It's a summer of steps for Fritsch
By CHRIS STEVENSON -- Ottawa Sun
Stephen Fritsch earned his way into the Canadian Amateur championship.
He came close to a north-south double.
Fritsch, from Manotick, had rounds of 74 and 72 at a U.S. Amateur qualifier in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and missed making the field in that prestigious event by four shots.
"I didn't make a putt all day," said the 22-year-old, who will have to be satisfied for now with being the only local entry in the Canadian Amateur Aug. 7-14 at Beaconsfield Golf Club in suburban Montreal. "I double-bogeyed my third-to-last hole and then missed makeable putts on 16 and 17."
Fritsch, who is getting ready to enter his senior year at the University of Tennessee at Chatanooga, has now set his sights on at least making it to the quarter-finals of the Canadian Amateur.
He's been the region's top amateur this summer with a second at the Alexander of Tunis, a T14 at the Duke of Kent and a T14 at the Quebec Amateur. He entered the last round of the Q-Am a shot out of the lead, but slipped with a final-round 81.
That cost him a chance of making the Quebec Willingdon Cup team which will compete at Beaconsfield, but overall, Fritsch should be happy with his summer. It can get even better with a good showing in our national amateur championship.
He's taken his game to a level where he can contend with the best amateurs in the country.
Now the next step is to play strongly down the stretch.
It's all a series of steps, right?
JUNIOR ROUNDUP: Marc-Etienne Bussieres of Rivermead got caught under the steamroller that is Keven Fortin-Simard at the Quebec Junior. Despite some outstanding play, Bussieres wound up second as Simard won his second straight Quebec Junior, closing with a brilliant 7-under 65 on the 6,850-yard Belvedere Golf Club in Val d'Or, Que. The 17-year-old Bussieres, who won the provincial juvenile title last year at Camelot, wound up three shots behind despite solid rounds of 68-71-70-72. Bussieres did earn himself a trip to the Canadian Juvenile-Junior championship which will be staged Aug. 2-6 at Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver. Also going to the national championship are Pembroke's Alec Hubert and Taylor Fitzpatrick of Cornwall ... Sean O'Malley of Pembroke Shores and Marc Coldham of Rideau View made the cut for the final round the Quebec Junior ... Brittany Henderson of Smiths Falls added another win to her total this summer with a decision in the Cisco Systems Junior Challenge Tour last Monday at Tecumseh. Henderson had a 76 to win the girls' division by seven shots over Kate Burnett. Marie-Andree Cadieux and Megan Zalewski were second at 84 while Kelly Ann Hutchison was another stroke back ... Kyle Tobin won the boys' title with a fine 71, two shots better than Simon Plourde. There was a five-way tie at 74 among Aiden Lanzon, Corey Willard, Bowie Abbis-Mills and Byron Norlock. Abbis-Mills won the boys' 14-and-under division, followed by Norlock, Joshua Cooper at 75 and Adam Bracken ... In the overall standings (not including the latest event), Abbis-Mills leads both the 14-and-under division and the overall tour with 248 points, six more than the Glofcheski tandem of Adam and Luke, who have 242 points apiece. John Bongers is fourth with 240 points ... Abbis-Mills leads the 14-and-under division with 88 points, ahead of Norlock's 65. In the girls' division, Kate Burnett (25 points) leads Henderson, who has 21.
SCOTLAND BOUND: Ottawa's Wendall Touhey earned his way on to the Canadian team for the World Junior Golf Cup, the biggest event on the Canadian Junior Golf Association's schedule. Canada will play the U.S. in a Ryder Cup-style event at St. Andrews Bay Golf Club in Scotland Aug. 11-13.Touhey will attend a training camp at Glen Abbey Aug. 6-8. The team is captained by PGA Tour veteran Richard Zokol, whom Touhey met at a CJGA fundraiser last Monday at Cedar Brae in Scarborough. Touhey also got a lesson from former PGA Tour player Jim Nelford at the event. Canada beat the U.S. last year for the first time in the seven-year history of the event.
