The Georgian College men’s golf team is contending for a podium position after the first round of the national collegiate championship.
The Grizzlies sit in a tie for fourth place through 18 holes after four Georgian players broke 80 on Tuesday, including Graeme MacDougall from Huntsville, Ont., who led the team with a round of 76 that featured three birdies on the back nine.
MacDougall is currently tied for eighth place in the individual championship, five shots behind the leaders.
Georgian sophomore Chris Miller (Huntsville, Ont.) finished with an opening round of 78, while Colton Day (Kamloops, B.C.) and Gavin Prosser (Johnstown, Ont.) shot twinning 79s, leaving the Grizzlies two shots back of Humber College for third-place in the team competition.
In collegiate golf, the top four scores count toward a team’s overall result, meaning the 81 from freshman Jack Short (Conestogo, Ont.) did not count for the team’s score.
Humber is the host of this year’s tournament, which is being played at RedCrest Golf Club in King, Ont.
Everybody is currently chasing Cégep André-Laurendeau, a Montreal-based school, and London’s Fanshawe College, who are tied at the top after Round 1. Both schools were led by even-par 71s from Zach Pageau (André-Laurendeau) and Luke Evans (Fanshawe), which were the two best scores of the day.
Georgian’s men’s team qualified for the national championships after finishing fourth in the provincial finals, which were held at Barrie Country Club.
Despite the Grizzlies’ women’s team winning a bronze medal at this year’s Ontario championships, Georgian did not field a squad for the national competition. However, Barrie is still being represented by native Barrian Bryden Dilley, who shot an opening round 86 and currently sits in tenth-place.
Dilley is coming off an excellent sophomore season, highlighted by an individual bronze medal at the Ontario championships. She currently sits 10 shots back of the podium, and 13 strokes off the lead, which is held by Humber’s Jordan Newlands, who was three-under through the front nine before stumbling to a 73.
Round Two continues on Wednesday, while the four-round tournament will wrap up on Friday.
