Confederation College's Lepore Clinches Silver at OCAA Golf Championships
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In a nail-biting finish at the 2024 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Golf Championships, Confederation College's Nathan Lepore secured a silver medal, marking a historic achievement for the institution's golf team.
The rookie sensation finished in a tie with Humber Hawks' Matt Morris after 54 holes at the Barrie Country Club. The deadlock was only broken after four intense playoff holes, with Morris ultimately claiming the top spot.
"Nathan played a superb tournament, recovering from a score of 82 the first day followed up by rounds of 74 and 69, the low round of the three-day event," said David Reid, Confederation's golf coach. "After a wait of over 4 hours, Nathan then fought his way through 3 sudden death playoff holes."
Lepore's performance was especially remarkable, having started the final day in eighth place. On the final day, he fired a 69 - the only sub-70 score of the tournament - to catapult himself into contention. His round included four birdies against a single bogey.
"After a rough first round of 82, I played my next 36 holes at -1 to force the playoff," Lepore, who is studying the first year of the College’s Business-Marketing program, said. "I’m very proud of how I bounced back after a tough first day. I put my head down and focused one shot at a time and ground out a 69 on a very tough Barrie Country Club golf course."
The silver medal performance makes Lepore the first-ever individual golf medalist from the College. He also took home the OCAA Provincial Golf Rookie of the Year award and secured a spot on the OCAA 1st All-Star Team.
Lepore and coach Reid will now advance to the 2024 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Golf National Championships presented by PING. The event is scheduled for Oct. 15-18 at the RedCrest Golf Club in King, Ont., hosted by Humber Polytechnic.
The OCAA Provincial Golf Championships featured 60 student-athletes from 10 Ontario postsecondary institutions competing in the 54-hole tournament.