By Dan Marshall

VIU Mariners golf team gains valuable experience in first PACWEST tournament

Sep 18, 2017 | 10:12 PM

KELOWNA — The first PACWEST golf tournament of the season saw the VIU Mariners finish in the middle of the pack.

VIU finished in a tie for fourth place with a team total of 606 at the two day event at the Okanagan Golf and Country Club.

Wyatt Brook and Taylor Henderson were the top players on the men’s team after both shooting 149 and ending up in a tie for 12th.

Saturday’s round didn’t finish well for the VIU contingent but Henderson says both he and Brook had a much better outing on the final day.
 
“We came out firing. I think Wyatt was -3 at one point through 13 holes. I was +4 early and came back and ended up +1 at the end of the day,” said Henderson. 

The host team from UBC Okanagan won the tournament and Jacob Vanderpas of Langara College had the lowest two round total of 136.

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On the women’s side Victoria Ross shot a 189 to finish in sixth place.

There were only eight competitors in the women’s field, and the top score went to Emery Bardock of University of the Fraser Valley.

She shot a combined 155.

Mariners coach Kevin Oates says VIU has an inexperienced team but they have already shown the ability to improve.
 
“We were young, we were nervous, and especially on day two we put together a fabulous score of 298. I was pretty proud of the guys for that,” said Oates. “The girls did great. They’re all rookies and they all played their first university tournament at the same time. There were some hiccups along the way and lots of learning.” 
 
This weekend the Mariners will be the host team for the second tournament on the schedule at Morningstar Golf Club in Parksville.

Henderson says the VIU team is very familiar with the course which should be a big advantage.
 
“I think we can come out there, shoot under par, and grab a lot on the field. We are quite a ways out of first place, but last week was their week, this week is ours,” said Henderson.

There are only four events on the PACWEST fall golf schedule with the final two weekends slated for Victoria and Abbotsford.

The golf season ends with the CCAA nationals in Oshawa from October 17-20.
 

dan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On twitter: @danmarshall77