Shields-Tyler, SAIT women and mixed teams claim ACAC gold
EDMONTON, ALTA., (Sept. 25, 2022) – Brodie Shields-Tyler saw his opportunity and took advantage of it.
Down one stroke going into the 12th hole in Sunday's final round at the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Golf Championships at RedTail Landing Golf Club in Edmonton, Shields-Tyler made par as the leader at the time made a double bogey on the Par 3. The walk to the next tee box saw the Trojans golfer as the tournament's new leader – a spot he would not give up en route to winning the Men's Individual title.
"He made double and then I birdied the next hole and the next hole," said Shields-Tyler, who becomes the first SAIT male to win the ACAC individual title since Scott Allan went back-to-back in 1992 and 1993. "I wanted this so bad. I was really nervous last night and this morning on the bus ride here. My range session wasn't very good, so I didn't know what to expect. I just played to the best of my abilities."
Shields-Tyler finished the 3-day event with a 4-under score of 212 and was also named the ACAC's Men's Player of the Year. Medicine Hat College's Chase Broderson (216) and Colby Friedrich (219) placed second and third, respectively.
"I am super proud of Brodie. I have known him for longer than just our time together on the team, and it's been great to see him grow into someone of his standing in this conference" said SAIT co-head coach Stephen Yanitski. "He puts in the work and, I believe, he is the mentally strongest golfer in our league.
In last season's championship, Shields-Tyler picked up the bronze medal, so sinking the final putt on the 18th green on Sunday to move up two spots felt pretty good.
"Keep surviving and don't let them get away," he said his plan was after starting the day one shot back. "I was just plugging away, fairway-green, fairway-green – seeing how much ground I could make up. And then I had a string of birdies on the back that helped out the scorecard and I pulled away."
He did not stop at just one gold medal, as he also helped SAIT's mixed team of himself, Jake Magee, Regan Colberg, Jenna Currie and Kristine Dixon capture a banner – beating Medicine Hat College by just three strokes.
The Trojans men's team placed second behind Medicine Hat and ahead of the host Concordia University of Edmonton. Magee placed fifth, Dylan Gunderson tied for sixth, Colberg was ninth, Gavin Hawryluk and Trey Smith tied for 10th, Jadan Patel finished 13th and Curtis Webster wrapped things up in 16th spot.
Dixon had an interesting weekend herself, as a wrist injury during Round 1 nearly forced her to withdraw from the event. She gutted out a 93 that day, an 89 the next and capped things off with the lowest round by a female golfer all season – a 78 to climb into second place.
"This weekend was a tough one because of my wrist, but I was able to push through," said Dixon, who was also named the ACAC's Women's Rookie of the Year. "I'm proud of myself for how I played and what I was able to bring back to SAIT."
Dixon and Currie also led the women's team to a championship banner – the first for the program since coming back in the 2018-19 season and first women's title since 1994.
Currie placed fourth overall, carding rounds of 94, 92 and 89. Finishing behind Currie was Janey Wilson (5th), Jasmine Lo (8th), Erin Kelly (10th) and Kelsey Duggan (11th).
After struggling to find female golfers the past few years, SAIT found themselves with six on the women's side this season. They captured the team title in both the North Regional in Lac La Biche and South Regional in Medicine Hat prior to this weekend.
"This is the biggest achievement we have reached in my time with the program," Yanitski said about the women's team title. "There is a balanced and equitable amount of attention given to both Trojans teams, and the women's team got the job done all year."
Regan Colberg (82, 73, 83) was named the ACAC's Men's Golf Rookie of the Year.
Next up for the Trojans are the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championships, hosted by Durham College in Ajax, Ont., Oct. 18-21.