Reed On The Greens October 24, 2021
Hammer Time: South African Mitchel Hampson Takes Canadian College Golf By Storm
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioSports

Last year, Fanshawe Falcons golfer Mitchel Hampson suffered a debilitating back injury and didn’t know whether he would be able to golf again. He was living at home in Scottburgh, on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and preparing to explore golf scholarship offers from U.S. colleges when he suffered a stress fracture in his back.

But in an amazing turn of events, Hampson, 18, captured the bronze medal at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) men’s golf championship on October 15 at the Ambassador Golf Club in Windsor. In fact, the Falcons walk-on had taken the overall lead, shooting four-under-par through 10 holes during the fourth and final round before it was cancelled due to inclement weather.

So, how did Hampson end up with the Colin Robertson-coached Falcons golf squad, 14,000 kilometres away from his home? And how did his potential career-ending back injury heal in time for the CCAA championship?

South Africa Golf Hotbed

Mitchel Hampson

Hampson, currently ranked the No. 168th amateur golfer in South Africa, moved with his parents, Gareth and Julieann, and his sister, Cassidy, to Mitchell, Ontario, this year to live with Julieann’s parents. Hampson was a much-heralded junior golfer at home with an all-important background of winning tournaments, including seven victories and two runner-up finishes in 2019. That championship season at age 16 included a first-place finish with Team KZN at the KwaZulu Natal Interprovincial tournament at Oubaai.

“My father introduced me to the game quite early,” said Hampson, who captured the Mitchell Golf and Country Club men’s club championship this fall. “I picked up a golf club and played with a bunch of friends back home from age 3, and then got serious about golf at age 7, later making the local U13 provincial team. From that point on, I became extremely hard-core about golf, and have been playing as much as I can since then.”

A student of the game, Hampson mimicked the swing of notable locals, and he admires the careers of South African golfers including Ernie Els, Gary Player, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelmen, and Tim Clark, a neighbour whom he befriended while the 2014 RBC Canadian Open champion honed his swing at the local range. Oddly enough, Clark captured the Canadian PGA Championship at London’s Forest City National Golf Club in 1998.

Fast track to 2021: how did Hampson end up joining the Falcons, helping them to capture the silver medal at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) men’s golf championship on September 22 at Crimson Ridge Golf Club in Sault Ste. Marie, and then finish third individually at the CCAAs?

With assistance from agency ASM Scholarships, Hampson shopped around U.S. colleges, but when he landed in Mitchell, he then explored local colleges. He said the much-respected Humber College Hawks program was first on his list, but recognized that was further away from his family – now in Canada – than was Fanshawe College in London.

“I researched Fanshawe, and was impressed with what they had to offer,” said Hampson, whom his teammates have nicknamed, Hammer, for is driving prowess. “I liked the course they had to offer (Golf and Club Management Program), their gym and fitness facility, and the fact they had an indoor simulator where I can swing all year. I enjoy living on campus, love being with the boys on the team and am really enjoying my time here.”

Fanshawe Falcons OCAA silver medalists (L-R) Colin Warren, Jack Sue, Mitchel Hampson, Luke Evans, Calvin Norris, coach Colin Robertson. Photo: Falcons Athletics.

And his back? At a solid 5’10” and 200-plus pounds, Hampson knows keeping fit is of utmost importance to him as an elite golfer carrying a +3.0 handicap index. In 2020, he tried to play through back pain, but couldn’t. After numerous tests, MRIs, CT scans and injections – “I was on every drug short of morphine” he quipped – it was finally discovered that he had suffered a stress fracture.

“My back if pretty much fine now,” he said. “I can swing as hard as I wish with driver. I do get sore after a round, but I rest and I am fine by the next day. At tournaments, I need a good warmup, but by tee time I am ready to go.”

“I researched Fanshawe, and was impressed with what they had to offer. I liked the course they had to offer (Golf and Club Management Program), their gym and fitness facility, and the fact they had an indoor simulator where I can swing all year. I enjoy living on campus, love being with the boys on the team and am really enjoying my time here.” – Mitchel Hampson

Establishing Canadian Roots

An all-around athlete, Hampson – who will turn 19 on Christmas Day – played cricket, rugby, field hockey and loved to fish in South Africa. But once he entered Grade 11, he began to solely focus on golf.

