GOLF: CW Golf Championships tee off in Kelowna
UBCO to host the 2024 CW Golf Championships Oct. 7 and 8
Oct. 4, 2024 - UBC Okanagan is set to host the 2024 Canada West Golf Championships, as student-athletes from nine schools vie for the top spot on the conference podium in both team and individual competition.
Joining the host UBCO Heat will be competitors from Victoria, UBC, Fraser Valley, Calgary, Alberta, Lethbridge, Regina and Manitoba.
This year's event takes place at the stunning Okanagan Golf Club in Kelowna, BC. The 36-hole facility consists of The Bear and The Quail courses, nestled amongst spectacular ponderosa pine forests and emerald greens.
The 36-hole championship kicks off with the opening round on Monday, Oct. 7, followed by the final round on Tuesday. Both rounds begin with an 11 a.m. shotgun start.
Live scoring and additional championship information will be available on the CW Championship Homepage.
Heat looking forward to home course advantage
Amidst a strong field of competition, UBCO golfers will look to leverage their familiarity with the host course. The Heat have high hopes with both men's and women's programs entering the event in strong form.
UBCO second year Julia Alexander-Carew has been on fire to start the year and will enter as a tournament favourite, having already earned two CW Female Golfer of the Week nods this season. She recently captured individual golds at two NCAA Division II tournaments, including the Grisham Memorial Shootout and the SFU True North Classic.
Teammates Emily Cornwall and Lauren Nedo also made the top-20 at the True North Classic, proving the Heat are ready and capable to improve on their CW silver medal performance last season.
To reach their championship goals, the hosts will need to topple the four-time reigning champion UBC Thunderbirds. The T-Birds have claimed team gold at each CW championship since the event's inception in 2019. Jessica Ng will be returning to defend the individual title she won last fall in Abbotsford.
UBC has already impressed with a strong showing at the Seattle University Harbottle Invitational earlier this fall. The team finished third in a massive 17-team field that included 15 NCAA Division I programs, and were one of only three teams to shoot under par at the event.
Look for the UFV Cascades to also be in the mix, coming off a bronze medal showing at last year's championships. Second year golfer Morgan Best is coming off a 30th place finish at the FISU World University Golf Championship in Finland earlier in September, and was the top finishing Canadian in the women's event.
On the men's side of the draw, a new individual champion is guaranteed to be crowned.
UBCO's Justin Towill captured last year's individual title by winning a thrilling playoff match with Victoria's Zach Ryujin. Towill went on to qualify for the PGA Tour Americas this summer, opening the door for a new conference champion.
UBC will look to defend their team title from last season, where they bested silver medallist UBCO by just three strokes. The T-Birds are coming off a strong showing at the inaugural Canadian Collegiate Invitational, where they held their own against nine NCAA DI opponents. Captain Mackenzie Bickell led the way for the T-Birds at that event, ending up tied for 23rd in the 55-player field.
The host Heat will look to turn last year's silver into gold this time around. UBCO is coming off an impressive fifth place team showing at the SFU True North Classic. They were led by third year Andrew Rouble at that event, with the Wellesley, Ont. product finishing fifth overall.
The UFV Cascades will look to build on their bronze medal performance at last year's CW championships. They'll be led by Eli Greene, who started off the season strong with a pair of top-10 finishes at the SFU True North Classic and SMU Bishop Invitational.
Keep an eye on Ethan Howes of Alberta, who already has two tournament wins this fall. He captured the individual title at the Golden Bears home event early in September, and followed it up by a win at the University of Calgary Invitational later in the month.
Calgary's Sam McKeown also has a tournament win under his belt this season, having claimed the University of Lethbridge Invitational title. It was a battle that went down to the wire, as he bested Alberta's Nick Mah by a single stroke at the event.