GOLF: Campbell's 64 highlights Day 1 of CW Championships

October 5, 2019

KELOWNA, B.C. - The first chapter in Canada West golf history has been written, as Day 1 of the inaugural Canada West Golf Championships concluded Saturday evening at Okanagan Golf Club's Bear course.

Fraser Valley Cascade Daniel Campbell fired an opening round 64 to lead the men's individual leaderboard, while Kate Johnston of UBC and Rhiannon Jones of Victoria are tied atop the women's leaderboard after Day 1 scores of 74.

In team play, the UFV Cascades lead the men's leaderboard with a score of eight-under thanks in large part to Campbell's 64. On the women's side, the UBC Thunderbirds sit in first after posting a team score of plus-nine.

Campbell's 64 was just one shot off tying the course record of 63, which was last fired in 2018 by JD Tomlinson during a Mackenzie Tour qualifying event at the Bear.

Campbell stole the men's spotlight with his 64. The Bellingham, Wash. native got off to a hot start, firing a five-under 31 on the front, which included an eagle on the par-5 seventh. He followed that up with a three-under 33 on the back.

"I knew six-under through 12 was pretty good," said Campbell. "I didn't know the course record was a nine-under, but it probably wouldn't have changed (how I played) much."

"I birdied two and three right off the bat and missed a four or five-footer on four, but I hit a great shot into seven. It was probably five or six feet for eagle, so that was nice to make," said Campbell of his eagle, which helped spark his excellent opening round.
Leaderboards:

Tournament background:

Scoring conditions were favourable at the Jack Nicklaus-designed par-72, as the field of eight men's teams and seven women's team enjoyed a clear, calm Kelowna day.

Saturday's stellar round wasn't a shock for Campbell, who won the 2018 Canadian University/College individual title and now enters Sunday's final round looking to add Canada West champion to his resume.

He'll have to fend off the likes of UBC Okanagan's Nik Federko, who shot a five-under 67 on the Heat's home course, along with UBC's Logan Carver and Andrzej Wierzba, who are tied for third at three-under.

While Campbell has some breathing room on the competition heading into Sunday, the women's individual leaderboard is more crowded, with four players within two strokes of the lead.

Johnston and Jones both had solid opening round performances, as the former posted scores of 36-38, while Jones raced out to an opening nine score of 33, before posting a five-over 41 on the back.

Slotting in behind the frontrunners are a trio of players tied for third, as UFV's Sarah Lawrence, Calgary's Victoria Tse, and UBC's Esther Lee all sit one shot back after opening round 75s.

The first Canada West champions will be crowned Sunday, as Day 2 of the championships tee off beginning at 9 a.m. PT.