Kingston amateur Noah Steele blows away pros and wins Mackenzie Tour’s Osprey Valley Open

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This article was published 22/08/2021 (1863 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of Canada’s top amateur golfers made his mark on the professional game this weekend, winning on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada.

Kingston’s Noah Steele shot 23-under 261 at the Osprey Valley Open to win by six shots.

“I’m honestly really proud of myself,” Steele told the Star after the victory. “I had an eight-week stretch on the road this summer playing amateur events, and pretty much every week I had some good play, some mediocre play and some play that wasn’t as good as I would have wanted. So I learned a ton and kept working away.

“I wouldn’t be in the position without those harder weeks, so I’m incredibly excited.”

According to TSN’s Bob Weeks, Steele is the first amateur to win on the Mackenzie Tour since James Lepp in 2003.

Fellow amateur Étienne Papineau finished second at 17-under, while Jesse Smith was at 16-under. Since both Papineau and Steele are amateurs, Smith collected the first prize of $18,000.

Steele got off to a blistering start Thursday with a 5-under 66 and was the co-leader after 18 holes. He backed that up with rounds of 65 and 64, then closed with another 66.

No one was close to Steele’s leaderboard-topping number through the weekend. While some golfers ease off the pedal when they get that far ahead, he said he leaned on some wisdom from his college coach, who reminded him there’s “no cap” on how low a score any of his competitors might shoot.

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Steele is part of Golf Canada’s national amateur team and graduated from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas in May 2020. He won multiple NCAA titles and was named to the all-region team in 2020.

Derek Ingram, the men’s national team head coach, said Steele has similar habits to PGA Tour pros Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes: drives the ball straight and hits “a million” greens in regulation.

“Would not bet against him. Smart, committed and lots of game,” said Ingram. “It’s been a real learning year for him … but (he’s) really benefitting from that experience and making lots of progress at the same time.”

Steele will likely stay an amateur for the rest of the year before trying to qualify for the Mackenzie Tour and PGA Tour Latinoamerica next spring. He will play two Mackenzie Tour events in British Columbia later this year and hopes to tee it up with some fellow national team members at the Irish Amateur Open in October.

Adam Stanley is an Ottawa-based contributor to the Star’s Sports section and the host of golf podcast Next Round’s On Me. Follow him on Twitter: @adam_stanley