Langley’s Jacob leads UFV Cascades to season-opening win in Alberta

Fort Langley’s Jackson Jacob led the charge for the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) men’s golf team at the Alberta Bears and Pandas Invitational at Northern Bear Golf Course in Sherwood Park, on Monday, Sept. 12.

Jacob fired rounds of 69 on Sunday and 72 on Monday to finish at three under par.

That was good for top spot in the individual standings, four strokes ahead of runner-up Cole Peters of the Manitoba Bisons.

As a team, the UFV Cascades’ two-day score was +19, giving them the victory ahead of Manitoba (+21) and the UBC Okanagan Heat (+22).

READ ALSO: Fort Langley’s Jackson Jacob to play for University of the Fraser Valley men’s golf team

“Jackson’s been working hard on the way he approaches the game – not just trying to hit the ball as far as he can, but trying to adapt a more strategic way to move around the golf course,” UFV head coach Aaron Pauls noted.

“He did a phenomenal job of that over the last few days. I think he’d be one of the very few guys who didn’t have a double-bogey or worse on his card.”

🏔️⛳️ | New season, same old Cascades!@goUFV MGOLF opened its campaign with a two-stroke victory at the Alberta @BearsandPandas Invitational, with Jackson Jacob (-3) picking up the individual win!

🗞 https://t.co/6SgouU0VI4#WeClimbWeConquer pic.twitter.com/4hFF1hQZDU

— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) September 14, 2021

The Cascades led by two after Sunday’s opening round, with a combined score of +4 just ahead of UBCO’s +6. But on Monday, Manitoba – which had begun the day tied for fifth, 15 strokes back of UFV – made a huge charge, posting a team score of +2 to overhaul the Heat for second place and make the Cascades sweat down the stretch. Jacob, playing in the final group, slammed the door by draining a long birdie putt on the 18th.

Rookie Hudson Lafayette was the Cascades’ second-best individual finisher, despite the fact he was not on the five-player roster that contributes to the team score. He shot 73 and 74 to tie for fourth.

Jacob Armstrong and Eli Greene tied for 10th at +7, Jacob Lucki (+9) was T-17th, and Langley’s Ben Whiton (+16) was T-28th.

READ ALSO: Whiton earns all-Canadian nod

Pauls said the tournament as “really close for a couple hours on the back nine.”

“I don’t think we played our best by any means, but at the end of the day we got the win. How we won was really important – knowing we were in the lead or tied down the stretch. Winning in that fashion will be huge for us as we approach our bigger events of the season.”

Up next for the Cascades men’s golfers is their home tournament, the Cascades Invitational, which runs Sept. 20-21 at Chilliwack Golf Club. The UFV women’s golf team will also be participating in that event, which represents their 2021 season debut.