LEVIS, Que. – The UBC Thunderbirds women (+1) have jumped out to a nine-stroke lead after the opening round of the Golf Canada Canadian University/College Championship, while the UBC men (+3) sit in seventh, eight strokes off of the lead.
The women teed off first at Club de Golf La Tempête to kick off the four-day tournament near the bank of the Chaudière River, and despite starting at 4:40 a.m. Vancouver time, the eight-time defending champion T-Birds quickly showed why they are the team to beat.
Three of the four UBC women birdied the par-5 fourth hole as the group hovered around par throughout the morning, while their opponents' scores steadily rose. Sister school UBC Okanagan (+10) sits nine strokes back in second, ahead of an equally large gap to third place Laval (+19) within the 12-team field.
Recently named NAIA All-American
Keira Hou led the way for the blue and gold with a bogey-free back nine to sit atop the individual leaderboard as the only woman under par (71, -1).
Katherine Hao, a two-time tournament winner in her first year as a T-Bird, also went bogey-free on the back nine to slide into second at even par (72). Fourth-year
Jessica Ng, runner-up at last year's Canadian Championship, came in with a strong 74 (+2) to place her fifth individually and round out UBC's scoring for the day in the four-drop-three format.
On the men's side, the 'Birds began the four-round event in a solid seventh place among the 20 competing schools, with the top three UBC men posting identical scores to the top three UBC women.
Aneesh Kaura carded a team-best 71 (-1) after an eventful round that finished with four back-nine birdies, putting him in a tie for 16th place individually. Right behind him was first-year
Manpreet Lalh, who shot an even par 72 thanks to a birdie on 18, placing him in a tie for 21st.
Jake Houston and
Shunkichi Yamamoto also finished their days with birdies, en route to identical 74s (+2) to round out UBC's scoring in the men's five-drop-four format.
The Thunderbirds men are eight strokes behind first-place Queen's (-5), with the Gaels also featuring the individual leader in Luke Macpherson (66, -6).
Wednesday will see the men take the tees in the morning, with the five T-Birds set to begin play in 10 minute intervals, from the 10
th hole, starting at 5:20 a.m. (PT).
The UBC women will also begin their rounds on the back nine on Wednesday, leading off the afternoon groups, local time, at 10:00 a.m. (PT).
