World’s best women amateur golfers teeing up in Osoyoos

Special to The Okanagan Weekend

Dozens of the best female amateur golfers in North America — and one of the world’s finest amateurs and two-time defending champion from Australia — are ready to showcase their talents as the Osoyoos Golf Club plays host to the 2019 Canadian Women’s MidAmateur and Senior Golf Championships starting this weekend.

Adam Cinel, tournament director with Golf Canada, said a field of 125 golfers from across Canada, another 17 from the United States and two-time defending champion Sue Wooster from Australia, will compete in the tournament, which kicks off with a practice round Saturday.

This year marks the 49th annual national championship tournament.

Four different trophies will be up for grabs, said Cinel.

Golfers age 25 and older will be playing for the Mid-Amateur championship trophy, while players 40 and over will be competing in the Mid-Master division. Those 50 and over will play for the Senior title, while those 60 and older will compete for the Super Senior championship.

The majority of players qualified through provincial tournaments, but the tournament is open to all female players who achieve age and handicap requirements in their respective divisions, said Cinel.

“The field is comprised of the top senior amateurs in the country,” said Cinel. “It’s pretty exciting. Our two-time defending champion . . . Sue Wooster is our lone Aussie in the field and she is coming back to defend her title.

“In 2017, she won the senior championship and the Mid-Master and last year she won the Mid-Amateur, the Mid-Master and the Senior.”

Canadian Golf Hall of Fame members will be competing in this year’s tournament include Mary Ann

OSOYOOS — Field for the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Senior championship, Aug. 18-20 at the Osoyoos Golf Club. (A handful of names were not available at press deadline.)

Diane Anderson, Penticton Debbie Arsenault, Dartmouth, NS Emery Bardock, Armstrong Gail Barros, Edmonton Penny Baziuk, North Saanich Cindy Beaudet, Calgary Susan Bell, Toronto

Elaine Blatchford, Surrey

Kim Briele, New Bern, N.C. Ashleigh Brown, Coquitlam Ginny Burkey, Eugene, Ore. Joey Bush, St. Thomas, Ont. Catherine Butler, Clarksburg, Ont. Sandy Byckowski, Brampton, Ont. Haley Cameron, Vancouver Kim Carrington, Calgary Christine Castonguay, VaudreuilDorion, QC

Tia Chisholm, Coquitlam Nancy Chow, Richmond Sandra Comeau, Moncton, NB Pam Cossey, Saint John, NB Debbie Court, Mississauga Hayward of St. Thomas, Ont. And Alison Murdoch of Victoria, as well as veteran Christina Proteau of Port Alberni, who lost in a playoff to Wooster in the Mid-Amateur division last year, said Cinel.

Hayward finished one stroke behind Wooster in both the MidMasters and Senior divisions last year.

The Super Senior division was won by Jackie Little of Proctor, B.C., who finished one stroke ahead of Penny Baziuk of North Saanich, B.C.

Proteau, Hayward, Little and Baziuk will all be competing in Osoyoos.

Besides individual stroke play in

Marilyn Cox, Edmonton

Roma Crispin, Balfour

Alison Crowdis, Drumbo, ON Lenore Davis, Victoria Marlene Desbiens, Clermont, QC Josee Deslauriers, Parksville Diane Dolan, Gatineau, QC Donna Doucett, Parksville Laura Driscoll, Surrey Paulette Driscoll, Halifax Connie Dykstra, Victoria Patricia Ehrhart, Honolulu Wendy Ellacott, Calgary

Amy Ellertson, Free Union, VA Sandra England, Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC

Mary Feenan, Surrey

Wanda Flack, Castlegar Barbara Flaman, Sherwood Park, AB Julie Gagnon, Hudson, QC Tammy Gibson, Winnipeg

Julie Girard, Thornhill, ON Melanie Grant, Kelowna

Kathy Grebenc, Bathurst, NB Julie Green, Georgetown, ON Mary Lou Harkness, Oliver Allyson Harrison, Kingston, ON Debbie Harvie, Vancouver

Mary Ann Hayward, St. Thomas, ON Jackie Hellard, Victoria all four divisions, there will be a Canadian inter-provincial team competition with eight provinces having teams of three players, The scores of the two top players from each province in the first two rounds on Sunday and Monday will determine the team championship, said Cinel.

