Dayne Bensette used a late-round charge to secure a title.
The 17-year-old Belle River Nobles senior birdied three of the final five holes to force a playoff and then won on the first extra hole to claim the WECSSAA boys’ title on Wednesday at Sutton Creek.
“Last year, I was 10th, but I have way more confidence this year,” Bensette said. “Watching my bet friend Ben Brazier win OFSAA last year made me think, ‘If he can do it, why can’t I?’”
But it wasn’t until the 14th hole where Bensette notched his first birdie before adding another on No. 16 and then hitting a five-foot birdie putt on the 18th to force the playoff.
“I hadn’t played in a couple weeks, but I was playing with the guy I tied,” Bensette said of St. Joseph Lasers’ Jack Dupuis, who each shot one-over 73 through 18 holes.
Erie Migration’s Lucas Delorenzi and Essex’s Andrew Baker tied for third at three-over par 75.
Headed back to No. 1 to start the playoff, Dupuis’ tee shot landed in the water and Bensette cautiously went on to par the par-five hole.
“It was a lot of fun,” Bensette said. “I feel like I belong at this level now.”
Dupuis would help St. Joseph take the team title with Riley Bentley shooting 78, Jaxon Easter 81 and Jarrod Easter 82. The Nobels were second with Bensette joining Quinn Burke, who shot 80, Austyn Wills, who shot 83, and Nash Raymond, who shot 93. The Essex Red Raiders placed third.
Going forward, Bensette is hoping to turn that second-place finish into a team title at SWOSSAA.
“Winning this and seeing all my friends, it’s a really good feeling,” Bensette said. “My goal is to bring at least a championship to the school, whether it’s SWOSSAA or OFSAA.
“I think the team believes and knows every score matter for us. Now, we know we have a chance to compete with St. Joe’s and (my teammates) are as important as I am and I think they’re pumped up.”
On the girls side, the St. Anne Saints’ Madeline Young kept the individual title in the family. A year after watching sister Emily Young take the title, the family title run continued with Madeline Young scoring a one-stroke victory over the Villanova Wildcats’ Olivia Tartaro.
Young shot 10-over 82 with Tartaro a shot back and L’Essor’s Madeline Beck finishing in third with a 12-over par 84.
However, it was Tartaro and teammates Michela La Porta and Adalin Murphy that helped the Wildcats take the team title over Young and teammates Emily Lahoud and Kate Winney, who placed second.
twitter.com/winstarparker