AROUND OUA: Western Invitational

Mustangs strike gold at Western Open

ST. THOMAS, Ont. – Western kicked off their competitive season with a big victory close to home, beating nine other universities to take first place at the Western Open hosted by St. Thomas Gold and Country Club and picking up individual accolades along the way.

Charles Fitzsimmons and newcomer Josh Zhang led the way for the Mustangs, each recording 71 shots to share the individual silver medal. The purple and white golfers were just one shot below par, while Waterloo's David French took the individual gold medal by matching the course par at 70.

While Fitzsimmons and Zhang led the purple and white scorecard, the entire team recorded impressive scores. Chris Lao ended the course with a 73, while first year Mustang Mac Carter shot a 74. Rounding out the team was Adam Migur, who recorded a 77.

The group's total shot count came to 289, leading the tournament by 12 shots. Taking the team silver medal was Waterloo, while Guelph ended in third.

The Mustangs will be following up their season debut with the Western Invitation on September 18, hosted by Sunningdale Golf Club.

Source: Western Mustangs

Western men sweep opening tournaments

LONDON, Ont. - After winning the Western Open on Thursday, Western's men's golf team capped off the opening week of OUA play by beating out eleven other teams at the Western Invitational, held at London's Sunningdale Country Club.

The victory did not come easy, as Western and Laurier finished in a dead heat with team scores of 290 for their top four players. 

To break team ties, the score of the fifth player comes into play. Western's had 78 while Laurier was 81. As a result, Western took gold, Laurier took silver, and Waterloo took bronze with a team total of 295 followed by Brock, Windsor, Guelph, Laurentian, UOIT, McMaster, Carleton, and York.
 
Friday's individual scorers were led once again by Western's Captain Charles Fitzsimmons, who shot a three under par 69. Waterloo's Devon Bartlett followed closely with a two under par 70. Third place was held by Western's Josh Zhang and three others, all of whom shot one-under scores of 71.

The team will be competing again on Monday, September 21 at University of Toronto, hosted by Islington Golf Club.

Source: Western Mustangs

Krantz finishes with two more top finishes

LONDON, Ont. – The UOIT golf team traveled to southwestern Ontario this week to take part in the Western Invitational, looking to build off of their strong start in Kingston.
 
The two-day event was split into separate tournaments taking place at the St. Thomas Golf & Country Club and Sunningdale Golf & Country Club.
 
Coming off a win at the Queen's Invitational, James Krantz had two more impressive rounds to finish near the top of the leaderboard. On day one, the mechanical engineering major shot a 72 to finish in third place, just two strokes behind the leader. He followed up that performance by in finishing in a four-way tie for third place with a round of 71, once again just two strokes off the pace.
 
At St. Thomas, UOIT found themselves in fourth place with a team total of 313, one stroke ahead of the Laurier Golden Hawks. Ben Kennedy also ended up in the top 20 finishing the round with a 78.
 
The following day, the Ridgebacks finished in 8^th place overall in the team competition. Nick Dirk was close behind Krantz carding a 73 to finish in 12^th place overall.
 
UOIT will continue play on the OUA tour on Monday as they take part in the University of Toronto Invitational at Islington Golf Club in Etobicoke.
 
The Ridgebacks will play host to the OUA championship for the second straight year from Oct. 19-20 at the Oshawa Golf and Curling Club.

Source: UOIT Ridgebacks

McCoy and MacPherson Lead Marauders in London

London, ON – Marauder golfers Colin McCoy and John MacPherson had a solid start to the 2015-16 campaign in the team's first tournament at the Sunningdale Golf and Country Club on Friday.

McCoy, a 4th-year Commerce student, was recently named team captain by Head Coach Patrick O'Neill.

"I've always been impressed with Colin's attitude and overall demeanor," said O'Neill. "He will be an excellent leader."

O'Neill wasted no time showing he was up to the task of leading the Marauders, as he opened his season with a 73 on Sunningdale's Robertson course.

First-year teammate John MacPherson also had an excellent start to his OUA golf career, matching McCoy with a 73.

"Had it not been for an unfortunate bounce on his 17th hole, he could have broken par," said Coach O'Neill of MacPherson's round. The Mac rookie grew up in Hamilton and is a product of the Oak Gables D-Team, a high performance junior development program led by coach O'Neill and former Marauder women's coach Andrew Ross.

"I'm thrilled that John chose to attend McMaster," said O'Neill. "I've known him since 2011 and have seen his game continually grow and improve each year. He is a very hard worker and he will be an excellent student-athlete for years to come."

Also new to the team this season are Ethan Hurst and Hayden Toole. Both shot 82 on Friday, but there was still plenty of positive moments in their rounds. For example, Hurst hit a nice four iron onto the green on a very difficult 220-yard par three that was playing directly into a strong left-to-right wind.

The Marauders are back in action on Monday at University of Toronto's Invitational. Starting players will be:

1. Curtis Conrad
2. Jamie Cherutti
3. Wesley Kwok
4. Alex Lyon
5. Ben Brandreth

Source: McMaster Marauders