Canadian University/College Championship

The Humber College Hawks and the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds lead their respective male and female divisions through the opening round of the Canadian University/College Championship, conducted by Golf Canada at Royal Ashburn Golf Club in Ashburn, Ont.

In the men’s competition, the Humber College Hawks combined for a score of 5-over par (293) to sit atop the leaderboard with a 3-shot lead over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds heading into Wednesday’s second round. David Lang, 24, of Toronto, shot even-par 72 to sit T4, best amongst his Hawks teammates Mark Hoffman, Adrian Cord, Greg Belsito and Alex Dumais.

Josh Wytinck, 19, of the University of Manitoba Bisons, shot a 4-under par 68 to grab the individual lead in the men’s division through 18 holes of play. The Glenboro, Man. native opened the day with three birdies through the first six holes, eventually carding five birdies and a single bogey on the day.

“The length of the course is good for me. I like how far it is and I find that the greens have a little slope, which I’m comfortable with,” said Wytinck. “I usually hit the ball well but my success depends on how many putts I'm converting. Today, I made some putts.”

Mitchell Evanecz, 24, of the University of Victoria Vikes and also a member of Team Canada’s National Squad, sits T2 with Elmira, Ont. native, Garrett Rank, 23, of the University of Waterloo Warriors, after posting a 2-under par 70 that included six birdies on the day, four of which came following a double bogey at the par-3 16th hole.

“I couldn't have asked for a better morning,” Evanecz, a native of Red Deer, Alta., explained. “It was good we got out before the heat and I hit the ball really well today and key putts fell for me.”

On the women’s side, the two-time defending champion UBC Thunderbirds carded a +26 (314) to hold a 10 shot lead over the University of Victoria Vikes. UBC, winners of seven of the eight previous women’s division University/College Championship titles, was led by Haley Cameron, 20, of Kelowna, B.C., who shot a 3-over par 75, recovering from three consecutive bogies to start her afternoon.

“It was a good day, really hot, but I just tried to stay within my game from hole to hole and not let those bogies get to me,” said Cameron, who currently holds the individual lead in the women’s division. “As a team we came in with some really big goals and some high expectations, so we're excited to be here and kind of feed off each other’s energy.”

Cameron holds a two-shot lead over teammate Kylie Barros, 19, of Edmonton, who sits T2 at +5 (77), and a three-shot advantage over teammate Lindsay Manion, 22, of Surrey, B.C., who sits fourth at +6 (78).

The second round of the Canadian University/College Championship tees off Wednesday at 7:30 am EST.

All rounds of the championship are open to the public and admission is free.

Starting times, post-round results and a full field list for the Canadian University/ College Championship are available at www.golfcanada.ca/championships.