Home course advantage takes centre stage at Queen’s Golf’s second event of the season.
The Queen’s Golf team hosted their annual Bert Kea Memorial Tournament at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club on Sept. 20. A mainstay on the Gaels calendar, the event is held every year to honour former Queens Head Coach Bert Kea.
The Gaels were looking for a better result on home soil after competing at Guelph’s kick-off event and not finding the top of the podium. The women’s team finished second, while the men’s team finished in sixth.
Like usual, the team was divided into two teams to allow all the athletes on the squad to play. Not all team members play from week to week, usually having a weekly play-in to qualify among other factors.
Both men’s and women’s ‘A’ teams secured the victory in the team categories with scores of +17 and +21 respectively.
Leading the way for the Gaels on the men’s side was David Ursu, Sci ’29, who is no stranger to competitive golf, playing for the powerhouse University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBC-O) team last year. Ursu shot a one over 71, finishing tied for the lead. The Gaels posted five players in the top 10 in the individual 43 man field.
On the women’s side, Gella McDaniel, ArtSci ’27, led the way for the Gaels, firing a five over 79a nd finishing for a tie for the lead.
To recap the weekend and talk overall expectations, The Journal spoke with long-time member of the men’s golf team Luke Macpherson, Sci ’27.
Macpherson was excited to look in the rearview mirror after Guelph to focus on an event that is historically a successful one for the Gaels. “It was great for us to bounce back with a win, especially at our home event,” Macpherson said. “Getting everyone involved and seeing both teams have success is nice to build momentum into the rest of the season.”
On the men’s side, the team is without some familiar faces who graduated after last season. Despite this, Macpherson isn’t worried about the new talent. “We’ve brought in some younger faces who bring a lot of promise to the group. We’re strong right now and also have something to look forward to in the years ahead,” he said.
As the season draws deeper, the team is travelling to Waterloo to play in back-to-back tournaments over Sept. 26 and 27.
Macpherson says the expectations haven’t changed. “We’re eager and ready to go and feel like we have a really good chance to put ourselves into a position to win,” he said.
In the bigger picture, the team is looking to do some damage leading into the OUA Championship on Oct. 17.
“We believe we’re one of the top teams in the province and we’ve shown that consistently over the past few years.”
The Gaels will look to carry that momentum as the fall golf season builds into higher pressure tournaments.
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