James Casorso topped off his season by proving himself amongst the best college golfers in the country.
CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI -- James Casorso travelled to Prince Edward Island earlier this week to play in the 2016 PING CCAA Golf National Championship. The fourth year Heat golfer competed as an individual at the tournament hosted by Holland College at the Fox Meadow Golf Course in Charlottetown from Wednesday, October 19 through Friday, October 21.Casorso finished the three-day tournament with a final score of 222 (+6), putting him in a three-way tie for 12th on the final leaderboard. He was in a tie for fourth at -2 after his first two rounds, but had a tough final round on Friday to drop out of the top ten.
His finish this year was an improvement over last year's result at the national championship, where James finished 15th.
The tournament’s opening round was the best of the three for James, as he shot a 70 (-2) on Wednesday. That round included five birdies, one of which came on the par-five 18th.
He finished his second round with an even-par 72. The Thursday saw Casorso master the par-fives, as he parred the two on the front nine, and birdied both on the back nine, finishing once again with a birdie on the 18th.
Friday’s round was an anomaly for Casorso. He shot 80 (+8) in his final round, despite earning three birdies on the day. The par-fives hit back in the third round, as he bogeyed the par-five 3rd hole for the second time at the tournament, and took a 9 on the par-five 18th.
Despite that tough final round, Casorso finished in the top 15 of the 77-man national field, and lived up to his newly-acquired title of All-Canadian. On Tuesday, October 18 he was named a CCAA Golf All-Canadian. James is only the third golfer from UBC Okanagan to receive that award.
The final round of the tournament ended in dramatic fashion, as a champion wasn’t declared until after an unexpected three-hole playoff. Conner Watt, a member of the Humber College Hawks golf team, was the lowest scorer of the tournament, finishing with 208 (-8). However, at the end of his third round he was disqualified after signing an incorrect scorecard.
As a result of the disqualification, the two players who had finished tied for second at 211 (-5), Josiah Dixon (Niagara College Knights) and Marc-Olivier Plasse (Cégep André-Laurendeau) had to play through three playoff holes to determine a national champion. Josiah Dixon won the playoff, and is now the reigning CCAA National Champion.
http://www.ccaa.ca/sports/golf/2016-17/releases/final_day_golf_2016
