Stouffer completes clean sweep winning Mid-Amateur, Mid-Master and Inter-Provincial Team titles at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community
Courtenay, B.C. – It was quite the battle during Saturday’s final round between Shelly Stouffer and Catherine Matranga, but in the end, Stouffer pulled ahead to win the 2024 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur, presented by BDO at the Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community (Crown Isle) in Courtenay, B.C.
Stouffer and Matranga were tied at 2-over heading to the 17th at Crown Isle, and that is where Stouffer grabbed the lead with a birdie to move ahead of Matranga, who pared. On 18, Stouffer secured the victory in convincing fashion with another birdie to finish the tournament at even par, two shots clear of Matranga of Fort Worth, Texas.
“Yeah, it’s amazing, really happy about it,” said Stouffer with a smile. “I was just keeping track of it, thinking she’ll make that and then she did and now it’s a two-shot game and I had to make some long putts too, some long par saves that I made which was good. I just go through my routine and do the same thing and you lean on your routine and hope that gets you through it and was able to make a birdie-birdie finish,” said Stouffer following her round on Saturday.
“17 is a double fairway where you can go right or left and in the middle is a bunker and group of trees so I am trying to go right and I hit a terrible tee shot that went left and went over the bunker and bounced into the fairway leaving me 85 yards to the hole, I hit that shot pin high to 12 feet and left of the hole and made birdie,” said Stouffer.
On 18, Stouffer hit her drive right down the middle of the fairway, leaving herself 93 yards to the pin. She put her second shot to within five feet of the hole to close with a birdie and the national championship.
This marks the second Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur title for Stouffer of Nanoose Bay, B.C. who was triumphant in 2022 in Manitoba, prior to the Women’s Mid-Amateur becoming a standalone event last year.
Stouffer finished with rounds of 75-68-73-216 and also claimed the Mid-Master title by nine shots over Taya Battistella of Bellingham, Wash. She was also part of Team British Columbia, who earned the Margaret Todd Trophy as Inter-Provincial Team champions on Friday. Team British Columbia finished with a combined score of 8-over, to beat Alberta by ten shots. In addition to Stouffer, the host province was represented by Jamie Oleksiew of Vancouver, B.C. and Aram Choi of Surrey, B.C.
Stouffer enjoyed the week at Crown Isle, “it was awesome, the course was great and before this year I hadn’t played it in probably 25 years but I knew the tournament was here so I came up and played five times beforehand, so I got to see the golf course a number of times which was great.”
With her victory, Stouffer has earned exemptions into the 2024 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, taking place from September 7-12 at Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton, Mass., as well as an exemption into the 2025 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship.
In addition to winning all three trophies at Crown Isle, Stouffer has also won the B.C. Women’s Mid-Master Championship and the B.C. Women’s Senior Championship this season. Saturday was extra special as her son, Brett caddied the final nine holes for her. Following the trophy presentation, Stouffer reflected on her season to date.
“It’s going well so far,” she said with a laugh. “I am liking the way the direction is going. My son is playing golf too and it’s been hard to organize because he was over at Ledgeview this week playing in the B.C. Amateur so that’s why he was here for the last nine holes and finished caddying for me. It’s been a good ride so far and I’m just going to try to keep going.”
For the final standings from the 2024 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, click here.
