UBC Thunderbirds’ Una Chou and Dylan MacDonald win
women’s and men’s individual championships
SUDBURY, Ont. – The UBC Thunderbirds have completed a clean sweep, winning the men’s and women’s team championships as well as both individual championships at the 2024 Canadian University/College Championship, presented by BDO at Idylwylde Golf & Country Club in Sudbury, Ont.
The UBC Thunderbirds Men’s team have claimed their eighth national championship after shooting a collective, 7-under (274-280-291-300). The Thunderbirds were represented by Mackenzie Bickell of Richmond, B.C., John Paul Kahlert of Maple Ridge, B.C., Hudson LaFayette of North Vancouver, B.C., Dylan MacDonald of Markham, Ont. and Aidan Schumer of Columbus, Ohio.
UBC Thunderbirds Coach Chris Macdonald has been apart of every Canadian University/College national championship for both teams. With the double win this year, he has coached both programs to 25 national titles having been with the women’s team since 2001 and the men’s team since 2004.
“Really proud of a lot of things for our teams. They work so hard in practice, they play hard and really try to perform well for each other. There is really great sportsmanship and teamwork in our group and just really proud of them. Not just these teams, but the program itself.
“We are really happy about our program and the golf scholarship endowment we have for Canadian student athletes from the Thunderbird Golf Society and thanks to UBC Athletics for supporting golf and our home course at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club,” said Coach Macdonald.
In addition to winning the national championship, the Thunderbirds Men’s team have qualified for the inaugural Canadian Collegiate Invitational, taking place September 15-17 at Öviinbyrd Golf Club in MacTier, Ont.
“We’re just really excited, obviously a great opportunity play against a lot of Division I teams. We’ve played against a lot of those teams over the last little while and really excited that we’re going to get to play a really beautiful golf course back in Ontario in September,” added Macdonald.
The Fraser Valley Cascades finished as runner-up at 43-over and the Montreal Carabins and Victoria Vikes tied for third at 44-over.
The men’s individual championship came down to a playoff between MacDonald (UBC Thunderbirds) and William Forgues of Quebec City, Que. (Laval Rouge et Or). MacDonald won on the first playoff hole to claim the national championship. MacDonald finished at 1-under for the tournament following rounds of 70-72-73-72. MacDonald has also earned an exemption into the 119th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO at the Riverside Country Club in Saskatoon, Sask. from August 5-8. Anthony Jomphe of Chicoutimi, Que. (Montreal Carabins) finished third at even-par.
“Dylan did what he did all year, make a good chip, got himself to four feet to make a straight uphill four footer into the wind and made it. Just feeling really happy for him, he’s been with us for four years and works extremely hard and has got so much better every year, so good for him,” said Coach Macdonald.
The UBC Thunderbirds Women’s team have now won seven consecutive national titles and their 17th in 20 years. The Thunderbirds were led by Una Chou of San Diego, Calif. who claimed the women’s individual title. Along with Chou were teammates, Grace Bell of Calgary, Alta., Bo Brown of Mississauga, Ont. and Jessica Ng of Vancouver, B.C. Collectively they finished the tournament at 21-over, 42 shots clear of the UBC Okanagan Heat.
“I’m just very proud of our women’s team, the program and the consistency. They are just very experienced players and have played lots of tournaments together. NCAA Division I events and Division II events so I’m really proud of how they’ve played in some really tough tournaments this year and brought their best this week,” added Macdonald.
Chou shot a 1-over 73 on Thursday to finish the tournament at 1-under (73-67-74-73) to win by 12 strokes. Chou was in contention all week and was only one-shot back after the opening round. In Tuesday’s second round, Chou fired a 5-under 67 to set a new women’s course record at Idylwylde Golf & Country Club. The previous record was held by Canadian Golf Hall of Famer, Marlene Stewart Streit who shot a 68 during the 1974 Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship at Idylwylde.
“She’s just so consistent, drives the ball so well and is one of the best putters we’ve had in the program’s history. Just that consistency and watching the putts fall for her all week, just really nice to see her get that,” said Macdonald.
In addition to winning the national championship, Chou has also earned an exemption into the 110th Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO from July 30 to August 2 at Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria, B.C.
Julia Alexander-Carew of Oakville, Ont. (UBC Okanagan Heat) finished at runner-up at 13-over and UBC Thunderbird teammates Brown and Bell tied for third at 15-over.
The third round was completed early Thursday morning after play was suspended due to lighting on Wednesday at 7:20 p.m. Play resumed at 7 a.m. on Thursday.
For the final leaderboards from the 2024 Canadian University/College Championship, presented by BDO, please click here.
Men’s Team Championship – Top 3
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE | TOTAL |
| 1 | UBC Thunderbirds | 274-280-291-300 | -7 |
| 2 | Fraser Valley Cascades | 297-307-296-295 | +43 |
| T3 | Montreal Carabins | 300-287-305-304 | +44 |
| T3 | Victoria Vikes | 294-294-299-309 | +44 |
Women’s Team Championship – Top 3
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE | TOTAL |
| 1 | UBC Thunderbirds | 218-212-229-226 | +21 |
| 2 | UBC Okanagan Heat | 228-229-232-238 | +63 |
| 3 | Laval Rouge et Or | 244-232-244-241 | +97 |
Men’s Individual Championship – Top 3
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE | TOTAL |
| T1 | Dylan MacDonald (UBC Thunderbirds) | 70-72-73-72 | -1 |
| T1 | William Forgues (Laval Rouge et Or) | 73-69-74-71 | -1 |
| 3 | Anthony Jomphe (Montreal Carabins) | 69-73-75-71 | E |
Bold – Won in Playoff
Women’s Individual Championship – Top 3
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE | TOTAL |
| 1 | Una Chou (UBC Thunderbirds) | 73-67-74-73 | -1 |
| 2 | Julia Alexander-Carew (UBC Okanagan Heat) | 73-75-77-76 | +13 |
| T3 | Bo Brown (UBC Thunderbirds) | 73-77-78-75 | +15 |
| T3 | Grace Bell (UBC Thunderbirds) | 72-74-79-78 | +15 |