HIGH ACHIEVERS WEEKEND WRAP: Ottawa golfers Michael Vivone, Avery Nordman shine at Canadian junior golf championships

By Martin Cleary

For the past year, Michael Vivone has been haunted by the outcome of his final hole in the second round of the 2025 Canadian junior men’s golf championship in Bathurst, New Brunswick.

A par, or even a bogey, on the ninth hole at the Gowan Brae Golf and Country Club would have been good enough for him to make the cut and qualify for the final two rounds. But a torturous double-bogey left him with a six-over-par 76 for the round and an eight-over 148 total for the tournament and one shot shy of the cut.

What was more agonizing was how he suffered through the hole with a four-putt effort. He stroked his first putt from 50 feet, the second from eight feet and the third from three feet before needing one more putt to hear the ball land in the cup.

So, when the Royal Ottawa Golf Club member qualified for this month’s Canadian junior men’s golf championship at the Wascana Country Club in Regina, Vivone had one thought on his mind.

“Revenge,” Vivone said with certainty. “I missed the cut (last year) by one and I knew what the cut was. I spent a good amount of time thinking about this (four-putt).

“But I was motivated. It was great to come back. I really wanted to play well.”

Vivone played so well throughout the 72-hole tournament, including tying the course record in the third round, he was on the verge of winning his first national championship until the final four holes.

But a pair of bogeys on holes No. 15 and 17 by Vivone allowed Tiger Xie of Surrey, B.C. – who strengthened his case with even-par golf for the final four holes including a birdie on hole 18 – to come from behind and become the 12th golfer to win not only the junior, but also the juvenile national titles in the same year.

Vivone led the Ottawa contingent as Chase Jerome of the Royal Ottawa placed an impressive fifth at 70-67-71-71 for a nine-under-par 279, while Lukas Zubec of the Royal Ottawa tied for 45th place at 73-72-72-76-293 and Karson Hurlebert of Ottawa shared 52nd at 74-72-74-74-294.

As juveniles, Zubec and Hurlebert were tied for 19th and tied for 22nd respectively.

At the Canadian junior women’s golf championship at the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, ON, Avery Nordman of The Canadian Golf and Country Club helped Ontario win the national inter-provincial team championship. The team competition was based on players’ scores in the first two rounds.

Nordman had two strong middle rounds of 72 and 73, but struggled with her respective opening and closing rounds of 78 and 76 for a 15-over-par 299 and a share of 27th place.

Nordman (78-72), Alexis Card of Cambridge (71-67) and Andrea Lai of St. Thomas (81-76) combined to bring Ontario its third national inter-provincial team title in five years.

“It was such a cool experience. I had never been on the inter-provincial team before,” Nordman said in a phone interview before travelling to Farmville, Virginia, for her second year at Longwood University.

“It was awesome to do it with some very good friends. I have played with them for a very long time. Alexis played amazing golf. We have known and trusted each other and had fun.”

Ceilidh Spare of the Rideau View finished tied for 17th place at 10-over 294 from rounds of 70-74-76-74. Amelia McFarlane of the Ottawa Hunt tied for 32nd at 73-77-74-76 for a 16-over 300. Gracelyn Xiao of Gatineau was in a group of three in 66th at 79-76-84-76 for a 31-over 315.

Vivone was a championship threat for all four rounds. He was in a seven-way tie for second place with a four-under 68 and trailed first-round leader Hongzhao (Thomas) Xu by one stroke. But he rose to the top of the standings as the solo leader in the second and third rounds with respective scores of 67 and 65, which matched the course record.

On the final day, he increased his lead to three strokes over Xie, after the first and fourth holes of the fourth and final round. Vivone was one stroke better than Xie after the front nine, but Xie moved into a first-place tie after 12 holes, took the lead with a par on hole 15 and secured the title with a birdie on hole 18.

“I was very disappointed. The whole day was ‘if I were to win,’ but I had to stay in the moment. It hurt more because I was so close,” said Vivone, who completed his high school education through Blyth Academy and will take a gap year in 2026-27 before accepting a full golf scholarship to Elon University in Elon, North Carolina in 2027-28.

“I was definitely the most nervous playing that round of golf. I tried to stay calm. I think I did a good job. I’m definitely still happy with how I played. I’m happy with second.”

He was frustrated with his driving, but elated with his putting.

“I found my stride in putting. If my putter gets going, I’m tough to beat,” he added. “But all four days I struggled off the tee. My driver didn’t co-operate.”

Vivone, 17, said his 2026 season has been a breakthrough year for him.

“A lot of it is mental and having confidence in myself,” highlighted Vivone, who won his first American Junior Golf Association title in April at the Goldsboro N.C. junior championship, shooting 67-66-71 for a 12-under 204 total.

“I’ve had the ability to hit the ball, but I’ve got the confidence in myself now. I can compete with the best.”

His Goldsboro win proved he could put together multiple low rounds in a tournament and he did that again at the Canadian championship in Regina.

“I learned I could go low and I played free,” he said, reflecting on his AJGA win. “Before my lowest ever score for a tournament was minus seven … but I was able to go low and keep my composure.”

By winning at Goldsboro, university recruiters also took serious notice of Vivone. He was planning a visit to the University of Oregon, but he cancelled it when the coach told him the final scholarship had been taken by another student-athlete.

But a conversation with Royal Ottawa golfer Ashley Lafontaine turned his attention to Elon University. Lafontaine recently graduated from Elon. Vivone was impressed by coach Don Hill and the Elon golf facility and he plans to begin his university studies in 2027-28.

