Hoover's Ava Kemp beats heat, competition at First Tee of Canton Junior Tour opener

LOUISVILLE  The First Tee of Canton Junior Tour got off to a hot start Monday at Pleasant View Golf Club. In every sense of the word.

Golfers contended with a difficult back nine as well as temperatures that reached near 90 degrees on the course.

No golfer in any girls division managed the course better than Hoover's Ava Kemp.

Kemp won the girls 13-15 age group Monday with a score of 81. Winning a First Tee event is nothing new for Kemp. She has won the First Tee points championship in her age group the last two years.

"It was a great experience," Kemp said. "I was a little nervous coming into this event but I felt like I played good for the most part. I will say my putting was not good. That is definitely something I need to work on."

It's normal to be fine tuning things at this part of the summer. That is no different for Kemp, who is in the process of breaking in a new putter.

"It's still a work in progress," Kemp said. "I'm still figuring out how hard or how soft I should be swinging on some of the putts. I think ultimately it is going to help me a lot."

Managing the back nine was Kemp's key to victory. She had the lowest score in her age group in that stretch, a 43.

"The back nine is a lot more difficult," Kemp said. "There were a lot more hills, water and trees. It's also narrower. There was a lot more you had to think about."

Jackson freshman Raffaele Scassa finding swing

A familiar name won the boys 13-15 age group Monday, as Jackson freshman Raffaele Scassa shot 77 and won his age group by eight strokes.

Scassa has had plenty of success on the First Tee of Canton Junior Tour over the years but he continues to find ways to improve.

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"I actually got a new swing coach going into the summer," Scassa said. "We've kind of changed some things on that end and I've also gotten some new clubs. I'm still in the process of dialing everything in right now."

Scassa managed to pull away with a solid performance on the back nine. Scassa shot 40 over that span, six strokes better than any other player in his age group.

"The front nine is way smoother than the back nine here," Scassa said. "The greens are really well maintained but by the time we got to the front nine they were playing much slower than they were on the back nine."

Early risers

Frankie Hutzler has earned plenty of first-place trophies at First Tee of Canton Junior Tour events. She added another to the collection Monday, winning girls 10-12 by shooting 48. That was 10 strokes better than her nearest competitor.

"I felt like I putted and chipped well," Hutzler said. "I felt I could have played better with my irons. That is something I want to work on."

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The key to Hutzler's success may be how active she is within the sport. She plays in multiple tournaments in a given week.

"I also play in the US Kids Tour events and the local PGA events," Hutzler said. "I feel like playing in all of these events has really helped me improve."

Noah Ickes won boys 10-12 with a 45. Ickes held off Anthony Gambone and Cade Allen. Both shot 47.

Erin Strouse takes top honors

Louisville golfer Erin Strouse won girls 16-18. Strouse shot 82, recording the lowest score (42) by any girl on the back nine Monday.

Hoover's Daniel Gambone won boys 16-18. Gambone shot 74. He also was the First Tee points tournament winner in his age group last season.

Reach Cliff at cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @chickmanREP

First Tee of Canton Junior Tour results

at Pleasant View Golf Club, par 71

Boys

10-12: 1, Noah Ickes 45; 2, Anthony Gambone 47; 3, Cade Allen 47; 4, Luke Potashnik 62; 5, Miles Yoder 65; 6, Lucas Dragomier 69.

13-15: 1, Raffaele Scassa 77; 2, Eddie Karam 85; 3, Dayne Bontrager 87; 4, Evan Jordanides 89; 5, (tie) Dylan Suboticki, Anthony Swigart 94; 7, (tie) Hayden Bunner, James Yoder 96; 9, (tie) Luke Stutzman, Andrew Pucky, Carter Russell 97; 12, Seth Anderson 103; 13, Bret Mitchell 104; 14, Owen Casper 107; 15, Kyle Hein 111; 16, Caden Timpe 112; 17, Dylan Bourquin 120.

16-18: 1, Daniel Gambone 74; 2, Jack Mayle 79; 3, Andrew Arway 81; 4, Maddie Kruger 82; 5, (tie) Colin Whitmer, Tyler DeRoy 84; 7, Matthew Caldwell 85; 8, Evan Beck 89; 9, Caleb Harsh 92; 10, (tie) Luke Nagy, Tyler Burkholder 95; 12, Sam Boyles 97

Girls

10-12: 1, Frankie Hutzler 48; 2, Charlie Brophy 57; 3, Ava Potashnik 58; 4, Gia Remark 64; 5, Reagan Harbert 77.

13-15: 1, Ava Kemp 81; 2, Kylie Porter 86; 3, Ellie Hutzler 87; 4, Lauren Brown 93; 5, Francesca Hathway 101; 6, Milena Grametbauer 104; 7, Mia Steigerwalt 107; 8, Charlotte Rakatich 118

16-18: 1, Erin Strouse 82; 2, Katelyn Potashnik 84; 3, Amanda Fedor 91; 4, (tie) Peyton Biery, Anna Myers 94; 6, Audrey Nichols 102; 7, Sophia Radosevic 105

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Daniel Gambone, Ava Kemp among First Tee winners at Pleasant View