Day 3 - Humber, Thompson Rivers Take Team Gold; Tanguay and Vanderwal Win Individual Titles

2008 PING CCAA Golf Open Championships, Day 3
Stratford, PE - On a bone chilling day in Stratford the 2008 CCAA Golf Open Championships wrapped up with two dream finishes.

In women's action, the Humber College Hawks took home the gold medal in the team competition maintaining their 10-shot lead from yesterday with two rounds of 78 and a 76 from the team of Shauna Wilde, Bev Peel and Maggie Trainor respectively.

In the women's individual chase for gold, today got a whole lot more interesting. Playing as a twosome were the leaders going into the day Maggie Trainor from Humber and Anne-Catherine Tanguay from Champlain St. Lawrence. Trainor had a four shot lead going into today's action, but Tanguay made up the difference quickly, shooting a one-under par 35 on the front nine. An impressive number in any condition, but with the cold temperatures and high winds taking over the course, this was a tremendous feat.

Trainor going two over on the front made for a three shot swing and the lead was down to one. The two players battled back and fourth on the back nine, playing great golf, hitting fairway after fairway and green after green.

Trainor and Tanguay came to the 18th tee tied for the lead. They both stepped up and hit great drives and great second shots on the long par 5, but it was Anne-Catherine's wedge shot from 80 yards out that would lead her to victory. With a sand-trap between her and the pin she hit a tremendous shot landing it five feet from the pin. Trainor couldn't get her long birdie attempt to go and Tanguay stepped up and rolled in the winning birdie putt that gave her the gold medal.

Tanguay talked about the 18th hole later, saying, "I knew we were close, but I just focused on staying relaxed, taking deep breaths and staying in my zone. I was pretty comfortable out there and I was really determined to stick it tight on my approach. I knew as soon as I hit it that it was going to be good."

She commented on her very tidy round of 71 adding, "I hit 16 greens in regulation and never really got into much trouble all day. I felt great with my putter, things just seemed to go well."

A first year Social Sciences student from Quebec City, Tanguay will be a force to reckon with in the years to come.

In men's action, it was a very similar story as the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack were able to hold on to the six stroke lead they had going into the day and secure their gold medals.

The Wolfpack relied on a team effort the entire week. Head Coach Bill Bilton talked about his team, saying, "I'm speechless right now. We didn't even have a team at TRU on August 10th. To be able to bring this group together and win a national championship is incredible. I'm really proud of how the guys played."

"This has been an awesome week. The hospitality we've received has been tremendous. Everyone we've met, the volunteers, the staff at the course, it's just been great," added the ecstatic coach.

The men's individual championship needed a 55th hole to decide the winner, as the leader going into the day. Mitch Lock from Fraser Valley, sat tied with Shawn Vanderwal from Thompson Rivers after 54 holes in the three-round championship.

Lock had a chance to take the title on the 54th hole, bombing a drive down the middle and hitting an amazing 4-iron to leave him 10 feet for eagle and the win. He gave the putt a great effort, but left it on the lip. Tapping in for birdie, he forced the playoff with Vanderwal.

The two players went back up the 18th for their playoff. Both players hit solid drives off the tee and Lock was away, and was first to play for their second shots. He crushed his 3-wood into the wind landing it on the front of the green. Vanderwal decided to go for it on the par-five as well but didn't quite get up onto the green as his well struck 3-wood stayed straight and landed in the bunker.

That's when the magic happened. Vanderwal stepped into the bunker and hit a tremendous shot, leaving his ball two feet from the pin with basically a tap-in. Lock gave his long eagle putt a go at the hole, but hit it a bit too hard, leaving himself a tough putt coming back. He wasnt able to get it to go and Vanderwal rolled in the birdie for the win and the CCAA Championship.

Vanderwal talked about the dramatic playoff finish commenting, "I was going to lay-up on the playoff hole, but after Mitch hit such a great 3-wood I didn't have a choice. I hit a solid shot, but it didnt cut as much as I needed. That was only my second bunker shot of the whole week, but it's one of the better parts of my game so I felt pretty confident."

Vanderwal was three shots behind going into the day and shot a final round 72. The two players were tied at one over par for the 54-hole tournament.

Shawn also talked about winning the tournament, saying, "I've never really played golf this late in the year so I didn't know how I was going to play in the colder weather. I had a great time, played pretty well all week and it feels great to come out on top."

Like Anne-Catherine, Shawn is also a first year student. He is majoring in English at Thompson Rivers and will no doubt be back on the scene in the years to come.

For the host Holland Hurricanes it was a somewhat disappointing week, but the Hurricanes had two young teams and competed hard from start to finish. The women finished in fourth place and got a final round 82 from Jessica Norris. The men finish in seventh and were led by Alex Egan's 75 on Day Three.

It was a great championship week from start to finish with great weather especially given the time of year and potential for some unbearable conditions.

Many players will probably take away the memories of the island hospitality as well as the notorious Fox Meadow foxes, who took several players balls during the week and could be found very close to the players as they passed the sixth hole.

Day 2 - Trainor Leads Humber Women to Ten-Stroke Lead, Three-Way Battle for the Title in Men's Play

2008 PING CCAA Golf Open Championships, Day 2

Charlottetown, PE - Day two of the 2008 CCAA Golf Open Championships at Fox Meadow Golf and Country Club in Stratford was a day of movement. Some leads grew, some tightened and the leaders from yesterday now face uphill battles.

In women's team action the defending champion Humber Hawks got a superb round out of Maggie Trainor who rode a hot putter to a two under par 70. The Hawks also counted Bev Peel's second straight 74 for a two-day, two-player team score of 294.

