Carlisle, Neiszner win first Saskatchewan Junior titles in Nipawin

“I just wanted to win this so bad this week,” Carlisle told northeastNOW. “I worked so hard and I just wanted to win it so bad.”

Carlisle is no stranger to winning as he already has back-to-back high school championships under his belt. Even though Carlisle’s name was atop the leaderboard all week, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t adversity. Carlisle shot a blistering three-under 69 round on the first day, giving him a four shot lead on the rest of the field. But then on Saturday, things ballooned for the south Saskatchewan product as he fired a 10 over 82. That round gave the rest of the field some hope as he was only one stroke up heading into the final round. Carlisle said there were a few things not going right with his swing that day.

“I phoned my coach, and we talked, he said just forget about it, and that’s what I did, I just forgot about it” he said. “I went to the range and got my swing back and it seemed to work.”

And work it did as Carlisle stormed out of the gates with a birdie on the first hole and didn’t look back. He notched five more birdies on the day and ended up shooting a two-under 70 round to pull away.

Jace Carlisle drains his par putt on the 18th hole to seal the deal on day three. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

“It didn’t really set in that I had this in the bag until I was standing on the 18th fairway there,” he said. “And I just knew I had it.”

Carlisle’s margin of victory ended up being by six strokes over his next closest competitor, Steven Duchscher out of Saskatoon. The top five was rounded out by Kindersley boys Kort Tunall, and Brody Istace, as well as Griffin Wilson of Swift Current.

(L to R): Kort Tunall (3rd place), Steven Duchscher’s (2nd place), and Carlisle finished top three in the tournament. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

Carlisle, Duchscher, and Tunall will now represent Saskatchewan at the National Junior Boys Championships in New Brunswick.

Neiszner runs away on day three

On the Women’s side in Nipawin, it was Autumn Neiszner who stayed consistent and took home her first title. The Regina native said it felt great to win the title.

“To shoot my three best rounds ever in a tournament, all in a row, it just feels really good,” Neisnzer said. “There was a lot of competition, lots of girls played super well, so it definitely feels really good.”

Autumn Neiszner is the 2019 Saskatchewan Junior Girls Champion. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

Neiszner, 15, said with a great field that included last year’s champion, Brooklin Fry of Shell Lake, she said winning wasn’t the main goal.

“My goal was just to play my best golf that I could,” Neiszner told northeastNOW. “And I obviously did that and I ended up winning which is great.”

While the Evergreen Golf Course in Nipawin is widely considered as one of the top courses in Sasaktchewan, it is also considered by some as a very difficult course. Neiszner said she just tried to keep things simple, allowing her to shoot some low rounds.

“I think I just kept the ball in play, hit greens, everything was good,” she said. “I never really had any super big mistakes, so I think that really helped.”

Neiszner shot a four-over 76 on the final day to win. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

Neiszner shot a six-over 78 on day one, leading her to be in second place, just three shots back of Fry. Wednesday was Neiszner’s moving day as she fired a 4-over 76, tied for the best of the day on the women’s side. She ended day two with a seven stroke lead over Fry and Lauren Fox of Creighton. Neiszner then ran away with it on Thursday, firing another 76, giving her a nine stroke margin of victory.

“I was nervous all the way to 18,” she said. “Anything can happen.”

Rounding out the top five was Fox, Fry, and Sarah Grieve of Saskatoon.

(L to R): Brooklin Fry (3rd Place), Lauren Fox (2nd Place), and Neiszner finished top three in the tournament. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

Fox, Fry, Grieve will now all join Neiszner at nationals in Lethbridge.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6

by Mat Barrett

Carlisle, Neiszner win first Saskatchewan Junior titles in Nipawin

Carlisle goes wire-to-wire

Neiszner runs away on day three

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