Mark grew up in Barrie and was one of BCC’s top juniors in the early 1990s, when he excelled as a multi-sport athlete. He played centre for the Barrie Colts in the Major Junior A league from 1993-95 and turned down some interesting U.S. college hockey scholarship offers before he accepted a full ride golf scholarship to the University of Illinois, a rock solid NCAA Division I school with a rich golf history.
Success followed Mark to the NCAA circuit where he was voted the 1996/97 most valuable player, finished T16th at the 1999 NCAA Championships, and was an Academic All-American. His BCC 1999 Men’s Club Championship title capped off what can only be described as a sensational year.
After graduating, Mark played three years of professional golf on the Canadian Tour, the Tour De Las Americas (South American Tour), the Hooters Tour and other tours in the US. He played in one PGA Tour event, the 2000 Bell Canadian Open.
He was reinstated as an amateur in September 2011 and played in the Metropolitan Golf Association (MGA), an extremely large and competitive golf association governing golf in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Mark won the 2012 MGA Mid-Amateur at historic Meadowbrook GC, shooting 64 in the final round. In 2013, Mark finished 3rd in the MGA Mid-Am Championships. He has qualified for the New York State Open the last two years, and in 2013 he finished T21st (2nd low amateur). The “Ike” is the MGA’s major stroke-play event and in 2013 he finished T10th. Mark’s 2013 MGA ranking was 4th for mid-amateurs and 10th among all amateurs, including up and coming hot shots under 25 years of age.
Mark started his banking career in New York, in 2002 with International Strategy & Investment Group LLC. He was with Credit Suisse from 2007-10, Citibank from 2010-14, and recently started at Barclays where he is immersed in heavy duty sales and trading responsibilities.
Mark is 38, single, and spends most of his time working out of New York and travelling on business. He bemoaned the fact that he hasn’t been able to practice or play at BCC as much as he wants due to a nagging back problem, an injury that he concedes may be related to the nine marathons he has run over the years.
Despite not being 100% fit, Mark is excited about the Mid-Am Championship and thrilled that he is one of six BCC members competing. Asked which of the BCC guys he’d most enjoy earning bragging rights for a lower Mid-Am score, he paused for 0.006 seconds and replied as follows:
“I’d have to say Matt Oldershaw. Matt is one year older than me and was one of my best buddies when we were juniors at BCC. Ever since then, we played a lot of golf together, travelled together and have shared a lot of laughs together. So I guess I’d enjoy finishing ahead of the ‘big galoot’, buy him a beer or two after the final round and give him a few tips on how he can improve his game.”
Mark’s competitive fire and love for the game is yet another good reason why BCC members should come out to watch the Championship and cheer on our Team BCC players.
Profile by Dave Carin