Two new junior champions crowned

High stakes. High drama. The latest instalment of the Manitoba Junior certainly delivered during a fantastic — and frantic — final day of competition.

When the dust had settled late Thursday afternoon at Pine Ridge, a pair of new champions were crowned in both the boys and girls division. And they’ll have quite the tale to tell about how they earned the hardware.

Let’s start with Hunter Oakden, who claimed the male division with an eagle on the first playoff hole, which was the par-five second. The 16-year-old from Brandon had finished the 54-hole event at three-over par, which was the same score as Winnipeggers Adam Blair (Elmhurst) and Gavin Carver (St. Charles).

Oakden had just missed a short par putt on the 18th hole which would have given him the outright victory, the ensuing bogey providing a second chance to Blair and Carver.

“It was only like five feet. I just misread it,” he told the Free Press.

No worries. Oakden quickly shook off the obvious disappointment to hit a perfect drive and approach shot on the extra hole which left him about seven feet from the cup. He drained it.

“I just treated it as a fresh start. My putting had been off and on all day,” said Oakden, who had rounds of 72-73-74 in the tournament.

“I figured I deserved that one because I had missed the one on 18.”

Third time really was the charm. He finished 14th in the Junior two years ago at Niakwa, and then tied for 19th last year at Quarry Oaks.

“I just knew if I stuck to my game plan, the outcome would be what I wanted. And it was enough to do it,” said Oakden, who recently wrapped up Grade 10 at Vincent Massey High School.

Oakden’s home course (Wheat City) might currently be under water, but he certainly proved this week he can handle a sink-or-swim situation.

“This helps a lot. It’s a big accomplishment, and I have some big tournaments coming up that I can for sure use this to build off,” he said.

Oakden won’t have much time to savour this win. He’ll jump on a plane Friday to head to Palm Springs where he’s competing in the FCG (Future Champions Golf) World Junior Golf Championship tournament starting next week. He also has an upcoming Notah Begay III event and now the Canadian Junior Boys Championship next month in Regina.

The silver lining for Blair (70-77-72) and Carver (75-69-75) is that they will join Oakden as members of Team Manitoba.

Over on the girls’ side, the top of the leaderboard wasn’t quite as crowded — but two fierce competitors spent Thursday jockeying for the lead.

In the end it was 16-year-old Camryn Thomas edging out good friend Jewel Lafleche by a single shot to take the title.

“Just super proud. A great feeling,” said Thomas, who plays out of St. Charles and had rounds of 76-82-81.

Thomas began the day with a two-shot lead and extended that to four at one point, only to see Lafleche chip away and tie her with a birdie on the 13th hole Thursday.

“It really started to feel like match play,” said Thomas, who had tripled the 12th hole.

Thomas steadied her nerves and rattled off six straight pars to finish her round, while Lafleche had bogeys on 14 and 15 followed by a birdie on 16 to keep things interesting right to the very end, ultimately shooting three straight rounds of 80.

“I just managed to stay in it and not let that get to me after losing a lead like that,” said Thomas. “Every hole, I was just making sure I was taking a deep breath, staying in my shoes and taking it one shot at a time.”

The duo have had quite a week, playing 110 holes of competitive golf dating back to Sunday afternoon. They had finished tied for third in the women’s Amateur, with a two-hole playoff determining the final spot on Team Manitoba. That was claimed by Lafleche, who plays out of Niakwa.

Now Thomas has a Junior trophy to go with several other accolades including winning the women’s City & District Championship last month in Winkler.

Thomas, a dual sport athlete who also plays hockey out of The Rink Academy, will try to keep the good times rolling on the golf course when she heads to the Canadian Junior Girls Championship, which takes place Aug. 10–14 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.

“This just gives me a lot of confidence now,” she said. “I know I can win against girls who are really good competition, and just knowing that I have a good enough mental game to go through pressure moments like that is huge.”

Joining Thomas and Lafleche at the nationals on Team Manitoba will be 13-year-old Angelina Sitarz of Elmhurst, who finished third in the event.

First up: a much needed and well-deserved day away from the golf course. Thomas planned to spend Friday lounging by a pool.

winnipegfreepress.com/mikemcintyre