“When I arrived in Canada, I had not played golf for about a month, but I went and shot 66 at Science Hill Country Club in St. Marys,” said Hampson. “But I still didn’t like where my game was at. I tried out for the Falcons, and played extremely poorly, and apologized to (coach) Colin. I told him, this is not how I play golf. But he said, ‘Don’t worry, you made the team.’

According to Robertson, “Mitch – the Hammer – is a natural leader both on and off the course. He has a big future ahead of him, no matter what he chooses to pursue. He’s a champion with a sharp mind and a heart of gold, and has been a blessing to the Fanshawe varsity golf team.”

The Falcons men’s golf squad brought home the first OCAA medal of the 2021-22 Fanshawe varsity season, capturing team silver. They finished with a three-day team total of 936 (+72), just three shots back of first-place St. Lawrence College. Hampson led the Falcons with a three-day score of 78-73-79–230 (+14), good for fourth place. The Falcons team includes Luke Evans of Georgetown (10th at OCAAs) Jack Sue of Richmond Hill (T11), Calvin Norris of London (T16) and veteran returnee Colin Warren of London (T48).

Both Norris and Warren are former winners on the Junior Tyson Tour, and have back shop and pro shop experience at London’s Highland Country Club, former home of touring pro Alan McLean – another South African who this year won the PGA of Ontario Championship, PGA of Ontario Apprentice Professional Championship and qualified for the Dick’s Sporting Goods Championship on the PGA Champions Tour. The Scottish-born McLean is assistant coach of the Western Mustangs Ontario Universities Athletics (OUA) women’s gold medal-winning golf squad.

Fanshawe History

With the silver medal finish, the Falcons advanced to CCAAs in Windsor. Hampson’s bronze medal made history: it is the first national medal won by a Fanshawe men’s golfer. He led the Falcons with a three-day score of 72-71-72–215 (+2), good for a tie for third place. Other Falcons finishes included Warren (T-25, 233), Evans (T-36, 239), Norris (T-43, 243) and Sue (T-43, 243). As a team, Fanshawe finished in eighth place with a three-day team total of 926 (+74).

“To be honest, that tournament was a shocker for me,” Hampson said. “(The Ambassador GC) is a finicky course – a funny course – but for some reason I liked it a lot. I couldn’t make putts the first day, but I started making birdies and believed I had a very good chance to win the tournament. Unfortunately, the weather ended that dream.”

On tournament Monday, Hampson broke the shaft in his driver. His teammate, Jack Sue, switched up the shaft from his driver. They visited nearby Essex Golf and Country Club where Sue purchased a replacement shaft. With his teammate’s driver shaft in play, Hampson had a tournament “that saw me drive the ball insanely all week. It was actually scary how I was driving the ball. I didn’t miss anything,” he explained.

With is back in check, and now focusing on both his studies and on keeping his golf game at a high level during some local fall golf and simulator play, Hampson said he is determined to graduate from his program at Fanshawe College, and to help the Falcons win a national title in 2022.

After that, he said he’ll explore playing for a U.S. Division I college team before turning professional. His backup plan is to manage a top-level golf country club, and to continue to compete in tournaments.

“I have a passion for golf,” he said. “Every time I play I put my heart and soul into the game because I want to be the best. I love challenges. I love winning. My will to work hard, and putting in the long hours gives me the edge over my peers.

“Not many people have the opportunity to have this life experience, to compete at a high level, get the exposure and learn from the best coaches. I feel that being able to golf every day is the first step towards becoming a professional, which is my ultimate goal.”

For now at the London campus, it’s Hammer time as Hampson is enjoying being one of the boys on the Falcons golf squad – a team with much promise in 2022.

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A nominee for the London Sports Hall of Fame, Jeffrey Reed has covered the Canadian golf scene for print, broadcast and new media since 1980. One of his earliest interviews was conducted with Mike Weir as the future 2003 Masters Tournament winner competed on the local Junior Tyson Tour. Reed’s third book, The Canadian Seniors’ Golf Association, Celebrating 100 Years of Seniors Golf 1918-2018 (2018) is housed in the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum library. Reach him at jeff@londonontariosports.com.