By Davie Wong

It’s been a productive offseason for the Douglas College Royals golf team. After a tough season last year, the team has improved leaps and bounds during their time off and is ready to take on the PACWEST once again.

                New additions to the squad in Justin Hepting and Alex Lassaline add depth to the Royals roster which features returning veterans Steven Hayes, Travis LeClair, and Josh Legge. Ryan August will also be rejoining the team for his sophomore year in the PACWEST. Coming back to the team after sitting last year out with an injury is third year Kent McKinon. McKinon, as well as the rookies, will add some much desired firepower to the Royals lineup. The team will be coached by long-time Royals icon Gert van Niekerk. 

                With the season opening up in Kelowna this weekend, the team is certainly ready for the competition ahead of them. According to Royals veteran Josh Legge, the team’s goal this year is to be competitive, with the ultimate goal being a return to the CCAA National Championships. Legge, who comes into his third year on the team as a leader, has his own goals on top of that. “I want to lead by example on and off the course to help us in all ways possible this season. I feel my game is much different than where it was last season, and I’ve put in some good work lately”.

As a team, they are excited to see how they stack up against other teams in the historically strong PACWEST. They’ll get the chance to see exactly that as they take on the rest of the PACWEST this Saturday is Kelowna at the PACWEST Invitational tournament.