Skip to content
  1. Home
  2. Sports

UFV Cascades men’s golf team wins Canada West title

Golfer Daniel Campbell takes home gold, women’s team also earns bronze
Ben Lypka
Ben Lypka

The University of the Fraser Valley men’s golf team captured the inaugural Canada West Golf Championships in Kelowna on Sunday, and did so with a big exclamation mark.

Led by individual gold medalist Daniel Campbell and bronze medalist Wyatt Brook, the men won the team event by a remarkable 19 strokes.

The Cascades team made up of Campbell, Brook, Kyle Claggett, Jacob Armstrong and Halen Davis shot a combined 562 (-14) at the two-day event. UBC was the next closest team, shooting a 581 (+5). Victoria placed third at 584.

Campbell laid waste to the men’s individual field. The senior from Bellingham, Wash. followed Saturday’s sparkling 64 with a tidy four-under 68 in Sunday’s final round to run his score to -12 for the tournament. He finished seven strokes clear of runner-up Andrzej Wierzba of the UBC Thunderbirds (-5) for his 10th individual win as a Cascade, extending his program record.

The triumph marks the second Canada West team championship across all sports in UFV history, joining the 2010 women’s soccer squad. It’s yet another feather in the cap of a men’s golf program which owns a trio of national titles, most recently winning the Canadian University/College Championship in 2018.

“We’re really proud to get that first Canada West men’s golf banner and bring it home to the gym,” UFV head coach Chris Bertram said. “I’m thrilled with the effort the group put out on the course today. We were obviously led by Daniel, but we showed our depth all the way down the lineup.”

Reflecting on Campbell’s transcendent performance, Bertram said he’s “running out of ways to describe how good this guy is.

“Daniel’s in a class of his own out there,” he said. “You can’t understate the importance of knowing your No. 1 guy is going to go out and give you a good round every time out. It gives everyone else confidence and helps push them forward.”

Winning another banner with this group, Campbell said, was “awesome.”

“It was fun to participate in the first-ever Canada West championship for golf,” he said. “To win individually is a bonus. The team played well – Jacob, our freshman, was really clutch yesterday, and Halen and Clagg and Wyatt were awesome. It was a total team effort.

“I was putting really well this weekend. My pace was really good – I kind of found something on the putting green before the round yesterday. I only missed a few fairways and greens over the two days, and when you’re putting really well, that helps a lot.”

On the women’s side, the Cascades finished at +45 for the tourney to earn the bronze. They trailed only UBC (+17) and UVic (+30) in the seven-team field.

UFV rookie Sarah Lawrence was just a single stroke out of the individual lead after the first round, and starting on the back nine on Sunday, she grabbed a share of the lead through four holes after a birdie on the 13th. She hit some turbulence midway through her round, dropping nine strokes over a six-hole stretch, but was able to play her last five holes at even par and finish in solo seventh place at +8 for the day and +11 for the tournament. UBC’s Shania Remandaban (+4) was the individual champ.

“We’re happy overall with ending up on the podium,” UFV assistant coach Jennifer Greggain said. “There was definitely a lot to learn this week moving into the rest of the season. We’re gearing up to play a couple more events this fall, and we’re really happy to have qualified for the Canadian University/College Championships.”

- With files from, Dan Kinvig UFV Athletics

Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
Read more