‘The future is really bright’

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This article was published 24/04/2025 (337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Addison Kartusch swung a performance that went beyond the scorecard.

The Winnipeg product fell just short of the individual win at the NCAA Division I women’s golf Mid-American Conference Championship earlier this week, but there was another victory worth celebrating.

Kartusch led the charge for Bowling Green State University as the program recorded its best finish ever at a conference championship. The Falcons, who entered the tournament as the No. 4-ranked team, fired 901 strokes between the five-person squad across three days to finish in second place behind conference powerhouse Kent State, which won its 26th straight title.

The first-year Manitoban put together a team-best three-day total of 219 to finish 3-over in the event, tied-second overall.

“I have been working really hard on my mental game,” Kartusch told the Free Press. “I’m gonna be honest, I regressed a little bit in that fact. But also, your mental game is just like your golf game, it’s gonna have ups and downs, and I’ve worked really hard on that with my mental coach and it’s really been helping.

“I think that’s how I got to where I was this past week.”

Kartusch, like many first-year college golfers, faced a steep learning curve this season as she left home and was forced to adapt to new surroundings. Her game suffered early on.

“Just learning how to exist in your new environment, I think, is definitely a tough thing, and it really does affect you,” she said.

As is the case with many programs, golfers at Bowling Green must earn their spots in tournaments. Players are rewarded for top finishes by receiving “exemptions” into future events, while the remaining team members play against each other for a select number of spots in each tournament. It promotes an environment where players are constantly in healthy competition.

Someone who is not playing well won’t see many opportunities, however. Kartusch played in two tournaments last fall.

“Your mental game is just like your golf game, it’s gonna have ups and downs.”–Addison Kartusch

“It’s different, it’s something new, and something that I just had to learn from,” she said. “It definitely is a learning curve, because it’s a different environment compared to just signing up for tournaments and going to play some tournament golf.”

Kartusch refound her stroke at the perfect time, firing 71-76-72 to finish one shot back of Ball State University’s Jasmine Driscoll.

“The first day, our assistant coach, Noah Barth, walked with her, and after the round, he was like, ‘Erin, that was the easiest 71 I’ve ever watched,’” said Falcons head coach Erin Fahey. “They were talking about where to hit it. She would hit it there. And it was just kind of one of those things where I’m not going to say it seemed easy for her, but everything was kind of clicking.”

Blustery conditions pumped up the average score by more than two strokes on Day 2. Kartusch managed the course as well as she could have, carving out one birdie and 12 pars.

“It was gusting around 45 kilometres per hour, so it was like a normal Manitoba summer day,” she quipped.

Favourable conditions on the final day allowed Kartusch to chase more flagsticks. A clean round produced one birdie and 16 pars.

“She’s a freshman, and I’m very happy she’s only a freshman, and I’m very happy that we’ll get to have her for the next three years.”–Erin Fahey

“On the last five holes, I gave myself a lot of good birdie chances, just the putts weren’t dropping. And, hey, that’s all I can do, and I know that,” she said. “I’m proud of myself no matter what.”

After a rough fall, Kartusch began to adjust to her environment, while a few tweaks to her swing have allowed her to strike the ball more consistently as the weather has improved.

“For us, that means the future is really bright,” Fahey said of Kartusch’s resilience. “She came into my office one day and was like, ‘I’m gonna work hard. I’m gonna be one of our top players.’ Like, looked me right in the eyes and said that, and I was like, ‘This is awesome, go after it.’”

Kartusch’s performance improved in each tournament this spring. She finished tied-11th at the Dolores Black Falcon Invitational earlier this month, and the recent runner-up has her feeling solid about her game again.

“She’s a freshman, and I’m very happy she’s only a freshman, and I’m very happy that we’ll get to have her for the next three years.”

Other Manitobans continued to make their mark on U.S. programs as the collegiate golf season nears an end.

On Wednesday, Brandon product Zostrianos Giordani-Gross, who attends Miles College (Alabama), earned a solo runner-up at the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA Division II) championship after firing rounds of 73-74-74 to finish 5-over on the tournament. Giordani-Gross, in his first year of post-secondary school, won the men’s Division II Championship at the Arcis HBCU Golf Championship in February. He finished inside the top 15 four times this season.

Cala Korman of Killarney, who attends Weber State University (Utah), finished 10th at the Big Sky Conference Championship earlier this month after carding rounds of 80-70-68 to finish 5-over on the event. The second-year player recorded four finishes inside the top 10 this season.

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca