Heinbuck wins title as SMGCC hosts Midwestern Junior Optimists tournament
By Spencer Seymour
The St. Marys Golf and Country Club (SMGCC) once again hosted the annual Midwestern Ontario Junior Optimists District Championship tournament Aug. 11.
Charlotte Heinbuck, the lone St. Marys native in the tournament, captured the Girls 10-14 division District Championship with a score of 81. Heinbuck also qualified for the 2027 International Junior Optimists Championship, to be held next year in Miami, Fla.
Heinbuck said she was in a groove all over the course throughout the tournament.
“I was hitting most of my drives pretty well, and my putting was really good today,” Heinbuck told the Independent. “I did have a couple of three-putts, but most were really good and I was just playing overall decent most of the day.”
According to Heinbuck, her best play came during the first half of her round, which came on the back nine holes, including an eagle on a par-five.
“It was going really well, especially on the front nine. Definitely the most memorable hole was when I got an eagle on Hole 15, so that was really cool. I hit my first shot with a driver onto the fairway, and then I hit a three-wood up about 10 feet from the pin, and then I tapped it in for an eagle. Then, on the back nine, it was okay. I had birdies on (holes) six and nine.”
Six players in the Boys 10-11 division, one of whom was playing out of his district, qualified to travel to Florida next year, including Jace Dietrich of Exeter, who was crowned district champion with a score of 81. Jack Nother, Cruz MacQueen and Benjamin St. Pierre, all out of London, as well as Dashwood’s William Pickering, also earned a spot at the 2027 international championship.
In the Boys 12-13 category, Stratford’s Braden Keating shot 76 to win the district title for his age group and qualify to go to Florida. Ian McGee, from Listowel, finished second with a score of 79, and Luke and Jake McLlwain of Egmondville both shot scores of 80, with Luke finishing third based on retrogression. McGee and Luke McLlwain joined Keating in earning spots at the international championship next year.
Grant Hamulecki, a Woodstock native, along with Kitchener’s Colton McMillan, earned spots at the international championship in the Boys 14-15 group. Hamulecki shot 73 to take the top spot, while McMillan placed second based on retrogression after he and Knox Harrison of Atwood posted scores of 76.
Two competitors in the Boys 16-18 bracket qualified to go to Florida, including Moorefield product Jaxon McGuire, who scored 73 to become his division’s district champion. Henry Flanagan also qualified for the International Championship, shooting 75 to place second.
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