GOLF
Kapturowski rallies at Junior Masters
After two ugly holes to open match play, Benton Kircher felt somewhat ashamed of how he and his partner were playing.
He turned toward the spectators and shrugged.
“We’re not giving you guys much to watch,” Kircher said.
Over the next four hours Wednesday, the entertainment value skyrocketed.
In the first round of championship match play at the International Junior Masters, East Aurora’s Kyle Kapturowski stunned Kircher. The hometown kid, seeded 25th, overcame a three-hole deficit with three holes to play to advance.
Moments after Kapturowski’s cardiac comeback, Lancaster’s Austin Nowak joined him. Nowak dug himself out of a two-hole deficit with four to play.
Both Western New Yorkers will play this morning in the round of 16 at East Aurora Country Club. Kapturowski tees off at 8:24 a. m. and Nowak at 8:30. If they win, they’ll move on to the quarterfinals, which are also today.
With his hat flipped backward and sweat pouring from his brow, the stoic Kapturowski could finally unwind after winning on the second playoff hole.
“My philosophy is to make them earn it,” Kapturowski said. “I just wanted to make him earn it and I ended up making three holes in a row.”
Kapturowski trailed by four holes at the turn against the fifth-seeded Kircher. In his popped-collar polo, he had multiple putts massage the rim of the cup and flick out and a few of his tee shots fade wide.
When the tandem headed to the 16th — a 476-yard, par 5 — Kircher was three holes up with three to play. Then a dose of deja vu invigorated Kapturowski.
Two years ago, he clawed out of the exact same deficit in a Buffalo District match play tournament. No, this wasn’t insurmountable.
“I did the same thing two summers ago and won in 21 holes,” he said. “I knew I could do it.”
On his second shot at 16, Kapturowski used a 5-wood to whistle the ball within 10 feet of the cup. Kircher bogeyed.
The next hole, Kapturowski drained a 6-foot putt and on cue, unleashed a fist pump. After forcing extra holes by taking No. 18 and posting a matching score on the first playoff hole, Kapturowski finished Kircher.
His tee shot on the 167-yard, par-3 second landed 5 feet from the cup. Kircher conceded the match shorty after.
“I stayed in the fairway on every hole in the back nine,” Kapturowski said. “And that helped me stay in play.”
The familiarity didn’t hurt, either. East Aurora’s course is smattered with deceptive greens and frustrating booby traps that can swallow newcomers. Having golfed on the course at least 200 times, the savvy Kapturowski carefully sidestepped danger.
Lancaster’s Nowak wasn’t exactly beaming with confidence in his late-round rut. Trailing Andrew McGill by two holes with four to go, Nowak thought the worst.
“I was thinking I was done,” Nowak said. “I was thinking consolation play for sure.”
Nowak won three holes in a row, McGill took the 18th and Nowak won on the first playoff hole. His chip shot with a 60- degree wedge on the declined lip of the green sealed the win. Nowak’s shot dropped 5 feet from the pin and McGill four-putted.
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