OTTER LAKE— After six gruelling rounds and six hikes through the very lengthy Seguin Valley Golf Club course in Otter Lake, Thomas Giroux has capped off the week and is the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Junior Boys’ Match Play Champion.
The 16-year-old Giroux finished off the event by defeating Brampton’s Jacob Presutti in the final match by a score of 4&3. Giroux, from Georgetown and the Club at North Halton was able to win not only the battle on the course but also the battle of attrition to hoist his first provincial title, in just his first GAO event.
“It feels pretty good to win in my first GAO event,” said Giroux. “I’d say the highlight of the week had to be my two rounds yesterday beating two Team Ontario guys, those were two big wins. This is the biggest win I have had and hopefully I can keep it rolling and get some more.”
Giroux got out to a big lead in the final match before slipping up. He talked about how he kept things on track. “With the par putt on the 12th hole, I knew he would need to make something big happen to come back, so I knew it was pretty real at that point.”
For Giroux, he began his quest to the trophy as the 46th seed out of the 64 players in the field. He began by defeating Whitby’s Brendan Dunphy in the opening round 5&4. He moved on to face Scarborough’s Benjamin Thompson in the second round and earned a 2up victory. Next, Giroux matched up with Owen Dick, from Toronto, and earned a 2&1 win in the match. That pitted him against Team Ontario’s Jackson Bowery, from London, but Giroux had no problem with him as he picked up a 4&3 win to advance to the semi finals against Vaughn’s Kelvin Lim. Lim had been on a tear of his own but it was stopped by Giroux who won 5&4 to move on to the finals.
As for Presutti, 15, from the Brampton Golf Club, his road to the finals began as the 28th seed. He defeated Bracebridge’s Denver Dafoe (3&1), Grimsby’s Aaron Black (1up), Toronto’s Jason Williams (1up), Richmond Hill’s Ryan Stolys (4&2) and Bowmanville’s Matthew Cholod (1up) before eventually falling short in the finals.
The GAO would like to thank Seguin Valley Golf Club and their staff, along with all volunteers for helping to run the event.
About the Junior Boys’ Match Play Championship
The Junior Boys’ Match Play Championship has been contested since 1998. Male golfers under 19 years of age before August 1 are eligible to compete. The field is determined by results from four qualifiers. Notable past champions include Matt McQuillan, Justin Shin, Stephane Dubois, and Jon Boncoddo.
