The Durham Lords golf team capped off a season of highs and lows with an eighth-place finish at the national championship. The Lords wrapped up their season at RedCrest Golf Course, about an hour drive from Durham College in King, Ont.
The team had standout performances throughout the season, despite facing some challenges along the way.
Key performances included the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) championship, where the Lords finished fifth. Sean Michalicka led his team throughout the championship, tying for 16th in a field of 50 golfers.
Barrett Potter, a first-year Trades Fundamentals student, reflected on his first year with the team. “Some highlights of my season were the last day of provincials. I shot 76 and two of us shot mid 70s to bring us to nationals. That was pretty exciting,” he said.
Despite a strong start at nationals, the Lords couldn’t maintain their momentum and finished lower than in previous years. Potter faced difficulties early in the tournament but found his rhythm as it progressed. “The third day of nationals I was struggling a lot on the front, but I ended up going one under on the back, so it was nice to go out there and get something going,” he said.
Potter joined the golf team in the summer, after four years with the Durham Junior Golf Tour, where he achieved multiple top-five and top-three finishes.
Potter scored his championship best of 77 in the third round of nationals.
Looking ahead to next season, Potter hopes to win “a couple” tournaments and improve his consistency, including a stronger finish at nationals. “I didn’t play my game out there every time this year,” he said, adding that his goal is to finish top-three in both provincials and nationals.
At the season’s conclusion, long-time coach Micheal Duggan announced his retirement after 23 years with the program.
Duggan credited recruitment and player development as the keys to the team’s success. “If you don’t recruit, you’re not going to be successful,” he said. “But it’s not just about recruiting, you still need to develop the talent you have. You need to keep them engaged in the process, so they continue to improve on a daily basis. That’s the key to any successful program.”