After a busy summer that didn’t quite go to his liking, Colby Friedrich was determined to finish off his golf season on a high note.
The Grade 11 student at North Battleford Comprehensive High School certainly did that in Estevan on Sept. 22 and 23 as he picked up a silver medal in the boys’ division at the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association Provincial Golf Championship.
“My summer wasn’t as good as I hoped with some tough finishes at a few events, so I was determined to have one more solid tournament before the year came to an end,” Friedrich said.
“Obviously I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get the win, but I thought the weekend was really good. I gave myself a chance to be in the mix for a gold medal and I accomplished my goal of getting a top three finish.”
This marks the third straight that Friedrich has competed at the provincials, as he finished in 16th place two years ago in Yorkton and came home in sixth spot at last year’s event in Madge Lake.
“I had a more successful showing the second time around at the provincials so my expectations were higher for this year,” Friedrich said.
The one challenge though was the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club in Estevan, which is a course that Friedrich hadn’t played well at in his previous trips there.
“It’s pretty similar to the course here in North Battleford, as there’s a pretty open front nine that allows you to spray the ball around the course,” Friedrich said.
“I had always liked playing the course, but I had never been able to get a good score there. Obviously, my view has changed a bit after what happened at the provincials.”
Friedrich started off the tournament with a six-over-par round of 78, which put him four strokes behind opening round leader Mason Gorski of Meadow Lake.
“It was a battle for everyone to get through the weather conditions,” Friedrich said. “It rained pretty much all day and we actually had about an hour delay when I got to the 14th hole.
“During that time, I got to see what everyone was shooting so I made up my mind to have an aggressive approach over the last five holes, which brought me closer to the leaders.”
He continued that aggressive style of play in the final round as his three-over par round of 75 gave him a two-day total score of 153 and put him five shots behind gold medalist Jace Carlisle of Estevan.
“Most of my buddies were playing either with me or around me and I knew that many of them are capable of shooting low scores, so I went with the aggressive approach once again,” Friedrich said.
“I felt like the way that I closed this tournament was a lot better than the rest of my events this year. I really struggled in the last nine holes at times over the summer, so to have things go well at the end in Estevan was a nice confidence boost for me.”
As he gears up for the 2018 golf season, which will include competing at the SHSAA championships in North Battleford next September, Friedrich is planning to spend a lot of time working on the mental side of the game over the next few months.
“I want to be able to close tournaments out a lot better than I have been,” Friedrich said.
“This year was the best that my wedge game has ever been and I was really happy with my putting inside of five feet in Estevan, but the mental side of the game wasn’t great for me.”
