Ashbury golfer wins OFSAA in playoff

By Dan Plouffe

Julia Malone failed to defend her city championship this year, but the Grade 11 Ashbury College student made up for it in a big way by capturing the OFSAA provincial high schools girls’ golf title on Oct. 16 in Windsor.

Riding a hot birdie-par-birdie-par-eagle start to her round, Malone came through the Kingsville Golf Club course with a 2-over 75 score to finish in a tie atop the leaderboard, which setup the first playoff of her career.

“It was really nerve-racking,” recalls Malone, who showed no ill effects however, dropping a 15-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to win the tournament. “I was so happy. I didn’t think it was real, to be honest. I was just thrilled and full of excitement.”

Minus one more event still to come in Florida, the OFSAA title capped a standout season for the Rideau View Golf Club athlete who lives five minutes away from the course in Manotick.

The major highlight was winning the Quebec Junior Open Canadian Junior Golf Association event to qualify for July’s Callaway Junior World Golf Championships in San Diego, although Malone didn’t know the significance of her victory at the time.

“People came up to me after and were like, ‘Congrats, you made it to worlds!’ and I was like, ‘Wait. What?!’ I honestly had no idea,” laughs this season’s top-ranked CJGA order of merit golfer. “I guess my dad kept it from me because he didn’t want me to get stressed out or anything.

“It was definitely a nice little surprise.”

Playing in a high-stakes event like the Callaway junior worlds served as good preparation to prepare Malone for the stress of contending for the OFSAA crown.

“There were college coaches on like every hole, watching you and taking notes,” recounts Malone, who would like to earn an NCAA golf scholarship in a warm destination and study health sciences. “It kind of takes your attention away a little bit, but I tried to play through that.

“I like the whole mental aspect in golf. You have to stay so focused and concentrated. It’s really exciting when everything comes together. It’s a lot of fun.”