Banner Season: Local schools lead the way after opening round of OUA Championships

Waterloo, Ont. (via Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks) - In cold, overcast, and extremely windy conditions, it was unsurprising to see two teams most familiar with the layout of this year's OUA Golf Championships course play through the adverse conditions to sit atop the leaderboard after Saturday's opening round.

Looking for the first women's title in program history, the host Laurier Golden Hawks ended the day with a commanding 12-stroke lead over second-place Windsor after shooting a combined +12, 225. The Toronto Varsity Blues and Guelph Gryphons sit tied for third at +29. 

Leading the way for the purple and gold was Kristi Godkin, who carded a +1, 71 to sit atop the women's individual leaderboard as well.

Teammate Lauren Bevan overcame three bogies and two doubles by draining four birdies on the back nine to make it a 1-2 Laurier punch in the individual standings after finishing at +3, 74. 

Lexi McKay of the Western Mustangs also checked in at the clubhouse tied with Bevan's +3 to round out the top three, after carding five bogies and three birdies.

The Waterloo Warriors' men's team was, very impressively, the lone group to finish in the red by shooting a combined score of -1, 283. Looking to reclaim an OUA title for the first time since their three-peat between 2014 and 2016, the Warriors were buoyed by three of their five student-athletes finishing with top-10 scores. 

Jack Deighan recorded four birdies on the day along with an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole to finish at -4, 67 to take ownership of the men's individual leaderboard.

Nipping at his heels though are Steve Hill of the Windsor Lancers and Kobe Smith of the Guelph Gryphons, both of whom shot a -2, 69.

Four other golfers, including Deighan's teammates William Dodd and Graem Costigan, rounded out the negative scores with identical 1-unders.

With the cool temperatures remaining for Sunday's second round, things are still bound to heat up as conditions are forecasted to be dry and sunny - setting up an exciting finish to crown this year's provincial champions and the qualifying teams for the Canadian University Golf Championships in early June 2024.