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En aR re WE "A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, July 28, 1998 - 21 me = a Sixteen year old Kyle Welsh spends a lot of time at Oakridge Golf Course near Chalk Lake, where he's honing his skills as a golfer. He recently won the William Hayball Junior Invitational tournament held at the Oshawa Golf Club with a three-over par 75. See story. Young golfer wins tournament, but still "just likes having fun" By Chris Hall Port Perry Star Watching the golf balls fly around him at the Oakridge Golf Course, Kyle Welsh recalls his victory at the recent William Hayball Junior Invitational golf tournament. A rocky start turned into a victory at one of southern Ontario's most prestigious tour- naments for the 16-year-old Courtice student, who overcame bogeys in the first few opening holes to shoot a three-over 75 for a two-shot win at the Oshawa Golf Club. Spending his summer working at the course where his dad is the club pro, Welsh says he's picked up a couple of pointers over time which has allowed him to develop his game over the 10 years he's been at it. "It was a very well run event, I had a rough start but it was a lot of fun. I'd played the course once before but it was still chal- lenging; most of the players fin- ished in the money," he said, adding that he received a trophy as well as $150 in credit at the course for his win. Invitations were sent out to clubs throughout the area, asking for the participation of golfers between 18 and under, which was broken into two age groups. Playing a number of tourna- ments has helped increase his skill, Welsh says, noting that his chipping and iron play would be the strong points of his game. As Oakridge's defending junior club champion, and as it's third place finisher in the men's league, Welsh admits to playing "two or three times a week whenever | can" and plays a round in the mid to low 70s. "I find the game challenging; my friends come out maybe once a week and we play... it's fun," he said, adding that he'd like to get a scholarship to an American school in the future before start- Ing a career as a golf pro. As well, golf is not the only thing the junior athlete of the year at Courtice High School is good at; he also plays baseball, volleyball and participates in track and field events. "I'm just having fun; it's a game and I'm going to stick with it and see where I can go." Heading for Elimination Tournament this weekend Port Perry Merchants win two On Tuesday, July 21 the Port Perry Merchants hosted the Claremont Rebels. The Merchants were in control of this game as they went on to win 13- 1. The third baseman, Larry Pilkey had a good night at the plate as he went three for four with four RBIs. Chad Venning got the win on the mound. On Thursday, July 23, Port Perry travelled to face the Stouffville Mennos. Stouffville took an early lead by scoring in their first at bat. Leading off the second inning, Mark Goreski hit a line drive into the gap scoring an inside the park home run. The score remained 1-1 until the fifth inning. Mark Goreski led off with a single. A Stouffville error on a Venning pop up moved Goreski into scoring position. A Jason McBride single scored Goreski to put the Merchants up. A Larry Pilkey home run in the sixth inning brought in two runs to make the score 4-1. Port added a pair of runs with RBIs by Mark Goreski and Dave Dickson. The final score was Port Perry 6 - Stouffville 3. Pitcher Mark Goreski had a great night as he went three for four with two RBIs and collected the win on the mound. The game also saw coach Dave Dickson come out of retire- ment and played a strong game at third base. The Port Perry Merchants have games Tuesday, July 28 at home against Bradford at 8:30 p.m. and on Wednesday, July 29 in Oshawa. The team is gearing up for the Ontario Elimination Tournament in Cobourg this com- ing weekend. The winner of this tournament will represent Ontario in the Canadian champi- onships in Nova Scotia. Dave Mercer strikes it big at Celebrity Cup By Chris Hall ort Perry Star A Scugog Island man found himself on the top podium at a recent Peterborough fishing challenge. Dave Mercer, a Fralick's Beach Rd. resident, was the top finisher at the Celebrity Cup fishing derby on July 12 along with fishing mate Steve Larmer, a former star forward with the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks. The 1998 version of the annual event, which is comprised of the top 20 fishermen from across Canada, along with 20 star hockey players, was held on the Kawartha's Rice Lake. "The whole day went really well; I had fun fishing and I got to talk with Steve Larmer all day and we won," he said last week. The tournament officially began on July 11 when a draw was held to see who would fish with who, Mr. Mercer said. Participants then spent part of the day getting to know each other before heading off onto the lake the next morning where the team with the heaviest combined weight claimed the top prize, which the local man and his fishing friend managed to do with a total of 26.54 pounds. However, he adds, the tournament is not all about winning money, but about raising money for the Jennifer Asheligh Charity. "It's not really a financial beneficial event, but more of a prestigious one, he said, explaining that the money goes to charity. "I got a nice trophy and I get to be champion, and that's enough. We got a lot of low weights, but we caught enough of them for the win; it was real tough fishing," he said, adding that there was only one other team in the 12-pound range. "It was a great event. The whole town where it is held gets involved in the event. The players are really accessible and there's lots of contests in town and prizes to be won. The (Toronto) Maple Leafs held a slapshot contest... it was a lot of fun. As the defending champ next year I'm going to see if I can urge them to have it on Lake Scugog in 1999." And, he added, the players that did come for the tournament were mostly all well-known stars. "You had the big goal scorers there like Pat Verbeek and Mike Gartner and there was Bryan Marchment and Zac Bierk, the goaltender for the (Tampa Bay) Lightning." : During the summer Mr. Mercer spends the majority of his time on the lake fishing, taking it in stride as a full-time job. "In the summer, this is what I do," the 11- year competitive fishing veteran said. "I have to thank my sponsors for helping me do it. It's just great." ;