RDC golf coach Scott Bergdahl did a lot of work over the last six months in building a team to compete near the top in a strong Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference.
It appears he’s been successful.
Bergdahl has depth and talent on the men’s side and with the addition of Kate Griffiths, one of the premier women in the conference, his women’s team will be no pushover. Griffiths attended Jackson State University last year but returned home after leaving the U.S. school.
“I understand their whole women’s team quit,” said Bergdahl. “I know
she’s a great addition to our program. With her joining Rochelle (French) we should contend for a silver and possibly
a gold in the ACAC.
“Kate will be one of the top women in Canada if not the top in Alberta.”
French was the lone girl on the team last year and placed 10th at the ACAC finals.
The RDC men’s team has Bennett Williams returning after finishing 23rd in the ACAC last year with a 162 total over 36 holes.
“Bennett moved to Edmonton during the summer and worked a lot
on his game and looks good,” said Bergdahl, who added Grant Numrich, Logan Hill, Jeremy Rietze and Cole Morrison out of the Central Alberta
junior program.
Mike Lougheed of Spruce View and Kyle Antochow and Rylan Plante-Crough round out the roster.
“I’m certainly excited about the team,” said Bergdahl. “We’re as deep as we’ve ever been on the men’s side. We don’t have a lot of veterans in terms of playing college golf, but we do have veterans in terms of tournament play. All of them have won at one level or another and some of them have national and international experience. I’m looking forward to seeing what they bring to the tournament play this year.
“Many of them are capable of shooting under par, yet they also have been a bit inconsistent,” he said. “They individually
skilled yet inconsistent and we only have three weeks to work on that.”
Bergdahl does like the fact the players bonded quickly and play as a team.
“They’re all wonderful people and win or lose they will be winners,” said the veteran coach. RDC will compete in the North Regional tournament Saturday and Sunday in Camrose, then host the South Regional tournament Sept. 26-27 at Innisfail. The ACAC final is Oct. 3-4 in Medicine Hat at Desert Blume while the CCAA final is Oct. 13-16 at the Chilliwack Golf Club.
Bergdahl feels they have the talent to qualify for the CCAA finals as
a team. The top three men’s and two women’s teams go to the finals.
“That’s our goal. I feel we have a good chance in both.”