SHENZHEN, China – It was supposed to be a breakout Summer
Universiade for Canada's golf program in Shenzhen, but
unfortunately both the men's and women's teams walked off the
course without a medal in tow.
COMPLETE RESULTS: http://match.sz2011.org/Sd/GF/20110820ENG.htm
Canada was making its second ever appearance in golf at the world
university games and the Canadian men were able to improve on a
12th-place performance from 2007 in Bangkok in the team event,
finishing in eighth spot with a four-round total of 864. Japan
dominated the field, firing a combined 823 to win, and nearly swept
the individual podium, with Hideki Matsuyama leading all four
rounds to win at 19-under (269), while countryman Yoshinori
Fujimoto finished second at 16-under (272).
Mark Hoffman, of Thornhill, Ont., was Canada's
top performer on the men's side, finishing the tournament one-over
(289) after firing a four-over 76 during Saturday's final round to
finish tied for 27th. The Humber College student surged during the
third round, climbing to 14th in the standings by firing a 69, but
was unable to carry that momentum into the final day.
"I'm not happy with my performance, I expected to win a medal at
these games," said Hoffman. "I felt I was ready coming into this
event, but I didn't perform to my liking. Moving forward, you just
take the positives out of something like this, and improve for the
next time."
Teammates David Sheman of Newmarket, Ont., and Adrian
Cord of Etobicoke, Ont., finished tied for 31st, both
shooting three-over par (292). Sheman fell back on the final day
with a four-over round of 76, while Cord climbed with a round of
71. Gregory Belsito of Thornhill finished tied for
43rd (7-over, 295), while Calgary's Jack Wesche tied for 65th
(23-over, 311).
"This was a first class event, the course was amazing and I never
expected this many volunteers or the size and scope of all the
venues," said Hoffman. "We were a little disappointed with our
performance, we didn't expect Japan to be as good as they were. It
was an interesting course, it played short and relatively low
(scores), which meant it was very difficult to gain ground after
the opening day."
On the women's side, Anne Balser of Digby, N.S., led Canada to a
16th-place finish in the team competition, tying for 30th in the
individual event with a four-round total of 17-over (305).
Devon Risso of Brantford, Ont., and Victoria's Megan Woodland each
finished tied for 42nd (25-over, 313), while Alyssa Herkel of Port
Alberni, B.C., tied for 57th (42-over, 330) and Edmonton's Kylie
Barros closed out Canada's contingent tied for 64th (55-over,
343).
"We were hoping for a top five finish, but we got off to a rough
start," said Balser. "The Universiade was an amazing experience,
the volunteers here have been so helpful, the course and facilities
were beyond any of my expectations."
RESULTS UNIVERSIADE GOLF TOURNAMENT
Men's Individual Tournament
1. Hideki Matsuyama, Japan, 269 (-19); 2. Yoshinori Fujimoto,
Japan, 272 (-16); T3. Andrea Bolognesi, Italy, 276 (-12); T3. Young
Han Song, South Korea, 276 (-12); T27. Mark Hoffman (Humber
College), Thornhill, Ont., 289 (+1); T31. David Sheman,
Newmarket, Ont., 291 (+3); T31. Adrian Cord (Humber
College), Etobicoke, Ont., 291 (+3); T43. Gregory Belsito (Humber
College), Thornhill, Ont., 295 (+7); T65. Jack Wesche,
Calgary, Alta., 311 (+23).
Men's Team Tournament (top 4
players)
1. Japan, 823 strokes (208-206-203-206); 2. Italy, 836
(220-203-204-209); 3. Mexico, 842 (218-215-201-208); 8. Canada, 864
(222-215-207-220).
Women's Individual
Tournament
1. Tzuchi Lin, Taiwan, 280 (-8); T2. Katerina Ruzickova, Czech
Republic, 281 (-7); T2. Min Jeong Ko, South Korea, 281 (-7); T30.
Anne Balser, Digby, N.S., 305 (+17); T42. Devon Rizzo, Brantford,
Ont., 313 (+25); T42. Megan Woodland, Victoria, B.C., 313 (+25);
T57. Alyssa Herkel, Port Alberni, B.C., 330 (+42); T64. Kylie
Barros, Edmonton, Alta., 343 (+55).
Women's Team Tournament (top 3
players)
1. Taiwan, 558 strokes (139-139-142-138); 2. China, 580
(145-147-146-142); USA, 581 (148-147-145-141); 15. Canada, 618
(154-161-151-152).
Team Canada Website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/summer
2011 Summer Universiade Website: http://www.sz2011.org/Universiade
About the Summer Universiade
The Summer Universiade is an international multi-sport event that
takes place every two years and is second only to the Olympic Games
in the number of participating athletes and countries. Close to
9,000 athletes from over 150 countries will compete in Shenzhen.
The Universiade is open to competitors who are at least 17 and less
than 28 years of age as of January 1 in the year of the Games.
Participants must be full-time students at a post-secondary
institution (university, college, CEGEP) or have graduated from a
post-secondary institution in the year preceding the event.
Source: Canadian Interuniversity Sport