"The putter was hot today. I missed quite a few fairways but my wedges were good and I was able to roll in a bunch of putts, commented Trainor. The second year Professional Golf Management student from Dundas, Ontario also added, "I lipped out on the 18 for a birdie and a 69. I really wanted that one but I'm pretty happy with how I played."

Trainor has strong connections to the Island as her father, Rick was born on the Island and they return often.

In the chase for individual gold, Trainor now holds a two-shot lead over teammate Bev Peel and a four-shot lead over Anne-Catherine Tanguay from Champlain College.

Peel talked about her round of 74 saying, "It was pretty much the same as yesterday. I had to grind a little more but I was pretty steady. It was a fun round playing with Anne-Catherine, we both played well."

In the women's team competition Humber now has a ten-shot lead over Champlain. Unless the tough combination of Trainor, Peel and defending champion Shauna Wilde really fall off tomorrow they'll likely be taking home the banner.

Throughout the tournament all the girls have been very humble and continue to stick by the old, but effective cliche, "One shot at a time." It certainly seems to be working.

On a side note, it looks like there are some great years ahead for Champlain College golf. The Lions rely on two freshmen, and Athletic Director Chris Brosseau pointed out, "We're shooting for first, but at the same time are going to be pretty happy if we can maintain second this year. We're definitely looking ahead and building for next year."

In men's play it's certainly shaping up to be an exiting final day as the team and individual competitions are both tight.

In the team competition it looks to be a three-team battle for the title. The Thompson Rivers Wolfpack hold a five-shot lead over the second place Fraser Valley Cascades and a six-shot lead over the defending champion Humber Hawks.

For the Wolfpack it certainly was team day. Yesterday's leader, Riley Balson couldn't match his blistering round of 69, shooting a seven-over 79. That's where is team came in, as Shaun Vanderwal shot a one under 71 to lead the team to a five-shot lead.

The Wolfpack also got strong rounds from Brett Martin and Adam Gruber who both fired rounds of 73. Martin got off to a tough start going four over par on the front, but got it going on the back three birdies and a 33 to finish at 73 for the round. "The mental game wasn't there on the front, but I managed to turn it around and play well on the back," said Martin.

Mitch Lock and the Fraser Valley Cascades sit in second place in the team competition and Lock has a one shot lead in the individual standings.

"I kept it going strong all day today. I drained a couple of bombs for birdies and also made a bunch of clutch par putts," said Lock. "I'm just going to go out and play the same way tomorrow. If I can go out and put up the same number it will really help the team and give us a chance to win," he added.

Fraser Valley coach Chris Bertram talked about the final round saying, "In team golf four or five shots can be made up pretty easily. All along we've said that we want to put ourselves in a position to make a run on Friday. We've done that and it should be a good show tomorrow."

The defending champion Humber Hawks certainly won't go down without a fight either. The Hawks have struggled at times in the first two rounds and will need to get it going on the final day to repeat as champions.

Brett Pearl of the Hawks knows the challenge ahead for the team stating, "We definitely haven't played our best golf. We're going to need a really good day tomorrow. We'll all be in groups with the guys from Thompson Rivers and Fraser Valley so we'll just be concentrating on playing our game and at the same time trying to stay with those guys."

The Host Hurricanes were lead by Tye Vaillancourt and Joey Neale with rounds of 71 and 74 respectively. The Hurricanes sit in seventh.

Day 1 - Wolfpack Men Howl on Day 1, Humber Women with Slim Lead

2008 PING CCAA Golf Open Championships, Day 1

Charlottetown, PE - First round play in the 2008 PING CCAA Golf Open Championships kicked-off today at Fox Meadow Golf and Country Club in Stratford. Day One saw the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack get off to a great start coming in with a combined score of 285.

The Wolfpack were lead by Riley Balson, who fired at three-under par 69 to take the men's individual lead. The 6'7" Balson, a first-year Business Administration student talked about his round saying, "I got off to a rough start with a bogey on the second hole, but also got some lucky breaks out there today. I chipped in for eagle on the third from 40 yards out and that really got me going. My putter was probably the best part of my game today. I made a bunch of up-and-downs from some tight spots."

Thompson Rivers also got a great round from Brett Martin who came in with an even-par 72. Martin commented on the Wolfpack's focus saying, "We mapped out the course pretty well and we're concentrating on precision golf. We know where we have to be as we play the course and we're trying to stay with the plan. The course is fairly open, but the greens are tough and there are definitely some tight spots. We just want to take it one shot at a time."

The Wolfpack lead the team competition by seven strokes over the defending-champion Humber Hawks. The Hawks were led by team Captain and OCAA Champion Mike Zizek who fired a two-under par 70.

"I really didn't hit it very well today, but scrapped it out and found a way to put a good round together, commented Zizek.

Zizek also gave full credit to Thompson Rivers saying, "They were very impressive today. 285 is a great number. At the same time there are two days left and we're going to give it everything we've got. I've told the guys that pars are your friend. You're not going to go out everyday and make 12 birdies."

In the women's division it looks like a two-team race for the title as the defending champion Humber Hawks hold a slim two stroke lead over Cegep Champlain St. Lawrence.

The Hawks were lead by Bev Peel who set the pace with a two-over 74. "I played pretty steady all day. The course is playing really well and the greens are responsive. I thought they were rolling very true and I was able to knock-down some putts," remarked Peel.

Champlain was led by Anne-Catherine Tanguay and Annouk Charbonneau shooting opening rounds of 75 and 77 respectively.

In the chase for the individual championship it's a tight race to say the least. Peel is tied with Danielle Dunlop of the Niagara College Knights at 74. They are closely followed by Tanguay from Champlain and then Maggie Trainor from Humber who came in with a very solid 76.

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