Shelly Stouffer leads Mid-Master division and Team British Columbia lead
Inter-Provincial team championship following Thursday
Courtenay, B.C. – Catherine Matranga fired a 1-under 71 on Thursday to take the lead following the opening round of the 2024 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur at the Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community (Crown Isle) in Courtenay, B.C.
Matranga of Fort Worth, Texas was the only player to shoot under par at Crown Isle on Thursday. She began her round with nine consecutive pars to start, followed by back-to-back birdies to open the back nine. Matranga said her solid round was due to playing simple golf on Thursday.
“I got off to a pretty good start, felt like I was hitting my irons well, drove the ball well and just felt very comfortable out there today.
“Gave myself a lot of good looks for birdie but made easy pars to start off the round and continued that through the back nine and just overall felt really comfortable and kept it simple today,” said Matranga following her round.
Matranga also credited her consistent play and ability to recover well. She highlighted two shots on the front nine which allowed her to save pars after finding trouble. First from the bunker on three and then putting a wedge shot close on the seventh hole.
Matranga holds a three-shot lead in the mid-amateur division over Jamie Oleksiew of Vancouver, B.C. and is ahead by four shots over 2022 champion, Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay, B.C. Matranga said she intends to stick to her game plan on Friday.
“Being committed to each shot. I have a plan and just making sure I am picking good targets and being committed to everything and each decision I make out there and see what happens in the end,” added Matranga.
Stouffer leads the Women’s Mid-Master division by one shot over Taya Battistella of Bellingham, Wash. Stouffer shot a 3-over 75 on Thursday. Tina Papatolis of Issaquah, Wash. And Marie-Thérèse Torti of Candiac, Que. are tied for third at 6-over, three back of Stouffer. The Women’s Mid-Master Championship is contested concurrently with the Mid-Amateur Championship for players aged 40-and-over as of July 11, 2024.
In the Inter-Provincial Team Championship, Team British Columbia sits atop the leaderboard after shooting a combined 5-over to lead by seven shots over Team Ontario and Team Alberta who are both 12-over. Team British Columbia consists of Stouffer and Oleksiew along with Aram Choi of Surrey, B.C. The two lowest scores from the three team members count towards the team’s combined score for the day. The inter-provincial competition is contested over the first 36-holes of the tournament.
The field consisting of 64 golfers (aged 25-and-over as of July 11, 2024), with a handicap index of 12.0 or less began play on Thursday. The individual winner of the Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship will receive an exemption into the 2024 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, taking place from September 7-12 at Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton, Mass. In addition, the champion will receive an exemption into the 2025 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship.
For leaderboard following Thursday’s opening round at the 2024 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, click here.
