Photo: OCAA
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioSports.com
Led by tournament winner Mitch Hampson and runner-up Ben Landers, the Fanshawe Falcons men’s golf squad grabbed gold at the Niagara College-hosted OCAA Championships at the Battlefield course at Legends on the Niagara in Niagara Falls.
It’s Fanshawe’s first provincial men’s golf championship since 1992.
Hampson, who last year captured Canadian bronze (read that story here), led wire-to-wire at Niagara with identical rounds of 70-70-70–210 (6-under). Landers recorded the low round of the tournament today with a 6-under 66 and finished three strokes behind Hampson with scores of 74-73-76–213 (3-under).
The Falcons won the men’s overall title with a combined score of 873 over three rounds, five strokes better than the favoured Humber Hawks.
Team veteran Colin Warren finished seventh for Fanshawe, while Brent Schidowka and Luke Evans finished T12 for the Falcons.
Landers, Warren and Schidowka are all past winners on the Junior Tyson Tour.
Hampson and Landers were named to the OCAA All-Star squad.
The Falcons advance to the Durham College-hosted CCAA Championships Oct. 17-20 at Deer Creek Golf Club in Ajax.
In women’s play at Niagara, the rebuilding Falcons finished fourth in last spot, with a combined score of 711- a full 252 strokes behind winner Humber. Jinnie Seo was the top Fanshawe finisher at plus-102. Humber swept gold, silver and bronze.
As the scorecard reveals, the OCAA continues to struggle to fill its championship field with competitive golfers. Just a few years ago, the Falcons were building a strong program that continues to restructure under head coach Colin Robertson. Read my previous column here.
