Nine golfers within three shots of the lead entering final round at Canadian Junior Boys Championship

By Ryan McCracken on August 2, 2018.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

Sitting five shots back of the lead, Luc Warnock knew he needed a big round to get back in the thick of things at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship — and he got it.

The Windsor product went four-under through his first five holes before finishing the third round with a two-under 69 to move within one shot of leaders Gerry Mei and Daniel George with an even score entering Thursday’s finale at Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club.

“I hit a couple of really good shots on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 — it was nice. Then to see a couple of putts go in, I didn’t see that much yesterday but to get that off to that hot start today, it kind of eased my mind a little bit and got me in the zone,” said Warnock, who sits in a tie for second with Quebec’s Olivier Menard. “You can never expect it, but to be in this position, it’s incredible and I’m very excited going into tomorrow.”

There was plenty of shuffling to be done on the leaderboard Wednesday. While Brady McKinlay held sole possession of a two-shot lead after two rounds, the Lacombe product fell into a fifth with a four-over 75. Mei and George each climbed into their share of the top spot with a two-under 69.

“It was tough. It was getting firm on the green and soft on the fairway so you’ve got to hit the ball far,” said McKinlay, adding he’s confident he can climb back into top spot with a steady round Thursday. “I just have to try to keep it simple on the fairways and greens. If I can roll a few putts in I can probably get close to winning.”

See ROUGHS, Page A10

McKinlay wasn’t alone in his struggles on the course Wednesday, as only 11 of 72 finished the round under par — making way for an incredibly close field of nine golfers within three strokes of the leader after three rounds. Medicine Hat’s Caleb Kinch said things get especially tricky in the Hat club’s thick roughs, while the fast greens have provided problems for many. Kinch shot a five-over 76 to sit tied for 47th.

“I noticed it more today as my driver wasn’t as strong. The rough is really getting thick here and it’s getting tough to hit some good shots out of there,” said Kinch. “And the greens have been faster. Not too much faster from my experience, but they have been faster.”

Menard — who shot an even-71 to hold firm and sit one shot back of the lead alongside Warnock — says he too found the roughs to be a bit trickier after the cut, while Wednesday’s wind provided another element to battle.

“The rough is pretty long and pretty thick and the wind picked up. It was tough,” said Menard, adding maintaining a positive approach is paramount. “I had a good attitude today. It was tough so I was grinding and it went well.”

Warnock agreed, saying he expects locking up the championship will come down to who has the strongest mental game.

“The ending stretch of both nines is tough, but as long as you can stay in it mentally — if you’re starting to falter a little bit I think that’ll be the biggest part coming down the stretch tomorrow,” he said, citing plans to call his biggest supporter for a pre-round pep talk. “It’s hard not to look ahead. I’m going to give my mom a call, she’s always been one of my biggest supporters — especially mentally —she’ll know what to tell me and so I can have some positive thoughts going into tomorrow.”

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