Breakthrough victories for juniors

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/07/2021 (1854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The final round of the three-day Manitoba Men’s and Women’s Junior Golf Championships gave two golfers a chance to show off their skills while each earning impressive victories.

“I wasn’t nervous this morning, I was just here to play,” said Clara Peake, winner of the 74th Manitoba Women’s Junior Championship at Shilo Country Club Wednesday.

Peake who shot 82 in the first and second rounds, fired a career-best 75 in the final round, beating second place by 11 strokes. After shooting a previous best 79 at Clear Lake, Peake was all smiles following her victory.

“It feels really good, it’s my first championship and I’m really excited,” said Peake.

“I chipped well, I had two chip-ins today, that gave me a few birdies and I drove the ball well today so that was good.”

On the men’s side, Breezy Bend Country Club representative Braxton Kuntz kept his composure on the tee, which carried him to a final round 73, winning the 99th Manitoba Men’s Junior Championship.

“I’m obviously very excited to have won it finally after coming runner-up the past years, it’s definitely an accomplishment that I’m happy to have now,” said Kuntz.

The 17-year-old has been swinging a golf club since he was three, having his dad alongside him as a coach and mentor, Kuntz emphasized how important it was to keep the ball in play.

“Over the last few days, lots of iron golf off the tee, put it in the fairway and go from there,” said Kuntz.

Kuntz won by three strokes over Elmhurst’s Adam Ingram and seven strokes over the overnight leader Ryan Blair from Pinawa Golf Club. Kuntz, who finished his final round with a birdie, said the competition and scoreboard factored into his mindset going into the final round.

“I knew Ryan got close to me when I started the round, starting with two birdies so I was a little bit more focused on my group,” said Kuntz.

“I didn’t really pay too much attention but I knew Adam would make it fun and play well out there. It’s hard because it’s better to focus on your own game then to get distracted by other people. It’s definitely a learning experience.”

Blair had a difficult final round 77 after a previous tournament low 71 in the second round.

The champion said it was difficult to grind out pars for three days of play.

“It’s just having some confidence in myself, knowing that I can make pars, make those putts for pars,” said Kuntz.

“I try to forget about the last hole, you can’t let emotions carry over.”

Both men and women were tested at the par-72 Shilo Country Club. Over the duration of the three days, club pro Dave Scinocca noted how the course conditions and wind factored in for some difficult play.

“The toughest challenge of Shilo is the slope of the greens and the speed of them,” said Scinocca.

“You have to be very careful where you place your ball coming into the greens, you have to stay below the hole as best as you can. There is also a tough stretch in the middle where you have to keep the ball in play.”

Scinocca was surprised by how difficult the course played after windy conditions on Tuesday, the pro explained how the short course offers a fair challenge.

“I was expecting a couple more rounds under par to be honest,” said Scinocca.

“You need some experience and some rounds out here a few more times. To keep the scores a few rounds near par each day is pretty impressive.”

Jared Ladobruk, executive director of Golf Manitoba says the annual event was a success.

“I’m fortunate that we were able to do this over the last three days for sure, it was a great turnout, a great venue,” said Ladobruk.

Scinocca and Ladobruk were very appreciative to be able to bring more notoriety to the club at the military base.

“We get a lot of people through word of mouth and they don’t know what to expect,” said Scinocca.

“It’s kind of a hidden jewel here in Westman. The conditions are second to none in the area. The greens are phenomenal. Plus you have the military feel when you’re on the base.”

“The tournament was a great challenge, getting used to a golf course that the amateurs don’t play day in and day out,” said Ladobruk.

The junior men’s winner will now look to win back-to-back events in Neepawa for the 110th playing of the Manitoba Men’s Amateur. Kuntz noted how besting the competition from across the province will take some of the pressure off going into next week.

“It’s definitely a good confidence builder,” said Kuntz.

“I’d say because it’s a provincial event, you have the best players across Manitoba so it was a big win for me.”

 

jbernacki@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JosephBernacki