Ontario College golfers are ready to drive, chip and putt to an Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Championship title as players embark on the event hosted by St. Lawrence College – Cornwall at the Upper Canada Golf Course in Morrisburg, Ont. The tournament will take place from September 29-October 1, 2008.

The championship festivities will kick off with a practice round on Monday followed by two official rounds taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday. This year’s championship will feature 14 male teams and 3 female teams. In the men’s and women’s divisions, golfers will be competing for both the individual and team championships.

In the men’s division, the 12 time provincial champions, Humber Hawks, will look to successfully defend their 2006 & 2007 men’s titles, but will face stiff competition from the Niagara College Knights led by 2007 individual champion, Matt Hunter. The Hawks will be led by OCAA veteran, and 2007 silver medalist Mike Zizik, as they gun for their seventh team title in nine seasons.

Individual competition for the men will be a wide open affair as several men have already turned in impressive performances at Invitational events this season. Sean Burke of Niagara College turned in the low round at the Niagara College Golf Classic shooting a round of 71 that was also matched by Georgian’s Mike Gonko. Mitch Hugh of St. Clair College finished second in the event with a round of 72. Another Niagara golfer was atop the leader board at the Fanshawe Invitational, as Dave Evans shot a tournament low 70. Fanshawe’s Taylor Booth, Durham’s James Hoffman and Georgian’s Bill Sewchuk all shot rounds of 71 to finish in the runner-up spots.

At the third Invitational tournament of the season, another new leader found his way to the top of the list as third year Hawk, Brett Pearl, topped the field with a round of 73. Durham’s Rob Lewis and Niagara’s Adam Briggs both shot rounds of 74 respectively. With three tournaments producing different winners, the championship should produce an interesting battle for the leader board watchers.

On the women’s side of the championship, Daniele Dunlop of Niagara College, has asserted herself as one of the women to watch. After shooting an impressive 73 to claim the Fanshawe Invitational tournament and a 75 at the Niagara College Invitational, Dunlop also posted a second place round of 81 at the Durham College Invitational. Dunlop is not the only female golfer in contention for the individual title as the Humber Hawks will look to defend their 2007 OCAA Championship sweep of the leader board. The Hawks will be led by OCAA bronze medalist and national champion Shauna Wilde, as well as teammate Bev Peel who recently returned form representing Canada at the FISU World University Games in South Africa. Humber will look to capture the women’s team title for the third consecutive year.

OFFICIAL SCHEDULE

Monday, September 29
- Official Practice Round at Upper Canada Golf Course: Shot Gun Start 12:00 PM
- Coaches Meeting: 7:00 PM @ McIntosh Country Inn
Tuesday, September 30
- Round One - OCAA Championships – Tee Off @ 10:00 AM – (Double Tees)
- Championship Banquet @ McIntosh Country Inn – 6:00 pm
Wednesday, October 1
- Final Round - OCAA Championships Tee Off @ 10:00 AM – (Double Tees)
- OCAA Awards Ceremony Medal Ceremonies will take place immediately following the round

Championship Format:
The men’s team championship will consist of five player teams competing in 36 holes of stroke play with the top four individual scores counting toward the team total. Team play after the first round will be divided to Division I and Division II. The top half of the teams (including ties) will move to Division I and the remaining teams will be in Division II. The women’s team championship will consist of three player teams competing in 36 holes of stroke play with a minimum of two individual scores counting towards the team total.

The following teams will be competing at the 2008 OCAA Golf Championship:

Men’s Division
Collége Boréal (Sudbury)
Conestoga College (Kitchener)
Confederation College (Thunder Bay)
Durham College (Oshawa)
Fanshawe College (London)
George Brown College (Toronto)
Georgian College (Barrie)
Humber College (Etobicoke)
Niagara College (Welland)
St. Clair College (Windsor)
St. Lawrence College (Brockville)
St. Lawrence College (Cornwall)
St. Lawrence College (Kingston)
Fleming (Peterborough)

Women’s Division
Fanshawe College (London)
Georgian College (Barrie)
Humber College (Etobicoke)

Following the OCAA Championships, golfers will head to Prince Edward Island to take part in the 2008 Ping Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) Golf Open Championship hosted by Holland College from October 13-17. Golfers will tee off at the Fox Meadow Golf Club in Stratford, PEI.