Jacob Armstrong knows what is at stake this week.
If he succeeds in winning the Manitoba junior men’s golf championship, which is exactly what the 18-year-old member of St. Boniface did last year, he will join some elite companies.
Jacob Armstrong measures the mass situation on Sunday during the Manitoba men’s junior golf championship. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press)
Over the years, big names like George Knudson, Todd Fanning and Rob McMillan have won the junior crown back to back. In the past decade, Ryan McMillan (2017-2018) and Travis Fredborg (2013-2014) have also accomplished the same feat.
Armstrong hopes to be the next golfer to successfully defend the title. With a score of 2 out of 72 in Sunday’s opening round at the Selkirk Golf and Country Club, Armstrong is on the hunt. He sits in a five-way tie for fourth place. St. Charles’s Neel Soni tops the rankings after Day 1 after shooting a 2-under 68.
“It would be quite unreal. A couple of days left, so we’re not quite there yet, but I’d be lying if I said it’s not in the back of my head,” Armstrong said of the repeat potential.
Knowing what last year’s victory meant for Armstrong, it’s easy to see why he’s impatient to climb that mountain again. Braxton Kuntz had a four-shot lead over him in the last round, but Armstrong made up for the 2019 title.
“It was unreal. I think the last day of last year’s tournament was probably the best day of my life,” said Armstrong. “It all came together and it was the perfect story for me.”
The Dakota Collegiate product is about to come out of its first season at the University of Fraser Valley. He had a tendency to go down on himself after making a bad shot and would remain for the rest of his turn, but Armstrong credited some older players on his team for helping him improve his safety. Unfortunately, Armstrong and his team did not get the final they hoped for, given that their home tournament and national teams were both rejected due to COVID-19.
“I could be biased, but I think the team had a very good chance of winning national teams. It was a great team this year. But a tournament is canceled, there are so many people who are going much worse. I can’t really complain a lot, “said Armstrong.
Kuntz didn’t start early hoping for Sunday as he bogged down the first three holes. Golfer Breezy Bend continued to finish 4-over 74 to place him in 11th place.
“I have pretty high expectations for myself today. I wouldn’t say I really met them, but I’ll try to solve it tonight,” said Kuntz.
“I’m going to Breezy to practice and see if I can understand things.”
While Kuntz lost a heartbreaker last year, the 16-year-old student from Linden Christian School said he had no regrets. However, it makes him even more hungry to get the job done this week.
“To be honest, last year, the last quarter nine of the fourth day, I played well. I honestly didn’t play that bad. But Jacob played unreal,” said Kuntz.
“I wasn’t too disappointed in myself because I knew I played well, but there are always a couple of shots that I have left out there that I can look back on and improve.”
The shot of the day was courtesy of Logan Tomanek, a Bel Acres golfer who hit a hole in one on the 12th.
“It looked pretty good. It was going right into the hole and I was feeling good. I just saw it bounce off the back of the front bunker and it hit the flag and it fell inside,” said Tomanek.
It is the first time that the seventeen year old from Grant Park High School has made a hole in one. Doing it in the biggest kids golf tournament in the province is not a bad place to do it.
It was not enough to save some of the first fights since Tomanek ended up shooting 16 against 86, but it is a confidence boost that goes on.
“It’s quite revolutionary. It just changed the whole mentality of my round. I relaxed more and felt much better playing. I felt ‘I can do this’. It’s a dream. You play golf to do it,” said Tomanek, who kept the ball and his scorecard.
“I’m just happy and I want to do it again.”
Junior women started playing later in the day and the rankings were crowded at the end of the round. Swan River’s Crystal Zamzow is rolling until her 9-over 79 puts her in first place.
Mikyla Albert chases one shot while Cala Korman is two shots from the command.
Twitter: @ TaylorAllen31
Taylor Allen
Reporter
Eighteen and still in high school, Taylor started with the Free Press on June 1, 2011. Well, in a way.
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