WHISTLER — It seems the only question heading into the final round of the B.C. Senior Women’s Championship is what Shelly Stouffer’s margin of victory will be.
The Nanoose Bay resident seems poised to win her record-setting sixth straight championship at Whistler Golf Club...
Stouffer fired an even-par 73 on a blustery day and sits at two-under par through two rounds of the 54-hole championship. That has her 10 shots ahead of Kyoka Takahashi of Vancouver.
June Zhang of Coquitlam is another shot back in third. Barring a final-round disaster, it seems unlikely Stouffer can be caught.
Given the conditions, Stouffer was pleased with her round. “I thought I played pretty well, pretty steady most the day,” she said. “I didn’t really miss any short putts today. I was pretty happy with my round because conditions were tough out there. I stayed pretty focused the whole day.”
Stouffer had three birdies and three bogeys in her round, which also included a couple encounters with bears wandering the course. “There were two bears on No. 13 and there was another one on No. 8 tee and then it ran across in front of us. It was pretty cool. I got some pictures.”
Stouffer has won the event every year since turning 50, beginning in 2020. She also has won two Canadian Senior Women’s Championships as well as the 2022 United States Senior Women’s Amateur.
Stouffer said her big lead won’t change anything for the final round. “I want to shoot the best score I can,” she said. “I feel like I want to be under par for a tournament again.”
Things are a little tighter in the other two divisions being contested at Whistler. In the Super Senior category — for players 60 and older — Diane Anderson of Penticton has a three-shot lead on Camm Dougherty of Corpus Cjhristi, Tex. Anderson shot a nine-over 82 in the second round and sits at 12-over par.
In the Super Super Senior division — for players 70 and older — Phyllis Laschuk of Vancouver has a four-shot lead on Vancouver’s Holly Horwood and Marlene Proc of North Vancouver. Laschuk, a former B.C. Senior Women’s champion sits at 25-over par after rounds of 86 and 85.
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