Australian Sue Wooster won the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship in a playoff over Mary Ann Hayward from St. Thomas, Ont., after carding a 1-over-par 73 in the final round at Humber Valley Resort.
“It’s very exciting and I’m very proud,” said a smiling Wooster. “It’s an honour to come to another country and win a major event like this one.”
Wooster, 55, started her day with a birdie on the par-5 first hole and was a model of consistency the rest of the round hitting 17 greens in regulation – finishing at 12 over par for the championship.
Nothing changed in the playoff. Wooster stuck a hybrid to 15 feet on No. 10, the first playoff hole, and two-putted for par to capture the Ada Mackenzie Trophy.
“I’d actually been struggling with my ball striking recently,” added Wooster. “But today I put it all together. Golf’s a funny game like that, but I’m really happy with how I played today and thrilled with the result.”
With her win, Wooster becomes the first international player to win the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship since American Ginny Burkey in 2006.
She also earns an exemption into the 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at Waverley Country Club in Portland, Oreg., from Sept. 9-14, and the inaugural 2018 U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship.
“It would be great to take some momentum from here and play well at the U.S. Senior in a few weeks,” said Wooster. “But there’s a lot of good players there so we’ll see what happens.”
Hayward – a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame – started strong with a birdie on No. 1 and led until the back nine where she bogeyed No. 10 and 11. A double-bogey on No. 13 put her in a hole she couldn’t climb out of.
“If I could have one shot back it would be my drive on No. 13. I put it in the hazard and it just wasn’t a good swing,” said Hayward. “If we were allowed mulligans in tournament golf that’s where I’d have taken mine.”
Jackie Little (Procter, B.C.) and Terrill Samuel (Etobicoke, Ont.) tied for third in the Senior division at 13 over par.
Wooster also won the 40-and-over Mid-Master competition by one stroke over Samuel.
Ashburn, Va., native Lauren Greenlief fired a tournament low 4-under-par 68 in the final round to finish a convincing wire-to-wire win in the Mid-Amateur competition, winning by 19 strokes over Wooster.
“It’s a great feeling. I had my mom here all week and it was a great week of golf at a beautiful course,” said Greenlief. “I love coming up to Canada and I definitely plan on coming back.”
On Wednesday, Team Ontario captured their fourth consecutive inter-provincial team championship with a score of 18 over par. First-round leader Quebec fell into a tie for second with British Columbia at 22 over par.
Gatineau, Que., native Diane Dolan won the 60-and-over Super Senior competition with a two-day score of 156 (+12).
The 2018 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Senior Championship will be played in Ontario at a yet to be determined location.
NOTE TO MEDIA: Click here to download champion photos from the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Senior Championship. (Credit: Roxanne Ryland/Golf Canada)
Click here for full scoring.
CANADIAN WOMEN’S MID-AMATEUR AND SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP – SENIOR DIVISION – COMPLETE
1. Sue Wooster, Australia, *79-76-73-228 +12
2. Mary Ann Hayward, St. Thomas, ON, *77-74-77-228 +12
3. Terrill Samuel, Etobicoke, ON, *75-81-73-229 +13
3. Jackie Little, Procter, BC, *75-75-79-229 +13
5. Judith Kyrinis, Thornhill, ON, *81-74-77-232 +16
6. Marie-Thérèse Torti, Candiac, QC, *73-80-83-236 +20
7. Lynn Kuehn, Lacombe, AB, *79-83-76-238 +22
7. Diane Dolan, Gatineau, QC, *77-79-82-238 +22
9. Kim Carrington, Calgary, AB, *78-82-79-239 +23
10. Holly Horwood, Vancouver, BC, *80-80-80-240 +24
10. Leanne Richardson, Indian Mountain, NB, *80-76-84-240 +24
CANADIAN WOMEN’S MID-AMATEUR AND SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP – MID-AMATEUR DIVISION – COMPLETE
1. Lauren Greenlief, Ashburn, VA, *68-73-68-209 -7
2. Sue Wooster, Australia, *79-76-73-228 +12
3. Terrill Samuel, Etobicoke, ON, *75-81-73-229 +13
4. Bri-Ann Tokariwski, Winnipeg, MB, *77-75-87-239 +23
5. Leanne Richardson, Indian Mountain, NB, *80-76-84-240 +24
CANADIAN WOMEN’S MID-AMATEUR AND SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP – MID-MASTER DIVISION – COMPLETE
1. Sue Wooster, Australia, *79-76-73-228 +12
2. Terrill Samuel, Etobicoke, ON, *75-81-73-229 +13
3. Leanne Richardson, Indian Mountain, NB, *80-76-84-240 +24
4. Barbara Flaman, Sherwood Park, AB, *84-81-77-242 +26
5. Judy Dotten, New Liskeard, ON, *88-78-80-246 +30
CANADIAN WOMEN’S MID-AMATEUR AND SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP – SUPER SENIOR – COMPLETE
1. Diane Dolan, Gatineau, QC, *77-79-156 +12
2. Holly Horwood, Vancouver, BC, *80-80-160 +16
3. Joey Bush, St. Thomas, ON, *82-80-162 +18
4. Ivy Steinberg, Stouffville, ON, *87-78-165 +21
5. Karen Pultz, Surrey, BC, *86-80-166 +22
CANADIAN WOMEN’S MID-AMATEUR AND SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP – INTER-PROVINCIAL TEAM COMPETITION
1. ON – Judith Kyrinis, Mary Ann Hayward, Marion Reid, *158-148-306 +18
2. BC – Karen Pultz, Holly Horwood, Jackie Little, *155-155-310 +22
2. QUE – Marie-Thérèse Torti, Hélène Chartrand, Marlène Desbiens, *149-161-310 +22
4. AB – Kim Carrington, Lynn Kuehn, Joan Wilson, *157-163-320 +32
5. NB – Leanne Richardson, Kathy Grebenc, Paula Napke-Flanagan, *166-159-325 +37
6. MB – Rhonda Orr, Matty Leung, Kimberly Ross, *163-175-338 +50
7. SK – Jo-Anne Schiller, Tammy Bezaire , Sue Skinner, *176-165-341 +53
8. NS – Debbie Arsenault, Susan Tumblin, Joanie McCarville, *177-165-342 +54
9. PEI – Sherry White, Susan Allen, Brenda Ann McIlwaine, *180-165-345 +57
10. NL – Judy Gillam, Janet Mills, Gale Roberts, *192-168-360 +72