(From left) Diane Higgins, winner Debbie Court and Ginny Marshall at the 18th green at Grandview during the final round of play
(From left) Diane Higgins, winner Debbie Court and Ginny Marshall at the 18th green at Grandview during the final round of play at the Canadian Women’s Senior Golf championship

Grandview golfer Debbie Court wins low gross title at the Canadian Women’s Senior Golf championship

The 96th annual Canadian Women’s Senior Golf championship was played this week for the first time at Huntsville’s Grandview Golf Club and it had a story book finish as local member Debbie Court won the low gross title. She recorded a two-round score of 156, a full 13 strokes ahead of Wanda Pilon from Gatineau, Quebec.

Court spends a lot of the year at her Peninsula Lake cottage and has been a member of Grandview for five years.

She also happens to be the incoming president of the Ontario branch of the Canadian Women’s Senior Golf Association in October and was instrumental in persuading the board to play this year’s tournament at Grandview as well as Deerhurst.

The Championship has been at Deerhurst on several occasions in the past, as the association alternates the event between Ontario and Quebec and goes to New Brunswick every third year.

“Ontario loves this area up here,” said Court after finishing her third round Friday. “They have been to Deerhurst more often than any other location but this year being a member at Grandview I thought it would be pretty special if we could play one day at Deerhurst and another at Grandview. The only challenge was the transportation of clubs and all has gone very smoothly.”

“The feedback has been amazing,” she added. “They love the course. All the women have been most positive about how beautiful it is and the weather helped.”

Todd Stephens, head pro at Grandview, said it was good to get the national exposure. “We were glad we were able to showcase the golf course,” he said. “Championships of this nature are also good business and we welcomed the opportunity.”

There were 131 players in this year’s event. Anne Howard of Quebec was the low net winner finishing ahead of Nadine Gilchrist from Muskoka Lakes.

Prizes for the winners were wooden bowls made by local artisan Brian Markham which received great reviews by the participants.

“I’m very proud of the way the tournament went,” said Court. “”The staff here made it very smooth and the girls are very happy.”

Ginny Marshall, who was grouped with Court on the final day, agreed. “We had the best lunch and the service was awesome,” she said.

While there is no prize money in this tournament the winners get to have their names engraved on trophies that are stored at Golf Canada.

Following the final round many of the contestants were hoping to get some shopping done in Huntsville. They only had brief opportunities to do that between rounds but did enjoy seeing the world water ski show participants that were also staying and showing their skills at Deerhurst this week. Many are hoping to return and get another chance to play the local courses.

The other players recognized at the tournament were:

Championship Trophy, Low Gross-36 Holes – Debbie Court
Billie Mussen Trophy, 2nd Low Gross – 36 Holes – Wanda Pilon (score 169)
Jean Burritt Dorland Trophy, 1st Low Net-36 Holes – Anne Howard (score 145)
Cairine Wilson Memorial Trophy, 2nd Low Net-36 Holes – Nadine Gilchrist (score 146)
Adelaide Mclaughlin Memorial Trophy Grandmothers, Low Net-36 Holes – Marsha Lindsay (score 149)
Griffin-Hees Trophy Veterans 70 Years & Older, Low Gross-36 Holes – Shelagh Wilson (score 181)
Mrs. James Fraser Memorial Trophy, Class A Low Net-36 Holes – Sharon Miller (score 149)
Mrs. E. A. Mumford Trophy, Class B Low Net-36 Holes – Karen Moore-Gough (score 150)
Mrs. T. Albert Brown Memorial Trophy, Class C Low Net-36 Holes, Adrienne Williams (score 151 retro)
Tory Trophy, Stableford-Total points – Laurie Sims (score 65 retro)

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