It was a great day on the links for the Kwalikum Secondary (KSS) Golf team as the Kondors took home first place in their first tournament of the season at Qualicum Memorial Golf Course.
With nine teams in the field, including two from KSS, the Kondors finished in first and eighth place, respectively.
For an opening tournament, it was a good day on the course, according to coach Butch Gayton. He was impressed with all of his players.
“Very impressed with everyone on the team,” Gayton said. “We had a few players that were taking part in their first ever organized golf tournament, so that was a nice thing to see there.”
“I was also impressed with Aiden Goodfellow, our Grade 9 on the team, who had our low round with a score of 73. Everyone played well and the weather turned out to be great for us too, so that was a bonus.”
Goodfellow has been playing in tournaments on the Lower Mainland and has been getting some valuable experience heading into this season with the Kondors.
“He’s played real well,” Gayton said. “Aiden’s been fine tuning his game in a lot of tournaments over on the mainland and it showed with this first tournament. He’s got a ton of potential to be one of our stronger golfers this season and that’s saying a lot for a kid who’s only in Grade 9.”
Blair Stewart and Jake Lane both shot a 76, while Anthony Trozzo had a final score of 82 for a total of 307 for the first place team.
Duncan Cairns (87) and Noah Ward (91) were the low scores for the second team, which shot a total of 390.
“We had couple golfers on that team in their first tournament,” Gayton said. “The nerves were definitely there but they handled it all in stride.”
“It’s a great thing to get that first one out of the way and now they can settle into a groove and they’ll know what to expect going forward. The key is to get out there and get in some extra rounds, which all our players are doing when they can, to help get them better.”
The Kondors are off to the Nanaimo Golf and Country Club this Thursday in what should be a challenge for everyone involved. The Kondors haven’t played this course so it should be a good test for the team early on in the season.
“Nanaimo Golf and Country is a tough course,” Gayton said. “They’ve got a lot of tough greens and there are tons of hazards to worry about as well.”
“I think this is going to be a real good test for everyone on the team that can make it to this tournament. We’ve got seven out of a possible 11 that have committed already, so it should be a good tournament for us.”
“The goal is to have two teams of five, that way we can get everyone out there and work hard on a tough course.”