Kuntz, Kartusch grab junior golf hardware

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/07/2022 (1504 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRAXTON Kuntz woke up Friday morning, searching for the answer to his quest for another provincial title. But it soon became a question of whether he would etch his name in two record books that afternoon.

Entering the final round of the Manitoba junior men’s championship tied for the lead, Kuntz didn’t waste any time setting the tone at St. Charles Country Club, scorching the front-nine in four-under-par and making the turn with an emphatic nine-stroke lead.

After back-to-back birdies on the par-5 13th and 14th holes put Kuntz at six-under on the day and with the championship all but secured, buzz began to swirl around the possibility of the 19-year-old setting a course record.

The Winnipeg teen birdied the 16th and 17th holes before sending a strike into the heart of the 18th green, where he was left with an eight-foot putt for a third-straight birdie.

The ball burned the right-edge of the cup, buckling Kuntz at the knees as he looked skyward with a smile, knowing the putt was simply a formality.

He finished his historic day with an eight-under 64 — -13 for the tournament (203) — to capture the 100th edition of the Manitoba junior men’s championship by 11 strokes, becoming the 14th junior in the tournament’s prestigious history to defend his title.

“Very special,” Kuntz said after his round. “It was tight going into it. I felt like my game was right on the edge of doing something special all week. I knew if I could just get the putter rolling a little more it would be time to make some birdies … almost everything seemed to go right.”

Kuntz said his 64 tied a personal-low, previously set at his home course, Breezy Bend Country Club.

Now for the course record.

The documented course record at St. Charles Country Club is -10, held by Adam Speirs. The grey area in the record is the club has 27-holes. Speirs posted that number on the “north” and “south” courses – the championship was held on the “woods” and “south” courses.

An official ruling on whether Kuntz’s eight-under score is a course record was not provided to the Free Press by deadline.

Kuntz played in a group with close friend, Grady Chuback, a member of the host course who had the other share of the lead through 36 holes.

“I knew it would be tough. Grady’s been really consistent all week so I knew I would have to shoot a low number. I was happy I was able to go out and do that but at the same time, there was some pressure that came along with it. I really wanted to defend and I know he really wanted to win, too, so it was a bit of a nervous start but I think I settled in after that.”

“We were all talking to each other the whole round. So even though we’re still trying to win a provincial title, we’re having a lot of fun out there too.”

Kuntz won’t have long to gawk at the newest addition to his trophy case. He’s set to defend another title next week in the Manitoba Amateur at Elmhurst Country Club.

“I feel good, after winning this week I can take a little bit of pressure off myself for next week. There will be a lot of good players there too so I’ll have to be playing well.”

Kuntz wasn’t the only junior in cruise control Friday afternoon.

Addison Kartusch entered her Friday round with a five-stroke lead in the Manitoba junior women’s championship.

The 15-year-old, followed by a large gallery for her final round, stayed calm on the precipice of a provincial title at her home course when it seemed everyone else around her was crumbling.

Kartusch carded a two-over 38 after the front-nine to lead by a whopping 11 strokes at the turn.

With the title within reach, the Winnipeg teen admitted she got nervous on her final three holes. A two-over back-nine wasn’t enough to budge her from the top spot, though.

Kartusch finished her day four-over 76 to run away with the 81st edition of the Manitoba junior women’s championship by 13 strokes at +9 (225).

“When I dropped that (last putt on the 18th hole) I just felt relief, actually. Because the last three holes I was just like, ‘I just got to get it done,’” she told reporters after her final round.

“(I tried) just staying in my own space. Just try not to think about what others are scoring and just play my own game.”

The title is Kartusch’s first win in a provincial tournament, after a few close calls, including a third-place finish at Granite Hills in the Women’s Amateur last week.

“(Last week) was a little bit of a disappointing finish. You know, I was looking to play a little better on the third day but I feel like this is kind of like my comeback tournament, I guess.”

Other winners at the junior men’s and women’s championships were: Jewel Lafleche (women’s 12-and-under), Clara Peake (women’s 17 and 18-year-olds), Adam Blair (men’s 13 and 14 year-olds) and Grady Chuback (15 and 16-year-olds).

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam