Natasha Kozlowski was suffering from golf overload Sunday and that made the final round of the Ladies Simon Fraser Open a test of endurance.
The 17-year-old Prince George Golf and Curling Club member was feeling the pressure playing on her home course as the defending champion, trying to hang on to her lead over veteran teaching pros Lindsay MacDermott and Ann Holmes.
In her last tournament before she begins her college career at University of the Fraser Valley, Kozlowski struggled on the front nine to hit the fairways with her tee shots Sunday, and the second-guessing continued when her iron game went south on her on the back nine. Consequently, her lead began to crumble.
MacDermott, who won the Ladies Simon Fraser in 2016 and 2017, crept back to within a stroke and had a chance to win it or force a playoff on the Par 5 No. 18. But she bogeyed the hole, as did Kozlowski, who won by one stroke, carding 73-82-155.
"I had a pretty tough day but I think in the end it came down to just grinding out the shots and trying to make something happen, even though it wasn't," said Kozlowski, who shot 40 Sunday on the front and 42 on the back. "I couldn't hit a fairway on the front and couldn't hit a green on the back. I guess that's alright, there's not a consistent problem to worry about."
There hasn't been much wrong with Kozlowski's game all year. She started in the spring winning Maple Leaf Junior Tour events in Chilliwack and Banff, then finished 15th in early July at the B.C. Junior Championship at Nanoose Bay. She also placed fourth in the Simon Fraser Junior Open, competing against the region's top male juniors.
Kozlowski grew up watching women play for the Simon Fraser title and now, at 17, she has her name on the trophy twice.
"This has been the tournament that got me really into tournament golf and wanting to play at these higher levels, so it's pretty special to win," said Kozlowski.
The Prince George teen spent the week leading up to it at the Canadian women's junior championship in Lethbridge, where she made the cut and finished in a tie for 53rd in a field of 120 golfers, carding 83-78-73-83 for a four-round 309 total. Considering the Prince George climate limits her to only four of five months of golf per year, Kozlowski's finish in the top half at nationals was satisfying.
"II had a couple good rounds at nationals, I had tough first day and then the second day I came back and put up an OK number," said Kozlowski. "When you play tournaments in B.C. you know you're going against all the Vancouver kids who play 12 months of the year. They all have consistent coaching and I don't really get that here."
After four rounds of competition and two practice rounds at the junior tournament, Kozlowski admitted she was fatigued, mentally and physically, when she took her place on the course with 64 other golfers for the Ladies Simon.
"I was out of town pretty much the whole month of July, traveling and playing, and I just got back from nationals a week ago,' she said. "That was six days in a row of golf and I was feeling a little burnt out coming into this weekend."
She averted disaster on the Par 5 16th hole Sunday when, after plunking her second shot into the pond. Kozlowski took a drop and made her approach, then sank a 15-foot putt to save par and keep her lead.
MacDermott, 39, who moved this year from Kamloops to Edmonton, finished second to Kozlowski in 2018 and began Sunday's round six strokes off the pace after an opening-round 79. She made up five of those strokes with a five-over 77 on Sunday.
"I knew I had to play my own game, (Kozlowski) is a great player and I would never wish that somebody played bad," said MacDermott. "I had a great round here last year (70), so I knew it was possible to shoot under par but I definitely struggled with my putter. I could hit it close but couldn't quite convert those birdies. I got a bunch of pars to make it closer but she made a great up-and-down on 16 for par after putting it in the water and she was steady for the last few holes.
"I told her after if we'd both shot five shots better I'd be more satisfied with the results."
Holmes shot 78-79 and finished third, two strokes behind Kozlowski. The 47-year-old PGGCC teaching pro came into the tournament with just four practice rounds behind her the whole year.
MacDermott, a native of Langley who won the NAIA U.S. national team title in 2001 while being coached by Holmes at UBC, no longer teaches. Like Holmes, she doesn't play often, but practices with her two kids at Windermere Golf Club, where her husband Brice is the general manager.
MacDermott predicts a bright future ahead for Kozlowski, who she says already has the tools to develop exponentially as she takes advantage of her college surroundings.
"The benefit of the off-season has its perks but being able to practice and stick with it down on the coast where she has a great coaching lineup working with her will help gain that perspective," said MacDermott. "She hits the ball far and hits it well and she will start to dial it in and really get the ball in the hole and her scores will drop. She's not the best golfer she's going to be. It's very clear she will continue to improve."
Having competition in a team setting at UFV should bring out the best in Kozlowski, says Holmes.
"She has nothing but opportunity and a chance to lengthen her season and to be immersed in the culture of a team, finally, instead of being this little lost solo northern kid, where she parachutes into these big tournaments," said Holmes. "It's exciting to be part of something like that and get full-time coaching and support and go to school. University years are just fun, so to combine that with golf is really a special time, so nothing but success for her.
"Today was a struggle for her and that's all about building your competitive chops. All those experiences build your competitive resume."
* Cody Bailey of Prince George, another UFC recruit this fall, is entered in the Canadian junior men's championship, which starts Monday in Hartland, N.B.
