LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – The UBC Thunderbirds lead both sides of the Canada West Golf Championships following day one of the tournament on Monday at Paradise Canyon Golf Resort. The T-Birds women (224, +11) hold a solid eight-stroke lead, while the men (294, +10) are up by a stroke in a tightly packed field.
With a steady wind carrying across the course throughout the day, players faced an added challenge with club selection and approach shots, while temperature remained favourable for the first of two rounds of championship play.
As expected, the UBC women were battling for first with UBCO (232, +19), after the Heat finished second behind the 'Birds at the conference championship in each of the last two seasons. They're followed by Victoria at +26 (239). Alberta sits fourth at +32, while Calgary and Fraser Valley are tied for fifth at +44.
The women's individual leaderboard is also topped by two T-Birds, with
Katherine Hao and
Cadence Ko tied at +2 following opening-round scores of 73.
Hao, the reigning individual champion, started her round on the 10th tee, and recorded birdies on holes three, five and eight. Ko, who opened from the 12th tee, finished with birdies on holes three and four.
On the men's side, the Alberta Golden Bears finished the first round in a surprise in second place, just one stroke back of the blue and gold at +11 (295), as they seek their first-ever CW Golf Championship. The Bears are followed by the two-time defending champion UBCO Heat at +13 (297). The Victoria Vikes and Calgary Dinos are tied for fourth at +16. That means that the difference between first and fifth in the men's field is just six strokes, two fewer than the first to second place gap in the women's.
Aneesh Kaura, who T-Birds' head coach
Cory Renfrew boldly predicted would become the first UBC man ever to win the event, does indeed sit atop the individual leaderboard after carding a three-under-par 68.
Kaura, an Alberta native, got his tournament underway with a birdie on the second hole before making the biggest move of his opening round on the par-five fifth, where he recorded an eagle. He added three more birdies on the back nine, converting on holes 12, 14 and 18.
The second and final round of the Canada West Golf Championships gets underway Tuesday morning with an 8:30 a.m. (PT) shotgun start back at Paradise Canyon Golf Resort.
