MACTIER, Ont. – The University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish put the finishing touches on their wire-to-wire victory at the Men’s Canadian Collegiate Invitational on Tuesday, collectively shooting 10-under par to once again leave Öviinbyrd Golf Club with a series of hardware for a second consecutive year.
Represented by Calen Sanderson of Newton, Pa., Pavel Tsar of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Nate Stevens of Northfield, Minn., Rocco Salvitti of Canonsburg, Pa. and Jacob Modleski of Noblesville, Ind. the Fighting Irish failed to take their foot off the gas all week long to claim the championship by 10 strokes at 35-under.
“I think the secret to a great team is depth and we got ten guys on our team right now that are just phenomenal players,” praised Notre Dame’s Head Coach and Director of Golf, John Handrigan. “They played amazing this week, and 35-under par is pretty impressive,” he added.
The defending champions opened the second playing of the Men’s Canadian Collegiate Invitational on Sunday with a 12-under showing to take a narrow three-stroke lead over the University of Michigan Wolverines into Monday’s second round. Led by Stevens’ 5-under 67 in round one, the momentum for the defending champions quickly shifted to the red-hot play of Sanderson, with their senior going on to blitz the final 36 holes with a team-high 15 birdies to secure both himself and his program an individual and team championship respectively.
Sanderson led the Fighting Irish with rounds of 65 and 64 in the second and third round respectively. He wrapped up his week with scores of 68- 65- 64- 197 to edge out Lucas Politano of Brandon, Vt. at 19-under and lock up a spot in the 2026 RBC Canadian Open through his individual win.
“Anytime you can have an individual win, and a team win is great,” said Sanderson following his round. “It’s awesome to come back and defend as team champions at this event…Especially with our coach being from right in this area so it means a lot to win it for him,” he added. Handrigan hails from Bracebridge, Ont., located about 30 minutes east of Öviinbyrd Golf Club and was emotional while putting into perspective what Tuesday’s victory meant for his senior, Sanderson.
“It almost brings me to tears. I’m so proud of him. He’s worked so hard for four years and he hasn’t seen results, but he kept grinding and kept working every day and just never gave up,” said Handrigan. “He’s earned this, it’s just been a ton of hard work so it’s very rewarding for him to see something like this come and obviously the RBC Canadian Open exemption is amazing,” he added. “Calen earned this one.”
Politano – who started his final round on the par-5 fourth – briefly held the outright lead on Tuesday, pouring in three-consecutive birdies on Nos. 16, 17 and 18 to get to 17-under and hold a one-shot advantage over Sanderson who was four holes behind. A birdie at the first vaulted the Rutgers product into the clubhouse lead, but the score ultimately became a footnote to his 9-under 63 after Sanderson birdied the 17th to reclaim the top spot on the leaderboard and clinch his individual honours.
Sanderson rolled in eight birdie putts to cap off a bogey-free 64, capitalizing on every par-5 except for the last, where he two-putted for par to seal the deal on his first win of 2025. On Monday, Sanderson identified his ability to take advantage of the scoreable par-5s as the leading cause to him soaring up the leaderboard and nabbing the outright lead after 36 holes. On Tuesday, he credited his ability to fight until the very end of his round as the recipe for securing both him and his team a championship.
“I just wanted to compete hard until the last putt dropped and I was telling myself whatever you think you need, you probably need about two or three [shots] more and that was very true today,” said Sanderson. “I’m proud of the way I handle that and stayed present throughout the whole day.
“I played really solid golf all day. Gave myself a ton of birdie chances and don’t think I missed a green all day. Every birdie was great momentum and kept building throughout the day,” he added.
Isaiah Ibit of Orleans, Ont. led the Canadian contingent, finishing seven-strokes off the pace and in third place to open his sophomore season at Kent State University on a high. Tuesday’s result clinches Ibit a spot in next year’s Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO, with the Team Canada – NextGen member being joined by Sanderson, Politano, Modleski, John Logan of Wilmington, N.C., Alex Creamean of Winnetka, Ill., R.J Arone of Las Vegas, Nev., Dean Muratore of Dix Hills, N.Y. and Gray Mitchum of Greenville, N.C. who all finished in the top five to secure their spot in Canada’s oldest amateur tournament.
Additionally, Alexis Rouleau of Montreal, Que. also secured a vital spot for his 2026 season on Tuesday, edging out Jager Pain of Woodbridge, Ont. by a single stroke at the Team Canada Selection Camp to win the tournament and lock up a guaranteed spot on Team Canada – NextGen for next season. The event was held concurrently with this week’s Canadian Collegiate Invitational and brought together 27 junior talents from across the country to compete for a lucrative position on Team Canada’s roster. To view the final leaderboard from the Team Canada Selection Camp, please click here.
The second playing of the Canadian Collegiate Invitational was conducted by Golf Canada and co-hosted by Kent State University and Penn State University who are both led by Canadian head coaches, Jon Mills (Kent State) and Mark Leon (Penn State). The tournament featured 10 NCAA Division I men’s golf teams with prominent Canadian ties along with the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds. UBC qualified after winning the 2025 Canadian University/College Championship, presented by BDO, earlier this summer at Rivershore Golf Links in Kamloops, B.C.
Both the Men’s Canadian Collegiate Invitational and Team Canada Selection Camp were contested over 54 holes and featured a shotgun start throughout Tuesday’s final round. The team component of the Canadian Collegiate Invitational featured five members per team with the top four scores for the day counting to the overall team score.
To view the full leaderboard of the 2025 Canadian Collegiate Invitational, please click here.
GOLF CANADA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Golf Canada annually conducts more than 30 golf competitions and qualifiers nation-wide – including 11 National Amateur Championships – which play host to more than 3,000 domestic and international athletes from all corners of the world. In partnership with our host clubs, thousands of volunteers, provincial golf associations and our proud sponsors, Golf Canada is dedicated to supporting player development through world-class competition since our inception in 1895. Officiated by certified Canadian Rules of Golf officials, Golf Canada’s amateur competitions are fully compliant with golf’s international governing bodies and include marquee events such as the Canadian Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships as well as the Canadian Junior Girls and Junior Boys Championships. Golf Canada’s amateur championships are proudly supported by BDO Canada, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Titleist, FootJoy, Coca-Cola, Sport Canada, and Levelwear. For more information and scheduling visit www.golfcanada.ca/competitions-calendar/.
ABOUT GOLF CANADA
Golf Canada is the National Sports Federation and governing body for golf in Canada representing over 360,000 golfers and 1,522 member clubs across the country. A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada’s mission is to increase Canadian participation and excellence in golf. By investing in the growth of the sport and introducing more participants of all ages to the game, our vision is to be a world leader in golf. For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit www.golfcanada.ca/.
MEDIA CONTACT
Mario Russo
Intern, Media & Public Relations
Golf Canada
647-546-4460
mrusso@golfcanada.ca