Top ranking amateur golfer Laura Matthews took her first national title at the Royale Cup National Women's Amateur Championship held in Squamish Aug. 9 to 12, and narrowly missed tying a dubious record.
Second place this year would have meant tying for the most runner-up finishes in the Royal Canadian Golf Association championship's 93-year history after Matthews was the tournament bridesmaid in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2003.
Matthews joined 120 of the best female amateur golfers from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico at the Squamish Valley Golf and Country Club for her eighth attempt to win the Royale Cup.
"Finally it's been a long time coming," said Matthews. "I wanted this really bad."
And it may be the well-manicured course, which had taken club staff several months to prepare, that allowed Matthews to finally win the coveted Royale Cup trophy.
"This course was set up really well for my game," she said. "You had to drive it straight and keep the ball in play, I did that all week."
The slim young blond from Essex, Ontario shot 290 over four rounds of play to win the trophy with a final score of two under par.
No longer the bridesmaid, Matthews tearfully thanked her parents who had traveled from Ontario to be at the Royale Cup, prompting suggestions that she be handed a Royale tissue.
Danielle O'Reilly of Whistler said she played the course "while growing up" and had never seen it in better shape. O'Reilly said she usually plays much shorter tournament and four-day marathon took its toll. She didn't make the third day cut-off of par 245, but said she felt she did well nonetheless with a little help from her caddy and dad Mayor Hugh O'Reilly.
"He likes to help me sometimes a little more than I would've liked," laughed O'Reilly, "but I enjoyed it."
Ashley Hogg, who also cut her teeth playing the Squamish course, placed 30th in the competition with a final score of 319.
Mexican golfer Violeta Retamoza seemed poised to snatch victory early in the tournament when she set a new course record of 69 on Tuesday. But, Retamoza quickly lost ground and faced Friday's final round three strokes behind Matthews to finish in second place with a three over par.
Stephanie Sherlock, 18, of Barrie, Ontario, took third place just weeks after also winning third place at the Junior Canadian Championships. Sherlock displayed unwavering focus in her first higher-level competition, most notably during the eighth hole of her final round when she chipped out of a bunker and into the cup for birdie.
Team B.C. also celebrated the end of a bad luck streak by winning the inter-provincial portion of the Royale Cup for the first time in 18 years. B.C. golfers Kira Meixner of Delta, Inah Park of Burnaby, Samantha Richdale of Kelowna and Christina Spence of Port Alberni shut down Ontario's chance to repeat as champions with a final two-day total of 449.
"I was only four years old when B.C. last won at the women's amateur," said Spence, 22. "It's been a long time a long, long time. I'm really proud to have brought it home and I know the rest of the girls are too."
B.C. teams are on a winning streak in Royal Canadian Golf Association competitions already securing the junior girls' title last week and picking up the junior boys' title on Tuesday. B.C. will also strive for the fourth consecutive senior inter-provincial title at the Royale Cup National Women's Senior Championship held Aug. 22 to 25 in Calgary, Alberta.
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