KOMOKA, Ont. - As Conor Gaudet walked up the eighteenth fairway at the Canadian University/College National Championships, presented by BDO, the Golden Hawks' destiny was still up in the air. In a close race with UBC and McMaster top-fourth finish, Gaudet made a great chip to save the hole and make bogey.
It didn't matter, as McMaster's Nicholas Dessureault holed out on his approach shot for an eagle, while UBC's Dylan MacDonald made par, leaving Laurier with a sixth-place finish. Their team score of +18 is the best performance on record for the Golden Hawks, far below the +77 which earned them second place in 2017.
After struggling somewhat throughout the first three rounds, third-year student-athlete Julian Crupi was the low score on Friday. He had three birdies through the first six holes, and played largely mistake-free golf the rest of the way.
"I just kind of went out there and had fun, I didn't think too much," said Crupi after shooting one-under 71. "I put a lot of a lot of pressure on myself coming into the tournament I want to be the best I can be, don't want to let anybody down."
"I tend to think about that stuff too often, but to pull together for the last round and actually do something good for the team, it feels good. It feels really, really good."
Right behind Crupi was teammate Aaron Petro, who shot his second consecutive even par round with his family in attendance.
"I got off to a hot start with a birdie and then struggled a little bit off the tee. But you know, I just thought about the boys, you know," said Petro. "They work so hard for me... they're such a great group of guys, so I just wanted to do everything I could for them. It gave me a lot of motivation to dive real deep and make a couple of putts."
Petro will graduate in a few weeks with a master's degree, making this his first and final appearance at the national championship.
The overall leader in the tournament for the Golden Hawks was Gaudet, a feat he also achieved last year as a rookie. His total score of +3 improves on the +8 he posted in 2022, and placed him tied for thirteenth on the individual leaderboard.
Matthew Whitehead finished behind him tied for seventeenth at +5, while Jonathan Cramton was two ranks behind with a +6. Both players will be back on the course together tomorrow for a practice round ahead of Sunday's RBC Canadian Open Final Qualifier, in which they'll both go up against some of the best golfers in the world.
While that's just the beginning of Cramton's future in golf, this has been the last time he'll swing a club in a Golden Hawks shirt. The Communication Studies major will also be graduating this month.
Cramton has been a standout since helping bring home the OUA championship as a rookie in 2019, and has been named the team's MVP each of the past two seasons. When asked to reflect on his time leading Laurier's men's golf program, an emotional Cramton had one easy answer.
"This group of guys is so amazing, and that's what I think about when I'm out there on the course. I'm just playing for the team, trying to do my best," he said
"I didn't have my best today. I didn't have my best this week, but being with these guys is awesome, I love every part of it. It's one of the best experiences I've had in my life and I'm really happy to be part of it."
Final Round Results
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TEAM:
6. Laurier 1170 (+18)
INDIVIDUAL:
T13. Conor Gaudet 291 (+3), T17. Matthew Whitehead 293 (+5), T19. Jonathan Cramton 294 (+6), T26. Aaron Petro 298 (+10), T32. Julian Crupi 304 (+14)
