PONOKA, Alta. – Wolf Creek Golf Resort’s Old Course will welcome Canada’s top 25-and-over golfing talents for the 2016 edition of the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Senior Championship. The 46th playing of the competition will be conducted from August 24 to 26 where winners in four divisions will be crowned.
Competitors over 25 will vie for the Mid-Amateur title, while players over 40 will also be eligible in the Mid-Master competition. Players over 50 will also play for the Senior championship and those 60-and-over will also compete for the Super Senior title over the tournament’s first 36 holes.
Located just north of Red Deer, Alta., the Old Course at Wolf Creek Golf Resort is a Rod Whitman design and was founded in 1984. The course’s natural beauty boasts sprawling fairways mounted across natural hills and dunes, nestled against scenic tree-lined ravines.
“There is a timeless, classic feel to The Wolf,” said General Manager Laura Witvoet. “We couldn’t be happier to share our course with these extremely talented ladies.”
“Wolf Creek Golf Resort is a fantastic setting for this national championship,” added Tournament Director Dan Hyatt. “The Old Course is in great shape and will provide a very good test for our talented field. The organizing committee and the community of Ponoka have done a great job; this tournament will be a wonderful experience for our players.”
Many of the nation’s most accomplished golfers have showcased their skills on the national stage provided by this championship. This year’s competition will see several Canadian Golf Hall of Fame members and a number of former champions compete to once again enter the winner’s circle at this tournament.
Returning to defend a trio of titles will be Terrill Samuel. The Etobicoke, Ont., native finished 3-under 210 at Sawmill Creek Golf Resort in Camlachie, Ont., to claim victories in the Mid-Amateur, Mid-Master and Senior divisions. The Weston Golf & Country Club member, who also captured the 2012 Senior title, will be joined by reigning Super Senior champion Joey Bush of Aurora, Ont.
Mary Ann Hayward will attempt to add another national title to her lengthy list of accolades. The Aurora, Ont., native is a member of both the Ontario and Quebec Golf Halls of Fame, and was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 2007. The 56-year-old’s storied career includes four Amateur championships, three Senior victories, as well as the 2008 Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master titles.
A trio of British Columbians hope to add to their legacies through this championship. Fellow Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member and four-time Senior champion Alison Murdoch of Victoria will play alongside a pair of Port Alberni, B.C., natives in two-time Senior winner Jackie Little, who also captured the inaugural Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master titles in 2007, and five-time Mid-Amateur champion Christina Proteau.
Hélène Chartrand of Pincourt, Que., returns to the championship in which she claimed the 2014 Senior and Mid-Master titles.
An inter-provincial team championship will be conducted in conjunction with the first two rounds of tournament play. Team Ontario enters the competition as defending champions, having claimed a two-stroke victory over Team Alberta last year.
Following the opening two rounds, the field will be reduced to the low 70 and ties from the senior division. In addition, all players eligible for the Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master divisions posting 36-hole scores equal to the final qualifier in the senior division will advance to the final two rounds. A minimum of 10 Mid-Amateur and five Mid-Master competitors will make the cut.
The 2016 Canadian Women’s Senior champion will gain an exemption into the 2016 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship to be contested at Wellesley Country Club in Wellesley, Mass., from September 17-22.
Additional information regarding the championship can be found here.