Kartusch, Mott claim junior links glory

That Spence Mott was able to make a pressure-free swing from the 18th tee box might’ve even surprised him after the way his day unfolded.

The Shilo teen watched his one-shot lead turn into a three-stroke deficit by the third hole earlier in the day before he weathered a roller-coaster final round in the junior men’s provincial championship.

Yet, by the end of it, Mott had reclaimed the game that had him leading the tournament through 18 and 36 holes, respectively, and swung easy to a par on the last hole to cap a six-shot victory at Quarry Oaks on Wednesday.

“It feels nice to win again. It’s been a while,” the 18-year-old said.

Mott, who began the event with consecutive rounds in red figures, finished 71-68-75 for a two-under 214 three-day total.

Meanwhile, Addison Kartusch captured the junior women’s title for the second year in a row and third overall in her career.

Mott will lead Team Manitoba at the Canadian junior boys championship in Bathurst, N.B., Aug. 12-15. Kartusch will do the same at the Canadian junior girls championship in Sainte-Marie, Que., Aug. 13-16.

Windy conditions toyed with players all day.

Mott recorded 14 holes of birdie or better in the tournament, but his first Wednesday didn’t come until the seventh hole.

At that time, he was two shots off the pace set by Payne Wood, who began the day one stroke back of Mott.

“I felt more relaxed after I made a big number and just told myself to do what I’ve been doing the whole week. I’ve been playing good, so I just told myself to ‘Relax,’” said Mott, who triple-bogeyed the par-5 second hole.

“Course management out here was a big thing. And definitely for me, attitude has been a big problem before — get one big score on the card, and the whole round goes downhill from there. We’ve been working on bringing it back instead of letting it go downhill even more.”

The Westman resident returned the favour on the early swing with a momentum shift of his own shortly after as he birdied the par-5 ninth while Wood tripled.

Mott’s lead increased after the par-4 13th, as Wood carded a triple-bogey to put him in third place, four strokes back of the lead and two behind host course member Ty Brewster, who quietly hung around all day.

Mott’s advantage became sizeable down the stretch, as he parred the par-4 14th while Brewster scored a double-bogey and Wood bogeyed. All of the sudden, he had a four stroke lead that he would not relinquish.

“After hole 13, Payne started making big numbers — making triple and then a few bogeys coming in — so I knew after 13 if I made pars and birdies that I was pretty safe,” he said.

Kartusch ended her provincial junior career in historic fashion, as the St. Charles teen repeated her triple crown in provincial tournaments, winning the women’s match play, amateur and junior championships in the same summer.

The 18-year-old became the first Manitoba woman to accomplish the feat last year, and she rewrote history again with her latest triumph.

“It just shows that all my hard work has paid off, and a lot of patience,” she said.

Kartusch, who began the day seven strokes back of 36-hole leader Jeri Lafleche, led a fierce charge in the final round, carding a bogey-free 4-under 68 to win by five. Her rounds of 73-75-68 were good for a three-day total of 216 at even-par.

“It feels good. I know I can play good tournament golf, so it was nice to be able to do that this summer again,” said Kartusch, who plays NCAA Division 1 at Bowling Green State University.

“Obviously, I hit it well, but growing up in the prairies, you play with a lot of wind, practise with a lot of wind. And down at Bowling Green, our home course, you always have a lot of wind, so it’s something that I found a tad easier to adjust to over time, and I know that I can play good golf in bad weather.”

The biggest swing of the day came shortly after the turn, as Lafleche went triple-bogey, double-bogey on the par-5 11th and par-3 12th, respectively, while Kartusch parred both holes to assume a three-shot advantage — her first lead since the 16th hole in the first round.

“I kind of just waited until my last putt on 18 to relax, I guess, and think about it because, ugh, it’s golf, you never know what’s going to happen so I just stuck to my process and was very patient today,” she said.

Brewster finished solo runner-up in the junior men’s tournament at four-over (220) while Terrence Raffert, Ryder St. Laurent and Wood tied for third at 6-over (222).

Brewster’s score won the 15 and 16-year-old division, while St. Laurent topped the 13 and 14-year-old category.

Lafleche ended solo second in the junior women’s at six-over (222), while Payton Oakden finished third at 26-over (242).

Jewel Lafleche won the 15 and 16-year-old category at 27-over (243), while Angelina Sitarz (55-over, 271) paced the 13 and 14-year-old division.

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca