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Thunderbird caps career with national title

The top university golfer in the country went out swinging to cap off a golden career.

The top university golfer in the country went out swinging to cap off a golden career.

Okotoks’ Kat Kennedy capped off a senior season to remember with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in taking home her second straight individual Canadian University/College Championship while helping the school earn the repeat June 1 in Barrie, Ont.

“It was a great feeling to end the season with an individual win and a team win,” said Kennedy, a 2013 graduate of Foothills Composite High School. “It feels good that all my hard work through the four years paid off and it showed in how I performed and how we finished.”

Kennedy celebrated both team and individual gold last year in Parksville, BC, but wasn’t taking anything for granted in the bid to repeat against the best in university golf.

“Golf is unique that way because you don’t know what kind of game you’re going to have every time you step on the golf course,” she said. “I definitely had my best year in university and had good confidence throughout the whole year.

“Knowing that it was my last time playing on a UBC team it pushed me to be a little more focused and taking my time on every single shot.”

Mission accomplished.

The Okotokian opened with a first round 72 and didn’t look back, leading through all four rounds and winning the competition by 15 strokes.

“I went into the first round just trying to play my own game,” Kennedy said. “Trying to hit as many fairways and greens in regulation as possible and trying to post a low score to start off the tournament.”

The Tangle Creek Golf and Country Club proved to be a mountainous challenge, especially given windy conditions in the late rounds.

Kennedy managed the conditions, posting back-to-back rounds of 76 and closing it out with a fourth round score of 78 to comfortably take the title.

“I didn’t really look much at the leaderboard,” she said. “I was focused on putting in a number I thought would be a good number for the day depending on the conditions.

“I tried to not look into the future, to stay present and focus one shot at a time.”

The Thunderbirds women’s team took the same approach to the same destination, capturing the school’s second straight national championship.

The T-Birds won by a staggering 53 strokes over second place University of Toronto with the University of Victoria Vikes finishing in third.

“Being a part of a university golf team actually developed me to be a better golfer because I am accountable for every single shot,” Kennedy said. “You don’t know if your score is going to count for the team that day.

“We have a great coaching staff that constantly push us, wanting us to improve individually and make us grow as better players. Our team dynamic, we’re constantly seeing each other 24/7 and we push each other every single day to be better.”

The first-place finish qualified Kennedy for the World Universiade Games in Taiwan, which she has chosen not to attend, and earned her an exemption into the Canadian Amateur Championships at the end of July in Ontario.

With one more year left in the science department at UBC, Kennedy is eyeing a future around the sport she loves.

“I’m going to keep training throughout the summer and into next year,” she said. “I definitely love golf and want to find any area that can help me stay into the game and improve more as a player.”


Remy Greer

About the Author: Remy Greer

Remy Greer is the assistant editor and sports reporter for westernwheel.ca and the Western Wheel newspaper. For story tips contact [email protected]
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