BATH— There may not have been much drama when it came to the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Investors Group Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, but the same could not be said for the Investors Group Senior Women’s Championship, which was being played simultaneously. The two events wrapped up on July 23 from the Loyalist Country Club in Bath. Any of the competitors who fell into the senior age bracket (50 and over) were also eligible to compete for the Ontario Mid-Amateur title.
Picton’s Casey Ward entered the day with the lead for the Mid-Amateur title. The Picton Golf & Country Club member quickly added to it thanks to birdies on the fourth and fifth holes. Ward, 25, would go on to be uncontested during the round and finished the day two-under (70) to capture the Mid-Amateur Championship with a three-day total of three-under (71-72-70-213).
After the win, Ward spoke about her strong performance during the week. “My play was very steady this week. It was a lot of fun to play with Mary Ann Hayward and Judith Kyrinis. I really loved the atmosphere here, it was very social and very different from the amateur, just a fun week.”
She went on to talk about how she mastered her mental game and where the win ranks. “I haven’t played all that much this season, but I think that has helped keep my head out of my game for the most part. This win is on the top of my list, I haven’t won anything bigger than this!”
Ward said she will now turn her attention to the Ontario Women’s Match Play Championship, the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur, Aug. 26-28 at Sawmill Creek Golf Resort and Spa in Camlachie, Ontario, and to qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.
The Investors Group Senior Women’s Championship was where things were more interesting. Heading into the round it looked like Aurora’s Mary Ann Hayward, from The Club at North Halton, was on her way to a fourth consecutive title. However, she carded a five-over (77), which opened the door for others to have a shot at the title. At the end of the round there was a three-way tie at five-over between Hayward, Uxbridge’s Gail Pimm, from the Whitevale Golf Club, and Mississauga’s Debbie Court, from the Toronto Golf Club. Pimm was two-under (70) on the day, while Court finished one-under (71).
On the playoff hole it was Pimm who made a clutch birdie to win the 2015 Ontario Senior Women’s Championship (73-78-70-221).
Pimm, Court (74-76-71-221) and Hayward (74-70-77-221) all shared the silver medal for the Mid-Amateur Championship. Court and Hayward also picked up silver medals for the Senior Women’s Championship. In addition, Pimm, Court and Hayward earned the right to represent Ontario in the inter-provincial competition at the Canadian Senior Women’s Championship, also Aug. 26-28 at Sawmill Creek Golf Resort and Spa in Camlachie.
Capturing the Senior Women’s 60+ Division title was Brockville’s Theresa deLuis. The Brockville Country Club member finished her final round five-over (77), which brought her to 14-over (81-72-77-230) for the tournament. That was good enough to clinch the title by four strokes. In the 70+ Division, the champion was Stoney Creek’s Phyllis Bennett (99-91-190), from Rockway Vineyards.
Also, being contested at the event were District Team Championships. Winning the Gross Mid-Amateur District title was the team from Kingston District made up of Ward and Trenton’s Megan Farrow. The duo finished the two-round event 26-over for the win. In the Mid-Amateur Net Championship, the team from Mississauga took top honours. The team consisted of Toronto’s Cindy Wegg and Oakville’s Anne McClure and finished at 13-over. In the Senior District Team Gross Championship, York was declared the winner at 30-over. The team members included: Etobicoke’s Marion Reid and Joanne Noble, Thornhill’s Judith Kyrinis, and Court. Finally, capturing the Senior Women’s Net Championship was the team from London District at 10-over. The team was made up of London’s Sue Postian, Cathy Koszman, Becky Ostrom and Judy Oryniak.
Also announced at the conclusion of the event was the Ontario Senior Women’s team for the 2016 Ada Mackenzie Matches with New York State. Spots for the team went to the top 10 finishers in the Senior Women’s Championship. The team will consist of Pimm, Court, Hayward, Kyrinis, deLuis, Strathroy’s Jane Hedges-McKinnon, Stouffville’s Ivy Steinberg, Dundas’ Sarah-Anne Smurlick, Toronto’s Kelly Koselek and Reid.
For complete tournament information, including final leaderboards for both individual and district team competitions, see the tournament site at: http://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao15/event/gao1524/index.htm
The GAO would like to thank the Loyalist Country Club along with all of their staff and volunteers for helping to run this event. Thanks also to the GAO volunteers and title sponsor Investors Group for their continued support of golf in Ontario.
About the Investors Group Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship
The Investors Group Ontario Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship has been contested annually since 1989 and features the province’s best female amateurs over 25. Past champions of the event include Gayle Borthwick, Terrill Samuel, Stefani Markovich and Mary Ann Hayward who has captured the trophy 14 times.
About the Investors Group Senior Women’s Championship
The Investors Group Ontario Senior Women’s Amateur Championship has been contested annually since 1962 and features the province’s best female amateurs age 50 and over. Past champions of the event include Ada Mackenzie, Kay Helleur, Gayle Borthwick, Mary Ann Hayward and World Golf Hall of Fame member Marlene Stewart Streit.
