
Penfield’s Zak Ottman rolls a putt on the 12th green during the 2015 Section V SuperSectionals.

Pittsford Mendon’s Will Thomson chips onto the 18th green during the 2015 Section V SuperSectionals.

Pittsford Mendon’s Gunnar Doyle watches his tee shot on the sixth hole during the 2015 Section V SuperSectionals held at Stafford Country Club.
STAFFORD – The first 10 holes of the SuperSectional Golf Championship on Saturday were a lot more eventful than Gunnar Doyle ever wanted. The Pittsford Mendon junior had five birdies, four bogeys and a triple bogey, quite a bizarre stretch of golf for one of Section V’s more consistent players.
But he settled down and on Monday posted the best score of the second and final round at Stafford Country Club. Doyle shot an even-par 72 to finish with a two-round total of 3-over 147, good enough for a one-shot win over teammate Will Thomson, a eighth-grader and Penfield senior Zak Ottman.
“It feels good to finally win because I’ve played high school golf since I was in seventh grade and it’s always been a goal of mine to win SuperSectionals and win the two-day total,” said Doyle, whose best finish was a tie for second place as a freshman.
A two-time Monroe County Tournament of Champions winner, including last week’s triumph at Deerfield Country Club, Doyle was one of nine area qualifiers for the state championships May 31 and June 1 at Cornell University. Last year, Doyle held a share of the lead after the first round at states but faded to sixth place.
“It was a long weekend,” he said.
He said Saturday was a tiring day and night, too, after his 3-over-par 75 at Ridgemont Country Club in Greece, then going to prom.
“It was a long night. I got some sleep (Sunday) night and felt better,” he said.
He started Monday two shots behind Thomson, the precocious eighth-grader who also was SuperSectional runner-up last year.
“He hits the ball a really long ways. He hits the ball really well with his irons, too. He’s just a really solid player, makes a lot of pars, doesn’t make many big numbers,” Thomson said.
Doyle birdied two of his first three holes Monday, but bogeyed Nos. 7-9. He steadied himself, though, and made eight pars on the back nine, mixing in a birdie on the 15th hole, a 490-yard par-5.
A double bogey on the 14th hurt Ottman. Thomson and Ottman both birdied 15 to get within a shot of Doyle, who finished with three straight pars, but they each bogeyed No. 16. Down two strokes, Ottman and Thomson needed to chip in for eagle on the 18th hole, a 280-yard par-4, to force a playoff. Both golfers gave it a good run, but had to settle for birdies.
“Gunnar’s a grinder,” Mendon coach Charlie Webster said of the two-time RDGA Junior Boys champion who is a Mendon Golf Club member. “He’s learned to keep his emotions under control much better and I think that’s helped him to come back in rounds like this.”
JDIVERON@DemocratandChronicle.com
State qualifiers
Place |
Player |
School |
Score |
1. |
Gunnar Doyle |
Pittsford Mendon |
147 |
2. |
Will Thomson |
Pittsford Mendon |
148 |
2. |
Zak Ottman |
Penfield |
148 |
4. |
Christian Chapman |
Victor |
153 |
5. |
Connor Raeman |
McQuaid |
154 |
6. |
Colin Dubnik |
McQuaid |
155 |
6. |
Evan Gaesser |
Kendall |
155 |
6. |
Zach Chaddock |
Fillmore |
155 |
9. |
Andrew Fedele |
Greece Athena |
157 |