Osoyoos Golf Club applied to host

Diane Higgins, Cambridge, ON Judy Hill, Oliver

Joan Hinkey, Nanoose Bay Laura Hoffman, The Woodlands, TX Holly Horwood, Vancouver Kathie Houghton, Thornbury, ON Joanne Hruska, Calgary Christine Jurgenson, Osoyoos Wendy Kamrudin, Surrey Madison Kapchinsky, Kelowna Gail Kilgour, Etobicoke, ON Young Hwa Kim, Lytton

Karen Kloske, Lake Cowichan Andrea Kosa, Calgary

Lynn Kuehn, Lacombe, AB Judith Kyrinis, Thornhill, ON Phyllis Laschuk, Vancouver Kimberley Legge, Paisley, ON Natasha Lehman, Markham, ON Lauraine Letarte, Boucherville, QC Carole Letendre, Gracefield, QC Xuanli Li, Vancouver

Mylène Limoges, Boucherville, QC Jackie Little, Procter

Susan Lu, Delta

Shauna Lum, Grand Forks Kathleen Mackenzie, Kelowna Anne MacKinnon, Waverley, NS Nonie Marler, Vancouver Tiffany Maurycy, Denver, CO this tournament a couple of years ago and Golf Canada said the bid was so strong that bringing the championship to the Park Meadows Course was an easy decision.

“We’re super excited to be here at Osoyoos Golf Club,” he said. “It’s a beautiful town and absolutely stunning golf course that is in fantastic shape, so it was an easy choice for us to come here. They (club members) were happy to host us too. This is their first national championships as well.

“They put a bid in and met all the requirements, so we’re very happy to come here for the championship.”

After Saturday’s practice round,

Ruth Maxwell, Kingston, NV Joanie McCarville, Halifax Debbie McDonald, Sarnia, ON Chelsey McEwen, Victoria Heather McGinnis, Honolulu Beverly McGladery, Vancouver Susan Mennis, Calgary

Marli Mikulecky, Kelowna Myrna Millar, Ellerslie, PEI

Patty Moore, Pinehurst, NC Sandra Mumford, Dartmouth, NS Alison Murdoch, Victoria

Erin Musgrave, Moncton, NB Chris Ng, Calgary

Leilani Norman, Eugene, OR Denise O’Connor, North Vancouver Maggie Oland,Kelowna Rhonda Orr, Winnipeg

Tina Papatolis, Issaquah, WA Barb Parker, Heritage Pointe, AB Kimberlee Phillips, Balfour Kathy Pilkey, Sarnia,ON

Susan Plum, Calgary

Susan Podolsky, Alexandria, VA Christina Proteau, Port Alberni Kathy Provazek-Ross, Mercer Island, WA

Connie Reynolds, Fall River, NS Leanne Richardson, Indian Mountain, NB there will be a player’s reception and meeting in the clubhouse at Osoyoos Golf Club.

The tournament will officially kick off early Sunday morning, with the first tee time set for 7:30 a.m. with action continuing all day.

The second round of stroke play continues Sunday morning.

After 36 holes, the field will be reduced to the top 70 scores (and ties) in the senior division and there are provisions to ensure there are at least 10 mid-amateurs, five mid-masters and five super seniors that make the cut, he said.

The final round is on Tuesday and winners will be declared based on their scores over 54 holes of stroke play.

Wooster is the only non-North American to win this championship and she remains a favourite to three-peat in the senior division and is always a contender in the younger age divisions as well, he said.

Local golfers who will compete include Claudia Wood, a three-time ladies champion at Osoyoos Golf Club and Christine Jurgenson. Mary Lou Harkness and Judy Hill, both from Oliver, will also compete.

More than 100 volunteers from Osoyoos Golf Club have been involved in organizing the national tourney and they have done a superb job, said Cinel.

“There has been a lot of support from the city and the membership here, so it’s going to be a great week,” he said. “They’re ready to roll out the red carpet here for the ladies and everyone is excited to get going.”

Golf fans are invited, free of charge, to take in all the action during the tournament, said Cinel, noting carts won’t be allowed for spectators and they will have to walk the course.

The leaders in all four divisions are expected to tee off around 9 a.m. Tuesday, with the winners announced and trophies handed out just after 2 p.m., he said.

Janice Roberts Wilson, Flagler Beach, FL

Kim Ross, Winnipeg

Lauren Rouse, Calgary Brenda Samis,Vernon

Bree Sharratt, Victoria Heather Sirianni, Revelstoke Lisa Smego, Oro Valley, AZ Jocelyn Smith, Tobiano Heather Smuin, Tobiano

Ivy Steinberg, Stouffville, ON Angela Stewart, Greenville, NC Shelley Thomas, Indian Mountain, NB

Marie-Thérèse Torti, Candiac, QC Susan Tumblin, Fall River, NS Sandra Turbide, Maple Ridge Korianne Tylor, Vancouver Cheryl Van Dornick, Camrose, AB Lisa Volochoff, Brantford, ON Cheryl Wakefield, Hamilton Leslie Weaver, Cranbrook Heather White, Delta

Joan Wilson, Calgary Mandy Wong, Calgary Claudia Wood, Osoyoos

Sue Wooster, Australia Susan Wright-Cassan, Murillo, ON Sandra Young, Vancouver Sharon Zarowny, South Surrey