The defending champion Camosun Chargers went into the recent Bear Mountain Collegiate Golf Tournament without their top player, the injured Jarred Callbeck. Luckily, another Jared stepped up with the performance of his collegiate career to lead the Chargers to their second consecutive title.
Jared Hundza, who calls Edmonton, AB his hometown, shot a 142 to lead Camosun to a five-stroke lead over the other BC and Alberta teams in the first Chargers tourney of the year, held March 23 and 24.
“It was great to see,” says head coach John Randle. “Our number one guy was injured and Jared did great. It’s early in the year, so it was terrific to see him perform like that.”
Hundza finished at the top of the leader board in a three-way tie with golfers from Vancouver Island University and Grant MacEwan University. He says part of his success was due to not setting his expectations too high so early in the season.
“I think this helped me as I didn’t put too much pressure on myself,” says Hundza. “It felt really good to be able to shoot a low round, but more importantly help my team get the victory.”
For Randle, who’s also academy director at the Bear Mountain Resort, having home course advantage made a difference. But the victory wouldn’t have been possible, he says, without the kind of performance he got from his players: Hundza, Kevin Walz (Qualicum, BC), Brady Stead (Vernon, BC), Grant Maskiewich (Smithers, BC) and Kevin Bredy (Calgary, AB).
“We live in Victoria, so we do have a distinct advantage, but you still have to go out and play the golf, and for me personally, I don’t make the shots,” says Randle, “so it’s really good to see them do it.”
Hundza agrees that home course advantage played a part in the win, and can work in many ways.
“The biggest advantages that I see is knowing the club selection of tees, as well as the break on the greens,” says Hundza. “This home advantage helped our team take home the victory.”
Camosun finished the two-day Bear Mountain tournament with a final combined score of 583. Grant MacEwan University (588), Vancouver Island University (601), Lethbridge College (608), and Douglas College (613) rounded out the five teams who played.
Although it wasn’t as staggering as last year’s epic 25-stroke Bear Mountain win, the victory once again gets the Camosun team off to a strong start.
Unfortunately, the Chargers golf squad now goes into a spring/summer break with not much else on the horizon until the fall, says Randle.
One Chargers player, Walz, hopes to turn professional soon and will undertake a full amateur schedule this spring and summer. Meanwhile, Randle will continue to coach his team the best he can for their staggered season.
“You do your best to get them prepared, then you have to stand back and let them do their thing, so it is a bit of a helpless feeling,” says Randle. “But it helps when they have great performances like this first tournament.”