Willsboro's Arnold, Fine-Lease win sectional golf titles
Jun. 12—SARANAC LAKE — What a day to be a Willsboro golfer.
It was a clean sweep for the Warriors when it came to the individual titles at the Section VII golf championships, Friday, at the Saranac Inn.
Regan Arnold took home the boys title, while Tekla Fine-Lease won the girls championship.
"This was awesome," Fine-Lease said. "I am glad he won and I won, and that is a really good thing for Willsboro. It was a really positive day, and I am glad we could be holding up that championship banner together."
BOYS
Arnold, the defending sectional champion, had to battle right to the end and took home the crown with a two-day total of 79-82-161, edging out Beekmantown's Dalton Kane (83-79-162) and Moriah's Thomas Clarke (85-78-163).
After 35 holes of golf, Arnold had just one left en route to his championship, but things got interesting when he hit his tee shot out of bounds.
He recovered remarkably, however, and worked his way to the green before getting up and down to seal the deal by a stroke.
The only problem was he had no idea at first that he had won.
"I thought I was putting for the tie and not the lead," Arnold said. "I thought there was going to be a playoff after I made that putt, but I soon found out that was not the case. I have not putted well at all. My short game was so bad. To be able to get that up and down on 18 after shooting my tee shot out of bounds, it just felt so great."
Arnold took the lead for good over Kane after bogeying the par-4 17th, which Kane doubled.
He had a one-stroke advantage on Kane entering the 18th hole, but there was another player in the mix who was making a push up the leaderboard.
That was Clarke who turned in a tournament-low 78 on Day 2 of competition.
Clarke was one foursome ahead of Arnold all day and knew he just needed to keep making shot after shot to gain ground.
"I just felt that I had to play good and was not really thinking of anything else," Clarke said. "It was about hitting fairways, greens and the cup. Just staying calm and playing your best golf was what it was about for me. It's just a game, and it's about having fun."
Brady Tremblay (84-83-167) of Lake Placid and Saranac's Nik Hamel (84-86-170) rounded out the top five.
Both those golfers were in Arnold's foursome, which featured plenty of good play and mental fortitude at times.
For Arnold, even when he had moments where he began to feel like he was falling off the pace, he found a way to regroup.
"I am really thankful it ended this way," Arnold said. "It's a lot of practice and having the confidence in your swing. If you are confident in that, it keeps the nerves down and just allows you to play good golf."
GIRLS
Fine-Lease ran away with the championship thanks to a round of 44-51-95.
The girls sectional featured 11 golfers, which was the largest field this portion of the tournament has seen in its short history.
"That's really cool because I never would have expected this," Fine-Lease said. "To have 11 girls, I am really happy, and hopefully, we can get more and bring a few to states next year."
Fine-Lease finished runner-up to Saranac's Alivia Waldron in 2019, but this was her year to shine.
She won by nine strokes over second-place finisher Jasmyne Allen who carded a 54-50-104.
"I was hitting the ball pretty well," Fine-Lease said. "I had a slice, but it was not too bad. I was hitting it well and two-putted or one-putted most holes, which limited the damage."
Saranac's Ava Glover (56-53-109) and Leah Hamel (60-58-118) took third and fourth, respectively, and Bouqet Valley's Rachel Behm (64-66-130) secured fifth place.
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Boys scores
1, Regan Arnold (WICS) 79-82-161; 2, Dalton Kane (BCS) 83-79-162; 3, Thomas Clarke (MCS) 85-78-163; 4, Brady Tremblay (LP) 84-83-167; 5, Nik Hamel (SCS) 84-86-170; 6, Keegan Smith (PCS) 95-80-175; T7, Jack Armstrong (LP) 88-88-176; T7, Zach Dubray (BCS) 87-89-176; 9, Ian Zurlo (SCS) 87-90-177; 10, Chris Byrne (LP) 91-91-182; 11, Chase Letourneau (NCCS) 91-92-183; 12, Dominik Nuzzo (PCS) 87-97-184; T13, Nathan Hamel (SCS) 87-99-186; T13, Grady Draper (LP), 91-95-186; T13, Dax Lashway (SCS), 93-93-186; 16, Jack Thomas (AuSable Valley) 97-91-188; 17, Liam Clark (PCS) 92-97-189; 18, Macen Mero (PCS) 94-96-190; 19, Jacob Bechard (PCS) 99-94-193; 20, Keegan Seamone (BCS) 91-103-194; 21, Ben Fredette (NCCS) 95-100-195; 22, Logan Gilbo (MCS) 98-98-196; 23, Nick Reithel (WICS) 95-103-198.
Girls scores
1, Tekla Fine-Lease (WICS) 44-51-95; 2, Jasmyne Allen (AVCS) 54-50-104; 3, Ava Glover (SCS) 56-53-109; 4, Leah Hamel (SCS) 60-58-118; 5, Rachel Behm (BV) 64-66-130; 6, Ella Lobdell (BV) 64-71-135; 7. Hanna Bechard (NCCS) 72-72-144; 8, Samara Bosely (NCCS) 79-67-146; 9, Emma Fredette (NCCS) 75-73-148; 10, Hailey Letourneau (NCCS) 90-63-153; 11, Ailsa Kohler (BV) 77-84-161.
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