Men’s golf focuses on OUA title

With the fall schedule about to wrap up for the Wilfrid Laurier men’s golf team, they’ll get a chance to win a title in their own backyard.

Next week, Waterloo’s Grey Silo Gold Course will play host to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) finals, pitting the provinces best university golfers against each other.

“Fall golf is tough, enough said,” third-year golfer Bishop said. “The wind is blowing, you wear mitts and tuques because of the cold weather, and the rain makes it a grind on every hole.”

In his third year with the team, Bishop led the Hawks to strong performances in September, including two second place team finishes at the Queen’s Invitational and the Carleton Invitational and a third in the Waterloo/Wilfrid Laurier invitational just a couple weeks ago at Grey Silo.

“We’re a confident group,” Bishop explained. “I am confident in the group of guys we have on the team. If we all prepare ourselves in the right ways, and take care of the issues we have control of, I certainly believe we can be crowned the OUA Champions next week.”

The stage is set for Bishop, with the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship being played at Grey Silo, a place he knows well and has fond memories from previous weeks at the Waterloo/Wilfrid Laurier Invitational.

Along with Laurier’s third place team finish at the event, Bishop finished third individually, which is no small feat in its own.

Another great advantage is that Wilfrid Laurier team has also been using Grey Silo as their practice grounds.

“Grey Silo has been a great facility for our team to practice at all year,” Bishop said. “They provide us with unlimited access to the course, and have treated us very well.”

Despite the finish on the links just a couple weeks ago, the Laurier golfers treat Grey Silo like any other.

“The golf course itself allows you to play holes in different ways,” he said.

“You can lay back or go for a bunch of shots on the course, but off the tee it is pretty wide open. The tricky part is that because it is wide open, the wind tends to pick up and can blow your shots into the fescue next to the fairways.”

Also at stake is a birth in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national championships, which will be held in Québec in the spring.

“Our first goal next week is to qualify for the national championship next spring,” Bishop said. “The OUA Championships is our major tournament in Ontario and of our short golf season in the fall.

However, the major tournament is the CIS national championship.”

With the amount of work the golfers have put in with coach Jim Zwolak over the past couple of weeks, they are determined to get that number one finish that they have been hoping for all year.

“Winning as a team and celebrating with a win would mean a lot to our golf team and the coaches, as well as the Laurier athletic community.”

 

By Liam Allum

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