Zach Olson and the University of the Fraser Valley men’s golf team continued their comprehensive dominance of the PACWEST conference, playing on their home course last weekend.
The No. 1-ranked team in the nation won the 36-hole UFV Invitational, a two-round tournament played at Chilliwack Golf Club.
The Cascades finished a whopping 22 points ahead of the field, posting an aggregate score of 302 in blustery conditions on Saturday, and a 287 in much better conditions Sunday.
Their two-day total of 589 left them well ahead of the UBC Okanagan Heat (611) and the Douglas Royals (615).
Olson, a fifth-year Cascade from Strathmore, Alberta, led the charge, winning the men’s individual crown by a four-stroke margin.
He followed Saturday’s two-under 70 with an even-par 72 on Sunday to finish ahead of a quartet of pursuers – teammate Kyle Claggett, Vancouver Island University’s Wyatt Brook, Langara’s Jacob Vanderpas, and Douglas’s Dustin Franko – who ended up at +2 for the tournament.
It was the sixth straight PACWEST tourney win for the UFV men’s team, a streak which stretches back to last season. They won the conference’s three regular-season events by a combined 48 strokes.
Olson celebrated his second individual victory as a Cascade – his first was three years ago, at the 2015 Kwantlen Invitational.
“It’s great to see our senior captain get a win,” UFV head coach Chris Bertram enthused. “He’s been knocking on the door for the past couple years since his last win … and it was really great to see the effort and watch him go toe-to-toe with a really strong player (Brook) down the stretch and come out on top. Really solid effort, and I’m really happy for him.
“It was a tough weekend out here,” Bertram added. “We played in some pretty windy, blustery conditions yesterday, and it was really wet and soggy out here today. But we played well enough yesterday, and then played really nicely today to get the win. I’m proud of the effort of all five of our players, and it’s nice to get another win on home turf.”
UFV’s Daniel Campbell (+3) tied for sixth, Cody Stewart (+10) was 12th, and Ben Whiton (+19) tied for 24th.
-Up next for the Cascades is the PACWEST championship, a three-round tourney which runs Friday through Sunday at the Nanaimo Golf Club.
