By SPENCER BATES
WELLSVILLE — Owen Wright, the boys Division I winner from the opening week of the Penn-York Junior Golf League, made his triumphant return to the top of the podium after a one-week hiatus.
Wright made a statement in the first event of the summer at Elkdale Country Club, claiming victory in his division (age 16-18) by three strokes. Unfortunately for him, in week two, he fell down the leaderboard, finishing fifth at Pennhills Country Club with a final score of 82.
But great players find a way to bounce back.
Carding a 72 in this week’s event at Wellsville Country Club, Wright managed to shave a full 10 strokes off his score from the week before, a feat he is extremely satisfied with.
“I take a lot of pride in (my improvement),” Wright said. “I put a lot of work in, especially in these past couple weeks, with the Penn-York tournaments, and glad I could show it off. … I worked on my wedges a lot over this past week, and that’s tremendously lowered my score. I’m very happy about that.”
But the win did not come without its challenges. Wright noted that on the front nine he was resigned to relying on the wedge game he had been so diligently working on in the days off as he struggled to hit greens in regulation. Luckily, on the back nine holes, he found a rhythm.
“I’d say in the beginning, on the front nine, I was not landing it in regulation, hitting the greens in regulation,” Wright said. “So I was just getting up and down very well. But I take more consideration on working on trying to have more birdie putts. I had a lot of birdie putts on the back, on the front nine, I struggled.”
Wright’s ability to dial back in after a dicey front nine comes as no surprise to him. While a couple arrant shots may be enough to knock a golfer off-kilter for an entire round, the mental side of the game is something he said he has spent a lot of time developing.
“That’s a big part of what I did in the off-season,” Wright said. “During the winter, I worked on my mental game a lot. I worked on not losing myself after one bad shot, just moving on to the next and trying to think positive, not worrying about the past.”
It was that mental fortitude that led him to a four-stroke victory over Louie Nedzinski, who carded a 76 and finished in second for the third consecutive week in a row.
In the boys Division II (age 14-15), it was Liam McArdle that took the top spot, finishing as the only golfer to break 80 with a score of 78.
But even he admitted that it was not easy. With the several creeks and quick greens at Wellsville, strategy came into play a lot over the course of his round. But fortunately for him, his short game was up to the task.
“I just need to work on my driving a little bit,” Liam McArdle said. “I’m hitting it a little less, but my punching out and my putting has been saving me. So (I’m looking to) keep that up.”
The McArdle family would wind up with a second trophy heading home with them as Keegan McArdle took first in the boys Division III (age 12-13) after winning a second playoff hole. His score of 43 after nine holes was tied with that of Kalyn Caskey, who ultimately took second place.
The boys Division IV (age 11-under) winner was Keegan Smith, who carded a 43 on the afternoon.
On the girls’ side of things, Elise Kartesz scored a 53 to take first in Division I. Molly Leslie carded a 67 to finish first in Division III.
See below for the top 10 finishers in each division:
BOYS
DIVISION I
1. O. Wright (C. Hills) 72 – 10
2. L. Nedzinski (Bav. Hills) 76 – 9
3. M. Muccio(B. Hills) 78 – 7
3. L. Kiel (Kane) 78 – 7
3. J. Walter (B. Hills) 78 – 7
6. Z. Deck (A. Hills) 79 – 5
7. L. Howard (Pennhills) 81 – 3.5
7. C. Bartman (Bartlett) 81 – 3.5
9. A. Wiltsey (Silverlake) 82 – 3
10. C. Carls (Bartlett) 84 – .5
10. C. Kellog (A. Hills) 84 – .5
DIVISION II
1. L. McArdle (Caledonia) 78 – 10
2. C. Wahlers (Coudersport) 81 – 9
3. C. Backus (Caledonia) 86 – 8
4. S. Lundeen (Kane) 87 – 7
5. Kai Caskey (B. Hills) 89 – 5.5
5. D. Palumbo (Emporium) 89 – 5.5
7. J. Bell (Pine Acres) 94 – 3
7. D. Preston (Caledonia) 94 – 3
7. K. Riekofsky (Smethport) 94 – 3
10. N. Perkins (Bolivar) 95 – 1
DIVISION III
(9 Holes)
1. K. McArdle(Caledonia) 43 – 10
2. Kalon Caskey (B. Hills) 43 – 9
3. A. Wade (Elkdale) 48 – 8
4. C. Crabtree (Chautauqua) 49 – 7
5. Kayd Caskey (B. Hills) 50 – 6
6. L. Vecchio (Bartlett) 57 – 4.5
6. A. Kuhn (Pine Acres) 57 – 4.5
8. C. Jackson (Bartlett) 62 – 3
9. A. Rupp (Rolling Hills) 65 – 2
DIVISION IV
(9 Hole Modified)
1. K. Smith (B. Hills) 36 – 10
2. H. Honeck (Bonas) 38 – 9
3. K. Beaver (C. Hills) 39 – 8
4. G. Blocher (Bartlett) 41 – 7
5. C. Giles (Chautauqua) 44 – 5.5
5. T. Johnson (Elkdale) 44 – 5.5
7. R. Malpiedi (Birch Run) 45 – 4
8. C. Beaver (C. Hills) 48 – 2.5
8. D. DeLong (Bonas) 48 – 2.5
10. A. Wade (Elkdale) 50 – 1
GIRLS
DIVISION I
(9 Holes)
1.E. Kartesz (SouthHills) 53 – 10
2. E. Militello (Orchard Park) 56 – 9
3. A. Ricker (C. Hills) 69 – 8
DIVISION III
(9 Holes)
1. M. Lesle (Bartlett) 67 – 10
DIVISION IV
(9 Holes)
1. E Lyons 88 – 10
