THORNTON — The home-course advantage was just what Alliston’s Taylor Beckstead needed as he captured the 2017 Ontario Junior Boys’ Match Play Championship on July 28 at Tangle Creek Golf & Country Club.
The 18-year-old Beckstead found himself in the finals against Fonthill’s Freddy D’Angelo. The match went back and forth on the front nine as each player held the lead at one point. With D’Angelo 1up after the eighth, Beckstead birdied the ninth to square the match at the turn.
Beckstead was dialed in on the back nine. He went 1up on the 10th and then extended the lead on the 12th. He hit back-to-back putts on the 13th and 14th for wins and was four-up with four to play. The two would halve the 15th hole resulting in the 4&3 win for Beckstead.
Afterwards, Beckstead spoke about winning the title on his home course. “This is awesome! I have so much support from my family, friends, the guys who work here, even the junior camps! Everyone is cheering for me, so it was a lot of fun.”
Match play championships are some of the hardest to win and this one was no different for Beckstead. He began with a 5&4 win over Woodstock’s Davey Morton, followed by a 2&1 win over Brantford’s Michael Rizzo. In the third round he defeated Long Sault’s Ty Celone 2up, before a 20-hole win in the quarter finals against Etobicoke’s Justin Allen. In the semis, he edged out Peterborough’s Tyler White 2&1 to book his spot in the finals.
“It is a lot, you have back-to-back days with 36 holes and I didn’t finish my matches easily,” added Beckstead. “My first match yesterday went 20 holes and my second went right to the 17th so it was a long day but I thought I played really well in the quarters.”
Beckstead was recently named to Team Ontario for the Canada Summer Games. He said that this win would go a long way in building his momentum. “The win not only gives me a boost for the Canada Summer Games but also for the Canadian Junior next week. I didn’t play well last week at the U.S. Junior, so it fell good to come back and play well here.”
As for D’Angelo, 16-years-old and from Lookout Point Country Club, his road to the finals began with a 1up win over Burlington’s Justin Grant. In the second round he knocked out Georgetown’s Thomas Giroux 2up, followed by an 8&6 win over Penetanguishene’s Adam Jordan in the third round. He defeated Cobourg’s Nicholas Oosterhof 2&1 in the quarters, before beating Sudbury’s Tristan Renaud, the Ontario Junior Boys’ Champion, 4&2 in the semis.
Golf Ontario would like to thank Tangle Creek Golf & Country Club along with their staff and volunteers for hosting the event. Thanks also to the Golf Ontario volunteers for their continued efforts in making provincial events successful.
For full tournament information, including round-by-round results, see the tournament site at: https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao17/event/gao1723/index.htm
About the Junior Boys’ Match Play Championship
The Junior Boys’ Match Play Championship has been contested since 1998. Male golfers under 19 years of age before August 1 are eligible to compete. The field is determined by results from four qualifiers. Notable past champions include Matt McQuillan, Justin Shin, Stephane Dubois, and Jon Boncoddo.
OTTER LAKE— After six gruelling rounds and six hikes through the very lengthy Seguin Valley Golf Club course in Otter Lake, Thomas Giroux has capped off the week and is the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Junior Boys’ Match Play Champion.
The 16-year-old Giroux finished off the event by defeating Brampton’s Jacob Presutti in the final match by a score of 4&3. Giroux, from Georgetown and the Club at North Halton was able to win not only the battle on the course but also the battle of attrition to hoist his first provincial title, in just his first GAO event.
“It feels pretty good to win in my first GAO event,” said Giroux. “I’d say the highlight of the week had to be my two rounds yesterday beating two Team Ontario guys, those were two big wins. This is the biggest win I have had and hopefully I can keep it rolling and get some more.”
Giroux got out to a big lead in the final match before slipping up. He talked about how he kept things on track. “With the par putt on the 12th hole, I knew he would need to make something big happen to come back, so I knew it was pretty real at that point.”
