Towill and Ng capture individual honours, as UBC picks up banner sweep at Canada West Golf Championships
Justin Towill and Jessica NG took home the top individual prizes at the 2023 Canada West Golf Championships, as the UBC Thunderbirds took home both the men’s and women’s team victories in the two-day event hosted at the Ledgeview Golf Club in Abbotsford, BC.
It took three playoff holes, but a terrific second shot from Towill put the UBC Okanagan golfer within two feet to help clinch his second consecutive Canada West title over Zach Ryujin from the University of Victoria. Ryujin and Towill each finished the 36 holes at even par to set up the sudden death showdown and each golfer had a putt to win it in the first two bonus holes, but neither could come up with the decisive blow. On the third playoff hole, both golfers found the rough on the left-hand side but Towill’s second shot found the green and spun close, while Ryujin’s skipped to the fringe at the back. Towill tapped in for the birdie to put the pressure onto Ryujin, and his putt went inches wide to decide it.
“Zack is a great guy, and a great player,” Towill noted about his competition after the playoff. He is one of the best guys to play with, and to have that be who I was playing is incredible.”
“It was a cool experience, it’s been a while since I’ve been in a playoff, and to play against a guy like Zach is a great time. Just to get in that playoff all day was kind of my goal, so once we got there it was kind of a bonus after being behind all day, and obviously it was nice to end it with that shot on the third playoff hole to cap it off.”
“That was a good playoff, wasn’t it?” Ryujin quipped after receiving his medal. “I had my chances but couldn’t get it done.”
The fifth-year golfer explained that despite the result in the playoff, he enjoyed the experience.
“You have to just enjoy the moment. I made that putt on 18 and thought - it’s a playoff with Justin, let’s have some fun. Obviously, it would be nice to win, but I’m happy for him. It’s my last Canada West, so I just had a lot of fun.”
UBC’s Manu Gandhi finished with an individual bronze medal and a score of 142 (+2), as the UBC Thunderbirds finished with a combined score of +23 to capture the men’s team title by three strokes over the UBC Okanagan Heat. The host UFV Cascades took home the bronze medal at +25, narrowly edging out the University of Victoria Vikes by one stroke.
On the women’s side, Jessica Ng’s final score of 142 (-2) capped off an impressive two days for last year’s Canada West runner up, clinching the gold medal over teammates Una Chou (143, -1), and Grace Bell (147, +3) who finished second and third, respectively.
The Thunderbirds captured the team gold with a combined score of -1, as the UBCO Heat took home silver with a team score of +38, and the UFV Cascades fended off the University of Victoria by five strokes to finish on the podium at +52.