Cielak stretches win streak to three at Frenchtown Invite
<p>Jonny Cielak tees off on No. 2, a 356-yard par 4 during Libby Invitational Sept. 12</p>
Libby High golfer Jonny Cielak is on a streak his coach is not certain he has ever seen before. With a Monday victory at the Frenchtown Invitational, Cielak has won three consecutive tournaments.
“He keeps beating everyone in the conference,” Libby Coach Dann Rohrer said. “It is hard to win tournaments in a row with golf. Look at the pros, very seldom does a professional win consecutive tournaments.”
Cielak’s dominance began Sept. 9 in Columbia Falls at Meadow Lake Golf Course. The junior shot an 83, besting the field by four strokes.
Three days later Cielak was back on top at his home course. His round of 77 at the Libby Invitational earned a three-shot victory. The win streak is now at three after Cielak shot a 79 to edge Polson’s Carson McDaniel and Hamilton’s Josh Heath by one stroke.
For such a simple game — hit the stationary ball into the hole — golf is astonishingly complex. While the sport’s best often win a few tournaments a year, the game is comparable to baseball in the way that small sample sizes are rarely representative of a golfer’s capabilities. While there are winners, there are no real losers. A top 10 finish in a tournament is an accomplishment. However, Cielak is on a rare roll when the language used to describe his outings is comparable to other sporting events. The next tournament he does not win will end his streak, but it will not mean he lost.
“Golf is not like other sports, there are so many variables,” Rohrer said. “You can hit a great shot and have the ball hit a sprinkler head and take a bad bounce. It’s not like basketball where the floor is flat. What other sport takes up 80 acres?”
While Rohrer said he is proud of Cielak, he wants his top golfer to stay hungry.
“This is a good year for him,” Rohrer said. “But it could be a great season with divisionals coming up.”
Cielak was not the only Libby golfer to stand out Monday. Libby’s Lily Feeback and Luke Adamson both earned tenth with rounds of 104 and 89, respectively.
“Luke and Lily played well,” Rohrer said. “We have a number of kids who did not finish in the top 10 who also put up personal bests and are playing better.”
Libby travels Tuesday to West Glacier for a 9:30 a.m. tee time. Rohrer said he cancelled practice earlier in the week to give students time to catch up on homework, but believes his team will be ready to play in their final meet before the Sept. 25 divisional tournament at Meadow Lake.
Top Ten Girls
1 Peyton Anderson, Polson 83
2 Summer Kennerly, Browning 93
3 Sydni Rose, Hamilton 94
4 Cyan Old Chief, Browning 96
5 Kiyara McCue, Polson 99
5 Dani Flynn, Frenchtown 99
5 Ashlyn Stenerson, Frenchtown 99
8 Jamie Knight, Frenchtown 100
9 Jamie McNally, Frenchtown 101
10 Lily Feeback, Libby 104
Top Ten Boys
1 Jonny Cielak, Libby 79
2 Josh Heath, Hamilton 80
2 Carson McDaniel, Polson 80
4 Bridger Palin, Hamilton 81
5 Chris Delaney, Frenchtown 83
6 Reno Lindesmith, Polson 84
7 Trae Kennerly, Browning 85
7 Noah McDonald, Polson 85
9 Conner Ingraham, Whitefish 86
10 Ky Burch, Hamilton 89
10 Luke Adamson, Libby 89