Rain interferes with Jr. Masters
Published: June 26, 2009, 12:30 am
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Kyle Kapturowski was on another warpath Thursday. After losing his first five holes to Brendan Leonard, the East Aurora native was rolling. Facing identical putts, Kapturowski had a chance to slice Leonard’s lead to two holes with four to go in the championship quarterfinal round of the International Junior Masters.
Then a club official walked toward the pin with bad news. Another monsoon was on the way.
“One minute until the sirens go off,” he yelled.
Both golfers sighed in disbelief — there had already been one three-hour delay. With the siren countdown on, Kapturowski calmly drained his putt. Leonard missed his. See you Friday.
The tandem will resume play today with the winner advancing to the semifinals at East Aurora Country Club. Kapturowski, who won three straight holes to take round one, merely shook his head afterward. His chips were dropping and Leonard’s putts were racing. Like a basketball coach calling a timeout to kill a scoring run, the second downpour stonewalled Kapturowski’s wave of momentum.
“Once I make one hole, I can make a lot,” said Kapturowski, with thunderstorms raging outside the clubhouse. “I really don’t want to come back in the morning, but I knew I needed to make that putt.”
After a three-hour delay between rounds, the duo began play on the 10th hole. In the blink of an eye, Leonard was halfway to a skunk (taking the first 10 holes to win). Among his five straight wins were birdies on the 12th and 14th holes. The latter was demoralizing. The 18- year-old from Cambridge, Ont., cupped a perfect 20-foot chip shot and Kapturowski tilted his head back in disillusionment.
All Kapturowski could do was ignore his scorecard and ignore Leonard’s circus shots.
“I just tried to stick in there,” Kapturowski said. “I kind of wanted it to be a learning experience and hit the best shots I could.”
The next hole, they tied. The next, Kapturowski birdied. Shot by shot, he inched back. By the time Mother Nature returned, Kapturowski had won three of the last four holes.
The sudden postponement stings for Kapturowski, but the 16-year-old feels confident about the holes ahead. In his four-hole second-round win over Nick Erlichman earlier in the day, he hit a perfect tee shot with his driver on the sixth hole, a 369-yard par-4. That’s the hole he’ll face first today.
“I have to start off quick,” he said. “I have to make some shots right away to keep the pressure on.”
For Leonard, this week is about personal redemption. He missed a three-foot putt on a playoff hole in last year’s Junior Masters semifinal against Julien Goulet that would have won it. Goulet survived and won the tournament. With the Junior Masters’ new age limit, Leonard was able to return.
Kapturowski is the only local golfer still alive after Lancaster’s Austin Nowak lost to Ryan Were in the second round Thursday. Nowak held a three-hole lead with six to play but couldn’t hang on. His putt on No. 17 lipped out and Were went 1-up. The duo halved 18, and Nowak was eliminated.
“I missed too many putts down the stretch and he made them,” Nowak said. “I think the field is a lot better this year. The cut was lower and the field was solid. There are a lot of low scores out there.”
tdunne@buffnews.com
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