Breezy’s Kuntz hasn’t met his match in three years

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This article was published 05/06/2023 (1192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

YOU’d be hard-pressed to remember the last time Braxton Kuntz lost a provincial golf tournament. That’s because it’s been nearly three years since the 19-year-old phenom out of Breezy Bend has failed to reach the winner’s circle.

And it’s possible his latest triumph was stamped by his best shot in the clutch.

Kuntz weathered the storm on and off the course to hold off defending champion, Elmhurst’s Marco Trstenjak, one-up to win the Manitoba match play championship at Glendale Golf and Country Club on Sunday.

Meanwhile, St. Charles’ Addison Kartusch defeated Clara Peake of the Golf Manitoba Public Players Club three-and-one to win the women’s championship, while Rossmere’s Blair Neal captured the senior men’s title after edging Bel Acres’ Dwayne Heinrichs one-up.

Kuntz, who made history last summer by becoming the first player to defend the Manitoba junior men’s and men’s amateur championships in the same year, has won his last five provincial starts, a streak that dates back to 2021.

“It’s a great honour to be able to finally win the match play, one of the tournaments I’ve definitely been looking forward to and hoping to be able to win,” said Kuntz, who will attend Ball State (Indiana) University for his junior year this fall. “So to be able to come out this week, play some good golf and pull it off on the last hole, I’m really proud of that.”

Kuntz was in the driver’s seat at three-up through 12 holes before making a costly error on the 13th tee, hitting his ball while taking a practice swing. That sparked a Trstenjak comeback that left the match all-square after 16 holes. Then, after regaining the lead heading into the last hole, Kuntz found himself in the right-side rough with the ball below his feet.

Rather than taking the conservative approach, the Winnipeg teen went for the dagger but badly air-mailed the green. While Trstenjak waited on the putting surface with a real chance to draw even again, Kuntz showcased his soft hands with the shot of the day, his chip rimming out before settling a few inches from the cup to seal the match.

“(I was) just hoping it wasn’t (out of bounds) initially,” Kuntz said with a chuckle. “It was pretty far over the green, so after that, I knew I had a really hard shot.

“It made me a little anxious, especially when Marco tied it there on 16, but he was playing good golf coming in. I made a mistake that I shouldn’t have made on 13 …”

A one-hour and 39-minute weather delay left most players restless indoors as they waited for the lightning to pass over. Each of the three championship matches were on the sixth hole when play stopped at 2:06 p.m.

Kartusch was one who embraced the stoppage, as she found herself scrambling and down one when the horn sounded.

“What I really learned from (2021) is just trying to stay neutral with my emotions, which I definitely learned today, as well,” said Kartusch, who won the match play championship two years ago.

Indeed, it didn’t take long for the 16-year-old to remind those in attendance why she is one of the finest female amateurs in the province. Kartusch assumed her first lead of the match on the 11th hole and never looked back, dropping just one of the remaining six holes in the match.

Kartusch has won her last two provincial starts and will look for a third in a row when she gets set to defend her junior women’s title in Teulon from July 3 to 5.

“It always feels good to be able to win all my matches, as I did two years ago. It just feels good to play pretty consistently throughout these past two days,” she said.

“Claire’s a great player, her short game is really good so always just assuming that she’s gonna make the putt or chip it in…”

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam