DOURO-DUMMER, Ont. - The Durham College men's golf team sits 10 strokes out of a podium finish heading into the final round of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) golf championship.
Team captain Brent Clements (Pickering, Ont.) rebounded after a tough round one as he shot an even-par 72 to move into 15th place overall in the individual competition. Clements recorded six birdies on his scorecard, as he put up the fourth lowest score of the day. Ben Reid (Ajax, Ont.) also had a bounce back round as he shot a two-over 74, improving his score from day one by 11 strokes.
Teammate Craig Conroy (Bowmanville, Ont.) had a tough front nine on Tuesday, shooting six over but the marketing major was able to close out his round with one birdie and nine pars to finish with a five-over 77. Conroy sits in a tie for 18th place, one stroke back of Clements.
With a team total of 303 on Tuesday, the Lords improved their score by 16 strokes compared to round one. Despite the turnaround, the Lords remain in seventh place as they are 10 strokes behind the third place Fanshawe Falcons and Georgian Grizzlies, who are tied at 612. Humber remains in first place with a two-day total of 597, followed by the Lambton Lions in second at 607.
Rounding out Durham's individual scores on Tuesday was Matthew Perras (Omemee, Ont.) and Bill Irvine (Lindsay, Ont.) with matching 80s.
The scheduled 54-hole tournament concludes Wednesday at Wildfire Golf Club in Douro-Dummer, Ont., and is hosted by Fleming College.
Golfers represent 17 Ontario college campuses, including Centennial, Confederation, Durham, Fanshawe, Fleming, Georgian, Humber, Lakehead (Orillia), Lambton, Mohawk, Niagara, St. Clair, St. Lawrence (Brockville, Cornwall and Kingston), Sault and Seneca. It marks the first time Lakehead will participate in an OCAA varsity event since joining the association in 2013.
The tournament consists of three 18-hole rounds, weather permitting. The male and female player posting the lowest gross score through 54 holes will earn their respective individual championship.
Men's teams consist of four or five golfers, with the top four individual scores of each round contributing to the total team score. Women's teams consist of two or three golfers, with the top two individual scores of each round contributing to their total score. Schools with the lowest aggregate of gross scores after 54 holes win the respective team titles.
Wildfire Golf Club is located in the heart of Ontario's picturesque Kawartha cottage country. Opening in August, 2003 on the shores of scenic Stoney Lake, the spectacular 18-hole, 6,745-yard layout designed by noted Canadian architect Tom McBroom.
A tournament banquet on Tuesday will feature Olympic rower Jeremiah Brown as a guest speaker. Brown won an Olympic silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics as part of the men's eights for Canada.
Daily results at the championships will be available online via the championship website and OCAA.com.
Championship Website: gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao14/event/gao14310/index.htm
Wildfire Golf Club Website: www.matchplaygolfmarketing.com/WILDFIRE/index.html
Jeremiah Brown's Website: www.jeremiahspeaks.com
DURHAM LORDS ROSTER
Adam Hobb (Marketing)
Ben Reid (Business)
Bill Irvine (Project Management)
Brent Clements (Sport Management)
Craig Conroy (Marketing)
Matthew Perras (Golf & Facility Management)
Source: Durham College with files from OCAA Communications
Photo Credit: Al Fournier