For Giroux, he began his quest to the trophy as the 46th seed out of the 64 players in the field. He began by defeating Whitby’s Brendan Dunphy in the opening round 5&4. He moved on to face Scarborough’s Benjamin Thompson in the second round and earned a 2up victory. Next, Giroux matched up with Owen Dick, from Toronto, and earned a 2&1 win in the match. That pitted him against Team Ontario’s Jackson Bowery, from London, but Giroux had no problem with him as he picked up a 4&3 win to advance to the semi finals against Vaughn’s Kelvin Lim. Lim had been on a tear of his own but it was stopped by Giroux who won 5&4 to move on to the finals.
As for Presutti, 15, from the Brampton Golf Club, his road to the finals began as the 28th seed. He defeated Bracebridge’s Denver Dafoe (3&1), Grimsby’s Aaron Black (1up), Toronto’s Jason Williams (1up), Richmond Hill’s Ryan Stolys (4&2) and Bowmanville’s Matthew Cholod (1up) before eventually falling short in the finals.
The GAO would like to thank Seguin Valley Golf Club and their staff, along with all volunteers for helping to run the event.
About the Junior Boys’ Match Play Championship
The Junior Boys’ Match Play Championship has been contested since 1998. Male golfers under 19 years of age before August 1 are eligible to compete. The field is determined by results from four qualifiers. Notable past champions include Matt McQuillan, Justin Shin, Stephane Dubois, and Jon Boncoddo.
GRAVENHURST— Team Ontario member and Waterloo resident Trevor Ranton out lasted 67 other junior boys to claim the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) 2014 Investors Group Junior Boys’ Match Play Championship on July 4 at Taboo Resort. The 17-year-old from the Whistle Bear Golf Club topped Whitby’s Spencer Dobbs in the final 3&2.
Ranton was ranked fifth heading into the match while Dobbs held the number three seed in the tournament. Ranton was dominant throughout the event. In the semi finals he earned a 7&6 win over Niagara Falls’ Jaret Chipman. In the quarter finals, Ranton was victorious 3&1 over Toronto’s Minwoo Park. Ranton’s quest to the title also went through Selwyn’s Mitchell Holden (5&4), Toronto’s Will Gavarkovs (5&3), and Shelburne’s Kyle Johnston (7&5).
As for Dobbs, he earned a birth in the finals by defeating another Team Ontario member and last year’s runner up, Unionville’s Max Sear (2&1). Dobbs also picked up wins over Elmvale’s Andrew Nagel (5&4), North Bay’s Ryan Neil (19 holes), Seaforth’s Logan Lammerant (5&4), and Janetville’s Ryan Trapp (7&6).
After the win, Ranton talked about his successful week at the tournament. “I started the week playing really well. Through the middle three matches I faltered a little bit, but was still able to win the second and third matches pretty easily. Then in the quarter-final match, I was two-down through 11 and then found my game and managed to win. The semi-final match was my best of the week. I started with a bogey, but then followed it up with five birdies on the next 11 holes.”
It was the big win in his semi-final match that helped give Ranton the push he needed heading into the finals. “I got a lot of confidence and momentum after that and wanted to keep it going. I started really well in the finals. I started with a birdie and really got back in the grove I was in the day before.”
Ranton says there were points in the final match where he felt he was able to take control. “ He (Dobbs) made a couple of mistakes early and I kept playing steadily. I thought I was doing pretty well and then he made a birdie on 11 and put it really close on 12, so I kind of faltered there. But I got up and down to halve 12 and then birdied 13 and that’s when I thought I probably had it.”
Ranton still has a busy summer ahead including participating in the GAO Investors Group Men’s Amateur, the U.S. Junior Amateur and the GAO Investors Group Junior Boys Championship. Ranton said that the confidence from this win will go a long way in his future events. “Knowing that I can win on this stage, nothing is stopping me from doing it again.”
The Golf Association of Ontario would like to thank the members and staff of Taboo Resort along with all volunteers for their outstanding hospitality and use of the course throughout the week, as well as Investors Group for their ongoing support of amateur golf in the province.
About the Investors Group Junior Boys’ Match Play Championship
The Investors Group Junior Boys’ Match Play Championship has been contested since 1998. Male golfers under 19 years of age before August 1 are eligible to compete. The field is determined by results from four qualifiers. Notable past champions include Matt McQuillan, Justin Shin, Stephane Dubois, and Jon Boncoddo.
