GOLF: Canada West's top golfers to descend on Victoria, BC
The 2022 CW Golf Championships tee off Monday
By Brian Swane, Special to CW
Overlooking the Haro Strait and in the shadow of Mount Baker, Cordova Bay Golf Course on Vancouver Island is a haven for wildlife. There’s dozens of types of birds. Scores of deer. Rabbits. The odd mink and occasional otter. Even a goat.
So it’s only fitting that this scenic 6,701-yard course would be visited upon by the likes of Bears, Pronghorns, Bison, and even Dinos, for the 2022 Canada West Golf Championships, hosted by the University of Victoria on Oct. 3 and 4.
Student-athletes from across the conference will roam the fairways and graze the greens, but it’s the Vikes who will be most in their natural habitat at Cordova Bay, which is located just 10 kilometres from UVic’s main campus in Victoria, B.C.
Twice named Facility of the Year by the PGA of British Columbia, Cordova Bay tests golfers of all acumen. The grass is short in some places and long in others, while the trees are challenging to hit from.
This will be the first time UVic has hosted the Canada West Golf Championships, which is quickly developing a rich tradition in its brief history, while the Thunderbirds of UBC have soared in the sport of birdies and eagles.
The conference held its inaugural golf championships in 2019 at the Okanagan Golf Club in Kelowna, B.C., where Fraser Valley won the men’s team title, and UBC claimed the women’s championship. UFV’s Daniel Campbell and Shania Remandaban of the T-Birds won the conference’s first ever individual gold medals for men’s and women’s golf, respectively.
After being forced to cancel due to the global pandemic in 2020, the Canada West Golf Championships returned in full swing last year, when UBC swept the championships at the Squamish Valley Golf Club in Squamish, B.C.
The T-Birds won both team titles, driven by Russell Howlett, who finished atop the men’s leaderboard, and Grace Bell, the women’s gold medalist.
There will be a new men’s champion this year, while Bell looks to become the first two-time winner at the Canada West Golf Championship, as she faces a deep field in Victoria.
The competitors head to Victoria in prime form, having spent this month playing events throughout Western Canada and beyond. Now they will look to tame Cordova Bay. Stay up to date on CanadaWest.org.