Addison Kartusch has made a habit of starting the golf season on a winning note.
The St. Charles teen was at it again this week as she ripped through the field at Breezy Bend to capture the Manitoba women’s match play championship crown for the second year in a row and third in her last four tries.
Kartusch, who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed after firing a one-under 71 in qualifying, capped a marvellous performance at the Hedingley course by defeating fellow Winnipegger Jeri Lafleche six-and-five in a windy finals match on Sunday.
From left: Champions Rob Oliphant, Marco Trstenjak and Addison Kartusch. (Mike Peters / Golf Manitoba)
“I really do like the form of match play. I mean, I also do really like stroke play because that’s mostly what tournament golf is, but it’s nice to play a different form of tournament golf,” said Kartusch, whose only match-play loss in the last four years came in the 2022 semi-finals.
“I just find it so much easier to let go of my bad holes. I could shoot a 10 on one hole and still be fine. For some reason, I always just tend to play well in match play, so far.”
Perhaps of greater importance, Kartusch found a way to win without playing her best — a sure sign of maturity in the blossoming player. She conceded that, like many young golfers, holding onto bad shots has plagued her in past years.
“Just being able to play well even though maybe I didn’t hit it my best for every round, which I’m really proud of myself and I find that’s a way that I’ve been improving slowly over time, is just being able to manage myself better when I hit bad shots.”
The win was nice, she asserted, but Kartusch is focusing on the bigger picture. Her collegiate career at Bowling Green State University (Ohio), an NCAA Division 1 program, tees off in the fall, making this summer’s provincial circuit a great opportunity to find her peak form for when she needs it most.
“Starting off with a win is nice but I’m not going to focus on it too much and create higher expectations for myself,” she said. “Yes, the outcome is good but just continue to focus on my process no matter the outcome.”
The winner’s circle was packed with past champions on Sunday.
Rob Oliphant, a champion in 2022, captured the senior men’s title for a second time after knocking off Jay Doyle two-and-one.
Meanwhile, Marco Trstenjak reacquainted himself with the men’s match play trophy after a punctuating four-and-two triumph over Dauphin’s Thomas Scott. It was his second match play title in the last three years.
“It’s awesome, obviously being the first event of the year too, it’s nice to get started off with a win. It’s match play, anything can happen over so many matches so it’s good to play solid all the way through,” Trstenjak said after his round. “Last time when I won at Quarry Oaks, it was windy, kind of grinding golf so there was a little bit of that out there, especially today, too.
“Just played pretty solid this week.”
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Joshua Frey-Sam
Reporter
Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He’s reported primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports and writes a weekly real estate feature for the business section. Read more about Josh.
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