DM golfer heads to OVU
By Bill Potrecz - November 16, 2021
Christian Rotundo got a late start on the links.
The 17-year-old Thorold native grew up wanting to be the next Connor McDavid, but when those dreams didn’t pan out, he traded his hockey stick for a set of golf clubs.
“As I was smaller I was really into hockey, but making it to the NHL was not going to happen,” Rotundo said. “About four years ago, I started playing competitively and I fell in love with it ever since.
“It’s been something I’ve been working towards the past year-and-a-half, to play at the next level, and it’s happening now.”
Rotundo recently accepted an athletic scholarship to play golf and study business at Ohio Valley University (OVU).
“I made the decision in April where I wanted to go and up until just after Christmas I was in contact with a bunch of schools,” he said. “I just chose OVU because of the offer that they gave me.”
Rotundo said the school will be covering more than half of his tuition through the athletic portion of the scholarship with the possibility of earning even money more through academics.
But dollars weren’t the only reason the Grade 12 Denis Morris student chose OVU.
“The coach (Bud Tate) has an unbelievable resume, he’s been there for a long time,” Rotundo said. “He’s been in the golf industry for just over 20 years and that’s a big factor.”
Rotundo said the future is bright for golf at the private Christian college.
“They’re doing good now and they’re going to be doing even better as the years go by,” he said. “There’s a lot of young guys who are learning to play at the next level.”
Rotundo wasn’t able to visit the school in person, but did take a virtual tour.
“It seems like a great school, it’s a small school, and the program that I want to get into (business) is a strong program there,” he said.
Rotundo said the proximity of the school to home — it is located in Vienna, W. Va., a community of about 11,000 located two-and-a-half hours south of Pittsburgh — also played a big part in his decision.
“It’s closer to home so I’m not going to be hiking further down south,” he said.
The OVU Fighting Scots play in the Division 2 River States Conference.
“They play six or seven tournaments before Christmas in the fall and for spring season there are another seven tournaments,” Rotundo said.
Rotundo, who plays out of Beechwood in Niagara Falls where he was taught by head pro John White, as well as Brock Golf Course in Thorold, has seen his game steadily grow.
“Playing in big events and having the opportunity to play the best individuals each year, the junior players are second to none,” he said. “They are amazing, not only on the course, but as people. They’re really good people and you learn from them and you learn how to play with them.”
Rotundo played on White’s Niagara District Golf Tour as well as in Golf Ontario and CJGA (Canadian Junior Golf Association) events and the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour.
Rotundo feels that experience will help his transition to his game to the university level.
“It will be another big step,” he said. “Playing high school golf this year got me thinking how team golf works. You have to worry about yourself and not the others. You all try to do your best and it will end up good.”
Rotundo, who plans to head to school next August, still has plenty of work to do on his game, he said.
“Hitting greens and longer irons are parts of my game that need a little bit of work,” he said. “My short irons are good and putting has been good lately, same as driving the ball and getting it off the tee. The 200 or 220-yard out shots, I’ve got to tighten that up a bit.”