Parksville golfer Aidan Goodfellow won his first-ever collegiate tournament title, when he finished first in the Bishop Men’s Invitational in DuPont, Wash., recently and also helped Simon Fraser University Red Leafs golf team win the NCAA tournament.
The Kwalikum Secondary product is in his senior year with the Red Leafs. He fired a 36-hole total of 6-under 138 that included a birdie in the 18th hole to win by a single shot over Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals Ryan Ho of Western Washington, and Dawson Strobel of Montana State Billings. It was one of his 10 birdies at the event.
Goodfellow said achieving this milestone was an amazing experience.
“This is something that has always been a goal of mine since coming to SFU,” said Goodfellow. “And after coming back from two significant injuries makes it even better.”
Goodfellow’s 138 is tied for the 10th-best 36 hole score in SFU’s NCAA history. His 6-under is tied for the seventh-best two-round total versus par in the program’s NCAA era.
READ MORE: Parksville’s Goodfellow impresses in rookie year at SFU
“I’m so proud of Aidan,” said SFU head coach Matthew Steinbach. “He knew he needed to birdie the final hole for both the team and individual win and he clutched up and pulled it off. Coming off shoulder surgery last year, after injuring it in 2021, this is the first competitive tournament Aidan has played for SFU fully healthy since March 2020. We’ve all seen the hard work he’s invested to get healthy and I’m happy he was rewarded today.”
The Red Leafs finished with a two-round score of 7-under-par 569 at The Home Course. It is the seventh-best 36-hole team score in the school’s NCAA era.
The team opened the Saint Martin’s-hosted event on Friday, Sept. 23, with a 1-under 287. That score put the Red Leafs in third place in the standings heading into the final round, which SFU completed in 282 strokes (6-under). Coming in second place was Western Washington (286-285–571) and Victoria (286-292–578) was third.
Goodfellow’s NCAA milestone also earned him the first Men’s Golf GNAC Player of the Week award for the season.
“It’s a nice thing to have but the bottom line is that I proved to myself that I have what it takes to win and that’s the most important thing to me,” said Goodfellow.
— With files from SFU