Digby champ in the college swing

BY JONATHAN RILEY

Digby Courier

NovaNewsNow.com

Digby’ best young female golfer is now the University of Victoria’s best.

Anne Balser is studying history and playing golf on Vancouver Island for the University of Victoria Vike’s.

She played four college-level golf tournaments this fall in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. She was her team’s top scorer at three tournaments and was the top golfer overall at the last one.

Balser has two team practices a week and tries to get to the course whenever she can on top of that and her studies. The team can play all they want at Cordova Bay golf course anytime after 2 p.m.

She says the course is very posh but not as challenging or as hilly as the Pines.

Balser says the team coach has really helped her game by working on a variety of shots and a couple new concepts for her.

“He’s been showing us how to think our way around the course and he has us on a weight training program – that’s something I’ve never done before.�

Balser wrapped up her rookie season on Oct. 25 with a first place finish at the Cavalier Invitational at the University of Concordia in Portland, Oregon.

She shot a second-round 77 – five better than any other competitor – and her 159 two-day total was seven better than her closest competitor.

The Vikes were down by three strokes after the first day but came back to beat the Cavaliers 683 to 693.

Oregon had finished ahead of Victoria at both previous encounters this fall.

Balser’s first tournament of the year was in Oklahoma at the Southern Nazarene Invitational on Sept. 17 and 18. The rookie led her team and finished sixth overall out of 53 golfers. She shot two rounds of 77 for a ten-over-par 154.

The Vikes finished sixth out of eleven schools.

Her second tournament was the Vikes’ own invitational at Cordova Bay on Oct. 9 and 10.

The Vikes shot a two-round 671, good enough for second behind Oregon’s 652.

Balser again led her team, finishing fourth with an 80 and an 81.

The UBC Invitational at the Shaughnessy Golf and Country club in Vancouver was Balser’s least successful weekend. She finished 22nd and three strokes behind teammate Kenzie Janzen.

The Vikes are ranked last in what might be the toughest division of the NAIA – all five teams in the Western division were voted to the top 25. The Vikes were voted 22 out of 56 teams.

The NAIA golf season resumes in February.

Balser was the Digby Pines Junior Champion for three years running from 2003 to 2005 and played on the Nova Scotia provincial team in 2005 and 2006.

jriley@digbycourier.ca