After playing in the AJGA’s Billy Horschel Atlanta Classic at the end of the month and attending the Golf Canada national team trials Sept. 16-18 during the Canadian Collegiate Invitational at the Oviinbyrd Golf Club in MacTier, ON, he plans to continue to develop his game at the Matt DeJohn Golf Academy in Florida for a third straight winter.

Meanwhile, Royal Ottawa teenager Ann-Sophie Bourgault of Gatineau missed advancing to the LPGA’s CPKC Women’s Open in Edmonton by one stroke during an 18-hole qualifying competition. She was one of four players who shot even par 72. A pair of bogeys over the last three holes stained a steady, consistent round.

MICHAEL O’CONNOR SPARKS CANADIAN MEN TO OLYMPICS FOR FLAG FOOTBALL

The Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympic Games are less than two years away and Canada qualified its two flag football teams through the world championships in Dusseldorf, Germany, as the women’s team won the gold medal and the men’s squad earned the bronze medal.

The women’s team went undefeated and turned back the United States in the gold-medal game 27-20. The U.S. had already earned an Olympic berth as the host of the 2028 Games.

Canadian quarterback Sara Parker was named the tournament MVP, after a 23-touchdown performance in the six-game, Olympic qualifier.

Quarterback Michael O’Connor of Ottawa spearheaded the men’s journey to the Olympics, winning three of five games, including the bronze-medal match with a 34-26 overtime win against Mexico. The halftime score was 6-6. The U.S. defeated Italy 46-26 in the men’s final.

O’Connor passed for 294 yards of Canada’s 301 yards of offence. In five games, he threw for 637 yards, 19 touchdowns, three interceptions and had a completion percentage of 68.8.

Former Ottawa Redblacks head coach Paul LaPolice is head coach of the Canadian men’s team.

JOY, SADNESS ON THE DIAMONDS FOR OTTAWA TEAMS

There was joy in Carp for the West Carleton Electric fast pitch team. There was disappointment for the Ottawa West Little League Twins in Glace Bay, N.S.

For the first time in the 46-year history of Softball Canada’s national men’s U20 fast pitch championships, an Ottawa team has captured the gold medal. West Carleton Electric achieved that feat with a pair of stunning playoff victories and did it as the host team.

It also was the eighth consecutive year an Ontario team has won the Canadian men’s U20 title and the eighth different squad to become the champion.

Pitcher Kaden Fowler tossed a complete game and hit a one-out, walk-off solo home run to allow West Carleton to edge Ontario’s St. George Ace 7-6 in the final. Fowler was named the tournament MVP.

Colton Lecuyer and Jackson Barton also hit home runs in the final.

In the rain-delayed and high-scoring semifinal, West Carleton overcame a six-run deficit and near defeat by the seven-run differential mercy rule by outlasting Nova Scotia’s Brookfield Elks 12-10 in nine innings. The Elks finished first after the preliminary round at 6-1, while West Carleton was second at 5-2.

Fowler slugged a two-run home run in the second extra inning for the West Carleton victory. Lecuyer and Finn Barton also notched home runs. Finn and Jackson Barton are the sons of West Carleton manager Trevor Barton.

Meanwhile in Glace Bay, West Ottawa pushed undefeated Little Mountain into extra innings before experiencing a 4-0 defeat in the final game of the Canadian Little League Baseball majors division (ages 11-12) championship.

Aaron Aquino was the starting pitcher for the Twins and was forced to leave after 5 2/3 innings because of the pitch count limit. He had 10 strikeouts. John Trainor finished the game and had two strikeouts.

Kian Sandhu was outstanding for Little Mountain, making a diving catch to send the game into extra innings and producing a two-run double in the top of the eighth inning. Felix Hoyano and Jacob Massel teamed for 14 strikeouts for the British Columbia representatives.

In the semifinals, West Ottawa defeated Calgary 3-1, scoring all three runs in the second inning. Thomas Cox and Bohdy Letts each had an RBI double and Emery Taverez added a home run.

The Twins finished second in round-robin play and had a 5-3 overall record.

OTTAWA ROWER AIDAN HEMBRUFF WINS BRONZE AT FISU CHAMPIONSHIPS

Competing on home water at the 2026 FISU Rowing Championships in London, ON, Aidan Hembruff of the Ottawa Rowing Club won a bronze medal as a member of the Canadian men’s four boat. Italy and Great Britain finished first and second comfortably, while the Canadians safely beat The Netherlands to finish line and the final place on the podium by 1.9 seconds in 6:11.32.

At the same world university regatta, the ORC’s Willow Cherewaty and Anna King pulled Canada to a fourth-place performance in the women’s eight along with coxswain Jack Pankratz.

Earlier at the U23 World Championships in Germany, Ottawa’s Madeleine Lauriault, Riley Richardson and Ella Mckinley helped Canada to a fifth-place finish in the women’s eight.

END NOTES

· Defenders Avery Jones and Jordan Mulvihill of the Nepean Junior Wildcats skated for Canada’s national women’s U18 hockey team in a recent three-game series against the United States. Jones, who also was selected as an associate captain, scored two goals and had four penalty minutes. Wildcats teammate Breanna Bray recently committed to attend Mercyhurst University on a hockey scholarship.

· Filipe Duarte of Gatineau has been named to Canada’s national men’s U23 cycling team for the 62nd Tour de L’Avenir throughout France. The seven-stage race starts Thursday.

· Pairs skaters Brianna Dion of Ottawa and Jacob Cote of Dartmouth, N.S., will be part of the eight-member Canadian team for the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating meet in Xi’an City, China, from Thursday through Saturday.