Maunula sibling show out and win their age groups at Sask. Junior Golf Provincials

Maunula said the course layout allowed him to play more conservatively and he did not have to take as many risks as he might on other courses.

“You’re going to put one of the wedges close enough to make birdie. So you don’t have to play too aggressive. You can kind of play it from 100 to 150 yards out. You’re going to make birdies just because of the course. It’s a fairly gettable course. So, kind of helped my game.”

Finishing in the top three ensured Maunula’s spot with Team Saskatchewan, so he did not want to take too many risks.

“The goal is just to try to guarantee top three, don’t do anything down that’s going to lead to not getting there. So just try to play, just play smart, make your birdies when you’re there, try to eliminate bogeys and doubles. That was kind of the mentality.”

The national tournament is in Regina from Aug. 10-14, where Maunula is looking to have a good showing.

“Put up some respectable scores. Last year I went and I didn’t have the showing I wanted. I ended up missing the cut. So, this year to go there and make the cut and show what I’m capable of would be awesome.”

After missing the cut last year, Maunula said there is extra motivation this year, but he does not want to put too much pressure on himself.

“If you get in your head from the start, it’s going to be a grind. If you just kind of get out there and play golf and just kind of lose the nerves and just have fun, you’re always going to play better. Just staying relaxed and just playing golf will help for sure.”

Shae’s sister, Natalie Maunula, 14, also won the girls U15 age group, shooting 33-over on the weekend. She won her age group by seven strokes and finished sixth overall.

“I felt pretty darn good. The first day I struggled a bit. I felt like the weather was so nice. I almost had a lot of pressure on myself to compete well, though I didn’t end up performing as well as I would have liked,” she said.

“The next two days I improved. I improved over each day, which was very nice. Yeah, I pretty much just stayed consistent and tried to play my best.”

Playing with the lead for most of the tournament added pressure for Natalie, but she said she felt better as she became more familiar with the course.

“I felt obligated to keep (the lead), which I ended up doing, which was very helpful. I definitely got more used to the course, more used to the speed of the greens, more used to where I should hit my ball. Getting used to the course helped a lot.”

When asked about any great shots she hit, Natalie mentioned a par save during the final round.

“It was hole 15. I hit my drive straight into the fescue, which was not very good. I ended up finding it and I punched out to the fairway, and I was about 124 with wind at my back. So, I 3/4 of the nine iron and I stuck the ball to about two feet, and I was able to tap it in for par, which was really nice,” she said.

“I couldn’t really see the green. I could only see the flag. So I hit it. I’m like, that looks like a pretty good line. Then I walked up and I’m like, oh, wow, that’s really close.”

After the win, Natalie will travel to Bath, Ont., to participate in the U15 nationals from Aug. 24-27.

“It’s my first time ever competing in a national tournament like that. I’m going to practice a lot to make sure I’m ready. It just means so much to me that I’m going to be able to do that at 14 years old,” she said.

“I’m just looking to play my best, play consistent, and just try and place as well as possible. A win will be a stretch because I haven’t been golfing for as long as a lot of these girls have. But my goal is to just take it one shot at a time. If I have a bad hole, just push that to the back of my mind and just keep going.”

Both Shae and Natalie are strong supporters of each other, so it was special for both of them to earn victories.

“My brother is probably my biggest source of support,” said Natalie.

“He is always very, very happy for me. I like to talk to him like saying, how did you do? Which holes did you get birdies on? Then we can talk about how we thought the course was and what we can do better for the next day.”

Shae echoed those thoughts, talking about how they could debrief after their rounds.

“We were both pumped for each other. After each round, we’d just make sure to tell each other we did good, just try to motivate each other as much as we can,” he said.

“She’s put in a lot of work. She’s been playing good lately. So, it was really good to see her hard work paying off.”

Five other golfers represented the Battlefords at the tournament.

Finn Silver, U19 — 12-over, T18 in age group, T23 overall

Hayden Solomko, U17 — 23-over, 17th in age group, 42nd overall

Nic Burnett, U17 — 38-over, 29th in age group, 65th overall

Josh Iverson, U19 — 40-over, 37th in age group, T68 overall

Braxon Lavertu, U19 — 45-over, 38th in age group, 71st overall

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Ryan.Lambert@pattisonmedia.com

by Ryan Lambert

Maunula sibling show out and win their age groups at Sask. Junior Golf Provincials

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