Novak/Junior Tour Championship in the Books and One Could Write a book about the 41st

AURORA: Fantastic finishes.

Narrow victories and some not so narrow.

Satisfying accomplishments and disappointing setbacks.

Daring, come-from-behind efforts that led to storybook endings and some admirable come-from-behind efforts that just didn’t have that extra come-from-behind.

There were three head-to-head, player-to-player face-offs over 36 holes and in one case, 39 holes.

Three of the five age-group competitions were decided by one shot. Another by two shots. The widest margin of victory was four shots, accomplished by two players.

The 41st Kenny Novak Northern Ohio PGA Junior Tour Championship at Club Walden had it all and anyone there had to appreciate what took place.

This was a glorious kids fest, a wide-ranging display of perseverance and persistence and plenty of outstanding golf by 128 youngsters between the ages of 11 and 19.

For two days, they not only competed against one another, they fought the elements. Three rain interventions – a real nuisance is what they were — and sometimes blistering, suffocating energy-zapping heat and humidity. When it would have been easy to withdraw, they played on. Rain gear on, rain gear off. Umbrellas up against both the rain and the sun.

We’re not afraid to say it: The kids — no matter the age group, no more the gender — put on a marvelous, two-day show.

Stars? There were plenty. And just as much drama.

In one of the most dramatic finishes in tournament history, Caden Boyd rolled in a 6-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole to win the 16-19 age group.

His putt capped a comeback from six shots behind at the start of the final round and ended a terrific duel with runnerup and first-round leader Silas Kirkpatrick after both finished regulation play at one-under 143.

Boyd, of Concord Township, shot 33-37=70 in the final round to Kirkpatrick’s 38-38=76. Not to be forgotten is that Kirkpatrick had the best round of the tournament, a splendid, bogey-free 5-under 67 on Tuesday. And, he executed what might have been one of the greatest escape jobs since Napoleon bolted Elba. More on that later.

The playoff got off to a rousing start as both birdied the 420-yard 18th hole with magnificent, pressure-packed putts. Both reached the green two, with Boyd about 35 feet above and left of the hole and Kirkpatrick sitting about 25 feet below and right of the pin.

Boyd, who will be a senior at Painesville Riverside, went first and curled in that dangerous, left-to-right downhill 35-footer – too bold and it could have rolled off the green — that appeared to give him the advantage.

Not to be outdone, Kirkpatrick, from Clinton and a junior-to-be at Green High, poured in his uphill, 25-footer that was as big a pressure putt as Phil Mickelson’s on the 18th hole at Augusta in 2004.

“That was crazy,” Boyd said. “I knew I had to get it close because Silas was pretty close. “I just tried to play the line, stick to my line and lag it up there. Thankfully, it ended up falling in. Silas made a great putt too, buried it right in the cup.”

Both players parred the 403-yard first hole before Boyd’s 8-iron tee shot on the 158-yard second curled to a stop about six feet behind the hole while Kirkpatrick left himself with an 18-footer from the right. It ended when Boyd made his birdie putt – he also birdied the hole in regulation play — and Kirkpatrick’s effort rolled just by the hole on the high side.

“This definitely means a lot to win here,” said Boyd, who will be a senior at Riverside High. “I knew I had the game to compete but I just had to stick to my game plan. I made some good putts both days but this means a lot going forward.”

Ben Scheeff, of Olmsted Township, shot a final-round 72 to climb into third place at one-over 145.

More on Kirkpatrick’s “escape” on the final hole of regulation play. His drive cleared the hill and rolled through the fairway before coming to a stop between two large rocks on very soft terrain, below the cart path and the bridge that crosses a small creek that cuts across the fairway.

He was given a drop but still faced a treacherous shot of about 125 yards with a restricted swing. It was a shot that could have gone anywhere or nowhere at all, given the lie.

The 16-year-old kept himself alive with a pitching wedge. His shot reached the green and about 10 feet from the hole. While the shot didn’t win him the tournament it was a fantastic effort.

In contrast to the Boys-Kirkpatrick duel, Aurora resident Gracyn Vidovic cruised to the girls 16-19 age group title.

After building a 4-shot lead with an opening 3-under 69, Vidovic played no-risk, conservative golf – you could call it very intelligent golf — and cruised to a 4-stroke win with a final-round 75 for a 36-hole total of even-144.

“I just wanted to come in and play my game, I guess play some boring golf,” said Vidovic. “Yes, stress-free would be good although my dad might not thought of it as stress-free.”

Siena Maschke, of Cleveland and a freshman-to-be at Dennison University, finished in second place with a final-round 72 and a 4-over 148 total. Julia Gulla, of Sagamore Hills, also had a strong finish with a 73 for a third-place total of 6-over 150.

Vidovic, who plans on attending Ashland University following her senior year at Aurora High, is the reigning NOPGA Player-of-the-Year but the Kenny Novak title had eluded her in three previous tries.

“I’ve never won this tournament and it was kind of getting to me the last few years,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever broken 80 in this tournament, so this means a lot. I just came in thinking I just wanted to break 80 and hopefully win. The 69 wasn’t a bad start. This will be a nice thing to take into my final high school season.”

Vidovic said the key to winning at Walden was to avoid the trouble that seemingly appears on every hole. She had the comfort of playing frequently at Walden as club pro Collin McEndree is her high school coach.

“The idea is to not get into trouble on the holes where there’s trouble,” she said. “Stay in the fairway and away from the out bounds and the water.”

Vidovic played bogey-free on Tuesday and made just three bogeys in the final round. Nothing boring about that.

BOYS 11-13: Norwalk’s Mason Beatty made a 40-foot left-to-right putt on the final hole for a 2-shot victory, holding off hard-charging Coleson Paez with a 36-hole total of 76-78=154. Kent’s Andrew VanDamme finished third at 158. The victory was the fifth of the season for Beatty, who will be an eighth-grader at Norwalk St. Paul.
The kicker to that is Beatty was the official scorer in his group, responsible for posting his three-some’s scores in the NOPGA live-scoring system. Consequently, he knew exactly where he stood coming down the stretch. He had a one-shot lead standing on the 18th tee.
“Coleson made a good run,” he praised. “But this feels good, knowing that I can play well. My goal today was to play as well as I did in the first round and improve on the holes where I didn’t play well.”

BOYS 14-15: Hudson’s Dexter James added to his lead on the NOPGA season-long points race when he added a sparkling one-under 71 to an opening 72 and a 4-stroke victory at one-under 143. Akron’s Tommy Kinder (73-74=147) and Mogadore’s Jacob Rainieri (77-70) tied for second.

James, 15, finished with six birdies on the day, including a spa in which he birdied three holes in a row down the stretch to seal his victory.
Want to talk about strong finishes? James played his final eight holes in 4-under, closing with a birdie on his 36th – and final – hole of the tournament. That gave him nine birdies for the event, second to Kinder’s 11.

GIRLS 11-15: Stow’s Sarah Vojtko and Fairview Park’s Kayla Knaze staged a marvelous two-horse race over the entire tournament before Vojtko prevailed by one shot. Vojtko began the day with a one-shot lead and held it as both players played their final 18 holes in one-over 73. Her victory was not assured until the 35th hole.
Vojtko, 14, had rounds of 72-73 and Knaze, 15, went 73-73. They both had eight birdies over the two days and Vojtko played Walden’s par-3 holes in 2-under.
This group was the last to finish simply because of the order of play. Perhaps, however, it was a fitting end to two great days of junior golf. Like the event, their match was a fantastic finish.

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