Laurier men’s golf team finishes in top 10 at 2019 Canadian University/College Golf Championship
Last week, from May 28-31, at the 2019 Canadian University/College Golf Championship, hosted by the Fanshawe College Falcons at the FireRock Golf Club in Komoka, Ontario, the Laurier Golden Hawk’s men’s team finished in the top 10, for the third year in a row.
The FireRock GC featured an 18-hole, 72-par course, in which 20 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams from across the country battled for the title and national recognition.
Golf Canada describes the course as “[a] challenging par-72 championship design (73 from the forward tees) measur[ing] 5,672-yards from the forward White tees, 6,279-yards from the Blues, 6,676-yards from the Gold tees and stretch[ing] back to a very demanding 7,183-yards from the tips.”
Among the leaders in the Men’s Division were the UBC Thunderbirds, who finished -11, the Western Mustangs, who finished -11 and the Victoria Vikes, who finished -5.
The Laurier team, consisting of Andrew Cox, from Kitchener; Ryan Murphy, from Ancaster; Henry Luel, from Oakville; Jaron Brown, from Thornhill; Jonny Cramton, from Toronto, and Samantha Zulian, from Burlington, who competed individually in the women’s portion of the tournament, took home a collective ninth place in the Men’s Division, finishing +31 with a total of 1183 strokes.
“Overall, it was a pretty good week for the program. We started out very well on Day One, in which we were tied for second. Then we kind of struggled down the stretch on Day Two and Three, and then played a lot better Day Four — we were already in contention by Day Four, but the kids stepped up and actually played a little bit better on the last day there,” said Jeff Colley, head golf coach for Laurier Athletics.
“The golf course held up well — it proved to be pretty difficult, there were a couple of tough hole stretches that the players had to endure, but they did their best to try and get through those stages as best as possible.”
Brown, who finished top in the Laurier men’s team, ended the tournament +7. In the Individual Men’s category, he finished T32, scoring 69 in round one, 82 in round two, 72 in round three and 72 in the final round.
“He made a few mistakes each day that kind of cost him a chance to possibly have a shot at the individual championship, [even though] he made 18 Birdies and an Eagle in the whole tournament,” Colley said.
“If you make 18 Birdies and an Eagle in a four-day tournament, you should have a chance to win. He had some tough breaks and some tough holes that kind of eliminated him from the individual title for contention there.”
Cramton, Cox, Luel and Murphy finished the competition with final scores of +8, +9, +14 and +23 respectively.
“My captain, Andrew Cox, had a good overall tournament: he played a lot better than his score indicated. He was in control of his golf ball all week, he made lots of Birdies, but he just had a few mental lapses and a few tough holes that brought him out of contention as well,” Colley said.
Zulian was participating in her first-ever national golf championship, finishing with a score of +44.
“[The championship] proved as a very good experience for her and we’re looking forward to her being in that championship again, hopefully with our women’s team in the coming years — and I think that this experience will allow her to be successful in future years,” Colley said.
But regardless of the outcome for the Laurier men’s team, the team expressed its gratitude for the opportunities provided to them, recognizing the privilege they were given to be a part of the competition.
“We wouldn’t be where we are if we didn’t have the support of Golf North giving our players full access to their facilities — they’re very generous to do that — and the athletic department at Laurier for being so helpful towards our golfers and allowing them to experience this opportunity every single year,” Colley said.
