Forbes finishes second, golf team places fifth

Men’s golf team barely misses podium in Hamilton at the OUA Championships

The men’s golf team earned a fifth-place finish at the OUA championships Monday in Hamilton, and fourth-year golfer and team captain Patrick Forbes finished second overall in the individual standings, just one stroke behind Humphrey Yeung of the Carleton Ravens, but he said the results were disappointing.

“We were expecting more,” he said. “We were only three strokes out of the lead after the first round and we finished fifth. We ended up nine strokes out of first and seven strokes out of second, so we were hoping for a bit more.”

Forbes said the team came closer than the standings showed, though. He posted a two-day score of 149, while Duncan Melville and Sean Lackey each shot 155. Alex Forbes finished with a 172 and Mike Hossack shot 173. The top four scores were counted, giving Queen’s a team score of 630, just nine above the first-place University of Toronto Varsity Blues.

“If we finish nine strokes out of the lead, that’s less than a shot per person per round, so that’s really not far off,” he said.

Forbes said his own play could have been better as well. He shot 70 in the first round Sunday and 79 in the second round on Monday.

“On the individual side, I had a pretty good lead going into the last round and I shot six strokes higher than I had all year,” he said.

Forbes said the bitterly cold conditions on Monday affected the team’s play.

“It was six degrees; with a wind chill it felt like minus-one,” he said. “We were all wearing parkas on the golf course. It was pretty ridiculous.”

Forbes said the season as a whole was a promising one for both him and the team, though.

“Our team, we finished third or second all year,” he said. “We were never outside the top three until OUAs where we finished fifth. I won three events, finished fourth at one and then second at OUAs, so it was a good season overall.”

Forbes said he hasn’t decided if he’ll be back next season yet.

“I think it’s going to be my last year, but with golf, if you do a graduate degree you have unlimited eligibility for OUAs,” he said. “It’s not like football or hockey where you can only play five years.”

Forbes said he’s hoping to compete with the team in the Canadian university championships, which take place in May in Hamilton. He said he thinks the Queen’s golf program has come a long way since he started, which he hopes will bring them success at the nationals.

“It’s definitely an improvement.”

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