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Gina Cerimele watches her chip shot on the 10th hole at Diamond Back Golf Course in Canfield during Monday’s girls qualifier for The Greatest Junior Golfer of the Valley golf tournament. Cerimele was among the four golfers to advance to the finals July 21 at Trumbull County Club.
5 Canfield residents place in top 7
By Ryan Buck
canfield
There’s no place like home.
Canfield youth golf flexed its muscles Monday at the familiar Diamond Back Golf Course with five residents among the top seven scorers in the Greatest Golfer of the Valley juniors competition presented by Farmers National Bank.
Three of the four total qualifiers, including Michele Whiteleather and Gina Cerimele from the 15-17 age group, attend Canfield schools.
“It’s pretty strong,” Cerimele said of its golf program. “We go to a pro [and] we go to the [Creekside Golf] Dome in the winter to practice. We’ve already started practices with the team and we’ll go have putting practices together.”
The locals found confidence amidst the pastoral hills and woods of their high school home, despite the very hot and dry conditions plaguing the Valley golf community lately this summer.
“Knowing where to place your ball really did help because if I hadn’t played the course before, I’m sure it would be much harder,” Whiteleather explained.
Players had to adjust to the conditions with high ball flight and careful approaches to the pins.
“When you’re coming on to the green, you have to hit it in front of the green so that it gives it time to roll or else you’re over,” Cerimele explained.
Whiteleather, who shot an 89, was strong on Diamond Back’s par-three holes and particularly happy with her performance on the difficult par-four 16th.
“I hit my drive to about 50 yards away from the green. Then I just chipped on and two-putted. That was a good hole for me.”
For the second straight week, the competition needed a tie-breaker. Teammates Cerimele and Kerra Loomis, also from Canfield, went to an extra hole to decide the second finals participant, as customary at the course.
A clearly tired Cerimele scrambled her way to a six on the course’s first hole to qualify.
“It felt really good. I’m not that great under pressure so I was really happy about it,” she admitted. “I didn’t really think about anything, just staying in my own head and not worrying about too much.”
Also at the top of the leaderboard, defending Greatest Golfer champion Jacinta Pikunas led the way with an 80. Christina Cooper was two strokes behind, followed by Howland native Rachel Williamson’s 88.
Melinda Hannon of Poland was also near the top with a 90.
Cooper, Williamson, and Hannon all qualified at previous events while Pikunas, a home-schooled Canfield resident, will miss the Greatest Golfer finals with a previous golfing tournament conflict.
Another playoff hole was necessary in the 12-14 year-old division.
Sarah Brindley of Howland bested Gillian Cerimele to finish first, with both having already qualified for the July 21 finals, where Gillian joins her older sister, Gina.
The boys’ divisions of the Greatest Golfer of the Valley will tee off Thursday at Diamond Back at 8 a.m. with a field of more than 40 players.
Interested players from The Vindicator’s coverage area may call the course at 330-533-0350 by close of business today to register.
They’re vying for spots in the July 21 finals alongside last week’s Tam O’Shanter of Pennsylvania qualifiers: Bill Colbert, Brian Austalosh, Nicholas Braydich, Cade Kreps, Rosy Hearns, Rachel Williamson, Emily Koehler and Abby Hearns.
All the qualifiers and other tournament news and information can be found at Vindy.com/golf and on Twitter @vindygreatest.