AVON, May 5, 2023 – Hand freshman Kyle Beaudry had a pair of birdies and shot a tournament record three-over-par 73 to win the Walter Lowell Tournament Friday at Blue Fox Golf Club.
Beaudry earned a two-shot victory over three other players – teammate Matt Gagliardi and Xavier’s J.B. Ouellette and John Thompson, who each shot a 75.
Xavier won the second annual tournament with a five-stroke victory over Hand, 308-313. Suffield was third with a 335 while host Canton was fourth with a 343. The Falcons had five golfers in the top 10 including Ouellette and Thompson, who finished tied for second.
The tournament is named for Walter Lowell, who was the manager, president and PGA professional at the Canton Public Golf Course for more than 40 years. The Shoppes at Farmington Valley now sit at the site of the former nine-hole course once that was opened by Lowell’s grandfather in 1931.
The Lowell family sold the 130-acre golf course in 2003. The course was home to the Canton High golf program until it was sold.
Canton’s Nicholas Fox finished tied for tenth place in the tournament with an 83. The Warriors have won their first five dual meet matches of the season, including a five stroke win over Suffield in the season-opening match on April 18.
One of the ideas for the tournament is to provide golfers with an 18-hole experience before the CIAC state tournament in June. Dual meet matches between schools are nine hole events.
2023 Walter Lowell Tournament
At Avon
Team results – 1. Xavier 308, 2. Hand 313, 3. Suffield 335, 4. Canton 343, 5. Somers 356, 7. East Granby 286, 7. Granby 417
Individual results (top 10) – 1. Kyle Beaudry (H) 73 at Blue Fox GC, par 70, 2. Matt Gagliardi (H), J.B. Ouellette (X), John Thompson (X) 75, 5.C.J. Giuliano (X) 76, 6. Leif Lindeland (S) 80, 7. Reece Scott (H), Gavin Coletti (X), Brady Pill (X) 82, 10. Nicholas Fox (C) , Tanyon Duff (Som), Kasimir Lesnik (H), Ben Potter (Suff) 83
Other Canton golfers: 16. Jonah Hurley 86, Tyler Ugarte 86, 20. Derek Berg 88, 31. Connor Richardson 103
Other East Granby golfers: 23. Matt Hecht 93, Brady Gill 93, 27. Derek Rybczyk 99, 29. Nick Morrell 101, Jackson Pisati 101
Other Granby golfers: 26. Brady Liss 98, 27. Andrew Cefole 99, 31. Jason Platti 103, 34. Chace Maurice 117
2022 Walter Lowell Tournament
At Avon
Team results – 1. Hand 328, 2. Xavier 335, 3. Coventry 362, 4. Suffield 374, 5. Canton 381, 6. Granby 403, 7. East Granby 408
Top 10 finishers – Reece Scott (H) 77 at Blue Fox Run, par 70, 2. Matt Gagliardi (H) and Steven Hassett (Cov) 80, 4. John Carrozella (X) 81, 5. Brady Pill (X) 83, 6. Kasimir Lesnik (X) 84, 7. Russell Brown (G) and Madison Whitney (X) 85, 8. Matt Schuman (Can), Dylan Toombs (Cov) and Dave Ginsburg (H) 87
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.
