Lucas Punkari
Although they know the chances of qualifying for the all-Ontarios are quite slim, with only the top two individual scores moving on, three members of the Muskie golf team are excited to be competing at the NWOSSAA championship tomorrow at the Beauty Bay Golf Course in Kenora.
“The goals are basically just to go out and hit the ball well, and to play our best,” said Grade 12 student Abe Germain.
“If we go farther along to another event, that’s an added bonus,” he noted.
“But if this is it for us, it’s been a good year.”
Germain will be joined at NWOSSAA by returning Grade 12 student Brandon Sinclair and Grade 11 team member James Brown, who all advanced based upon their showings at the NorWOSSA qualifier last Monday in Sioux Lookout.
Of the three who advanced, Germain’s performance was the stand-out showing, carding a round of 78 to shatter his previous best round for 18 holes.
“I just pulled that out from nowhere,” Germain conceded.
“I had shot rounds of 99 and 94 before that, so to take over 20 strokes off of my game just left me saying ‘Holy cow’ because I wasn’t expecting that to happen just like that,” he stressed.
Sinclair, meanwhile, matched Germain’s score of 78 to qualify for NWOSSAA as he continues to work his way back to full strength after surgery on his right knee prior to the start of the school year.
“I was only able to play in two of tournaments and I didn’t really get a lot of practice before I got started,” Sinclair noted.
“But I think I’m starting to get better here lately.”
As for Brown, he qualified for NWOSSAA with a round of 89. But he was disappointed with his play in the final event of the NorWOSSA season.
“While the first tournament of the year wasn’t too bad, I really wasn’t happy with my last two rounds, especially with my short game play,” he noted.
“But once I get up to NWOSSAA in Kenora, I hope to give these guys [Sinclair and Germain] a run for their money,” Brown smiled.
Grade 12 students Brady VanUden and Dylan Chapman also competed at the NorWOSSA finale last but missed out on qualifying for NWOSSAA.
“I didn’t shoot as well as I would have liked, but I still had a good time and a lot of fun with these guys this year,” VanUden said.
“I had a back injury that held me back a little bit, and I didn’t do as well as I thought I could have, but I found that my swing was actually getting better and I was actually able to hit a few balls,” Chapman remarked.
The biggest hurdle that may be facing Germain, Sinclair, and Brown heading into tomorrow’s tournament is the fact none of them have ever played the Beauty Bay course.
But they are set to take on the challenge.
“No matter where you play, you still have to hit the ball on the green and put it in the hole, so you are going to have to play well to get the score that you want anyways,” Sinclair reasoned.
“We’ll probably play it more on the safe side than trying to go for things and getting into trouble,” Germain added.
In addition to that philosophy, all three golfers have been working on a few different things in their own games to ensure a strong showing at NWOSSAA.
“I’ve just been working on my short game to get it back to where I think it should be,” Sinclair said.
“Course management has been something I’ve been working on for a little bit as I’m trying to aim for open spots and not getting myself into trouble, and it’s already improved my score quite a bit,” Germain noted.
“For me, it’s all down to getting my short game better as I want to get rid of those four putts,” Brown stressed.
For his part, Muskie head coach Brian Johnstone sees tomorrow’s event as not only a great opportunity for the trio competing at NWOSSAA but for the school’s golf program as a whole.
“We want the guys to go and do the best they can, and to enjoy it,” Johnstone said.
“We know coming in that the opportunities are quite limited to go to OFSAA with only the top two advancing, and with two of the guys in their Grade 12 year, this is a nice way to head out on a good note.
“From a program standpoint, it’s nice to have people representing the program at NWOSSAA in the first year of its rebirth, and that is something we can build on for next year,” he added.
