Golf torch has been passed

Anyone who doubted the future of Nova Scotia golf is here only had to pay attention to the recently-contested provincial amateurs.

Our province has produced an outstanding crop of young golfers over the past decade, many of whom have been products of the successful Ken-Wo junior program. The fruits of this emphasis on junior golf development were evident, not as much at this year’s provincial men’s amateur – though the top four finishers, including champion David Williamson, are all in their early 20s – but definitely in the women’s.

Laura Harris excelled at golf at a young age, winning her first amateur at age 14 and having already won the junior four times and the amateur twice. In 2004 and again last year, she captured both N.S. championships - in the same year. Her prowess earned her a scholarship to Illinois State University, and she’s now an All-American Scholar for a second straight year.

As much as I root for Harris, I couldn’t help but feel good for her close friend, Mireille LeBlanc of Clare, who last week beat out Harris to win her first provincial amateur title. LeBlanc has played in Harris’s shadow for years – though she might not see it that way – and, other than the 2006 N.S. junior championship, had not beaten her in major competition. A student at Jackson State University in Mississippi (also on a scholarship), she has been on the fringes of victory for years.

A sure sign the torch has been passed was the fact, of the top four finishers at this year’s provincial amateur – LeBlanc, Harris, Irene Jung and Anne Balser – none has yet reached her 21st birthday. Jung – who many describe as “the next Laura Harris” – is still just 14 and, many feel, the odds-on favorite to capture this year’s junior girls’ title.

None of the male juniors Ken-Wo has produced over the past decade have approached Harris’s stature – Thomas Corkum is arguably closest, with Sam Mills-Holland and his twin, James, next (with apologies to Jordan Milne, Kyle Selig and Cody White). Mills-Holland, 12th at this year’s provincial men’s amateur with rounds of 73-74-72-73 and with a year of junior left, might end up the best in the long run.

Also making the cut at this year’s provincial tournament were Milne (37th overall at 303), White (40th at 304) and Corkum (44th at 305), who has done better in past years.

On the other end of the spectrum, Kathy Powers, a 14-time Nova Scotia ladies’ amateur champion now in her second year in the senior division; won her second straight senior women’s title in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion. Powers has the potential to have a similar impact on the senior division as she did in the amateur division (she pretty much had to stop competing for anyone else to win).

At the same time, I wouldn’t count on it happening. I recall when the provincial ladies’ amateur and senior tournaments were held at Ken-Wo last year. Powers, a living legend in women’s golf and a member of the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame, announced she would play, after several years away. A lot of people were anticipating an amateur division showdown between Powers and Harris, and were disappointed when Powers chose to contest the senior title instead.

I agreed with her choice. As good as Powers still is, she and golfers like Harris and LeBlanc belong to two different eras. Her place in Nova Scotia women’s golf history secure, she rightly felt she had nothing more to prove, and little if anything to gain. There will likely come a time when she feels the same way about competitive golf in general.