first pair of golfers scheduled to tee off at 10:30 a.m.

 

devon.shewchuk@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @devonshewchuk