Chilliwack’s Aaron Pauls helped the UFV Cascades men’s golf team take the first tournament of the 2012 PACWEST golf season.
Playing last weekend at The Dunes Golf Course in Kamloops, in a tournament hosted by Thompson Rivers University, the Cascades captured the team title with a total of 576 strokes.
The Camosun College Chargers were second at 581 followed by the VIU Mariners at 584.
The Cascades found themselves in third place entering Sunday’s final round, trailing by seven strokes.
Fighting through horrible wind, the comback kids were led by Langley native Darren Whitehouse, who shot 66 in the final round and 140 over the two days.
Individually, Whitehouse finished second overall.
Pauls and Mitch Lock (Mission) tied for third, each shooting 143s.
The Cascades participate in four PACWEST regular season golf tournaments to determine the provincial champion.
The PACWEST champion receives an automatic bid to the 2012 CCAA national championship tournament hosted by Durham College, in Oshawa, Ontario.
“We learned a few things this weekend,” said coach Chris Bertram. “First, we now know we are in the toughest conference in Canada and it’s going to be a great season. Second, we learned that our veteran players are ready to step up and take charge. This weekend was a great character building win, and a good jump start for the year.”