University of Victoria Vikes men’s golf coach Justin Clews sure has a sense of timing. He guided the Vikes to the Canadian university/college championship this month in Komoka, Ont., 20 years after winning the national title as a UVic player in 2003.
That adds a special personal twist to it, said Clews.
But this national championship was about the 2023 Vikes players, not his playing days, added Clews, in re-directing the attention to the current national-champion Vikes. Robin Conlan captained UVic, Liam Mosher was national individual runner-up and the other team members were Zach Ryujin, Aiden Craig-Steele and Chase Basanta.
“This is the group that battled through the COVID interruption to their varsity careers and stuck together on and off the course and had trust in each other and remained believing in each other,” said Clews.
To honour the national championship Vikes, graduating UVic captain Conlan has been awarded one of the eight sponsor’s exemptions into this week’s pro PGA Tour sa国际传媒 Royal Beach Victoria Open presented by the sa国际传媒. The others to receive the sponsor’s exemptions, all from the Island, are former PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions player Jim Rutledge, two-time Canadian Open player Riley Wheeldon, Jeevan Sihota, Kevin Carrigan, Max Sekulic, Brian Sluggett and Noah Steele.
It is the second time Conlan has earned such an exemption and he showed he belonged by making the cut as an amateur in the 2021 Victoria Open at Uplands, a course he knows well having worked there as a back-shop employee and on the grounds crew. As a youth in Germany, Conlan naturally played soccer, but turned to golf after being injured on the soccer pitch as a teen. The Vikes are glad he became a golfer because the graduate of John F. Kennedy High School in Berlin has been the heart and soul of the Vikes program for five years.
“I would not be here in golf without that soccer injury. Sometimes in sports, when one door closes, another opens,” he said.
Conlan chose UVic because his dad, Neil, is from Victoria. His parents — mom Margarete is from Berlin — met while travelling through Australia.
“It was surreal walking down the 18th hole [with an 11-stroke team lead], in my fifth and final season with the Vikes and all the years of hard work put in and of sticking together, knowing that we were going to be national champions,” said Conlan.
It was a captain’s moment to savour.
“Robin [Conlan] has been passionate about our program, and our leader for several years, and our Vikes players looked up to him as captain,” said Clews.
Conlan plans to turn pro but will play this week in the Royal Beach Victoria Open as an amateur because he wants to compete in the 121st sa国际传媒 Amateur Championship next month at Morningstar in Parksville and, hopefully, advance to the 118th Canadian Amateur Championship in August at Caledon, Ont.
“You have to be in the right headspace to turn pro and fully commit to it when you do. This is a sport that will penalize you if you are not ready for that jump and in the right mindset,” said Conlan.
But this an amateur who will take a big advantage in against the pros this week because few will know Uplands like he does.
“It is an honour to receive a sponsor’s exemption into the Royal Beach Victoria Open. I will lean on my experiences from my first time playing it in 2021. I have been fortunate to learn so much from working on the course grounds with [Uplands superintendents] Brian and Dennis Youell. I know the greens and wind directions and can use that to my advantage,” said Conlan.
It will be a moment made more poignant with his parents in town and dad Neil caddying and mom Margarete walking alongside.
CHIP SHOTS: Fourth-year Sukriti Harjai continued her standout UVic women’s golf career by being named to the NAIA All-American First Team.
