WHISTLER — Shelly Stouffer had the day circled on her calendar. Dec. 31, 2019, her 50th birthday.
That was the day the Nanoose Bay resident became eligible to play senior golf. In the ensuing weeks and months, Stouffer joked with her two sons about the upcoming “summer of Shelly.”
Stouffer was determined to start her senior golf career in style and did just that when she won the 2020 B.C. Senior Women’s Championship. As it turns out, she was far from done.
Stouffer has done a lot of winning since celebrating that first victory as a senior golfer. She added yet another this week at Whistler Golf Club, where the now 55-year-old won her sixth straight B.C. Senior Women’s Championship.
That summer of Shelly could be more aptly described as the decade of Shelly. And it’s only half over. Stouffer won the Whistler event going away. She began the final round of the 54-hole event with a 10-shot lead and by the time it was over led the field by 17 shots. That’s right, 17 shots. Two converted touchdowns and a field goal.
On a cool, blustery day, Stouffer closed with a three-under 70 to finish at five-under. Kyoka Takahashi of Vancouver was second, while June Zhang of Coquitlam finished third.
“It was fun,” Stouffer said of her runaway win. “I was focusing today on my routine and trying to stay patient on each shot and I hit good shots all day.”
Stouffer’s goal for the final round was to shoot under par and finish the event under-par. Mission accomplished. “It’s always fun to go under par,” she said of her round, which included four birdies and just one bogey. “It doesn’t happen often and I’m just excited to be able to do it.
Asked if she’d ever won a tournament by 17 shots before, Stouffer smiled and said: “I doubt it. Maybe the club championship at Fairwinds one year.” Stouffer’s final round was made even more impressive by the fact it was played in blustery, cool conditions.
“Even with the wind I was able to figure out pretty much every club today,” she said. “It was awesome.” Stouffer’s résumé as a senior golfer is nothing short of remarkable.
In addition to her string of B.C. championships, she won the Canadian Senior Women’s Championship as well as the Canadian Mid-Amateur in 2021 and 2022. Her biggest win came at the 2022 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship when she became the first British Columbian to win a United States Golf Association event. She made it all the way to the final of last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.
“I really didn’t envision this kind of success, but I am having fun doing it,” she said. Stouffer, who runs her own business, Dynamic Kinesiology, figures she has lots of gas left in her competitive tank.
“I am excited. I have got a big year coming up. I am going to play in both the Irish Senior Women’s Amateur and then the British Senior Am so I am pretty excited about that. And then I come back and play (the U.S. Women’s Amateur) at Bandon Dunes and some other tournaments at great courses. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The Canadian Senior Women’s Amateur is on that list as well. It’s being played Aug. 23-26 at Nanaimo Golf Club, a course Stouffer knows well.
“It’s a home game pretty much, so I am excited about that.”
Stouffer, Takahashi and Zhang will represent British Columbia in the inter-provincial team competition in Nanaimo. Stouffer’s six B.C. Senior wins ties her with Jackie Little of Procter for the most in the 51-year history of the event.
Two other championships were contested at Whistler. The Super Senior Championship for players aged 60 and older was won by Manitoba legend Rhonda Orr of Winnipeg. After closing with a five-over 78, Orr finished the event at 21-over and six shots better than runner-up Diane Anderson of Penticton.
“I have met a number of the ladies here playing at the Canadians so I thought I’d come out,” said Orr, an 11-time winner of the Manitoba Senior Women’s Amateur.
The Super Super Senior Championship for players 70 and older was won by Marlene Proc of North Vancouver, who edged Surrey’s Elaine Blatchford by one shot.
A net better best-ball competition was won by the team of Takahashi and Rhea Martin of Vancouver. They finished at 15-under par, two shots better than the team of Korianne Tllor and Rhiannon Charles of Vancouver.
See complete final scoring here.
CHIP SHOTS: The Zone competition was captured by the Zone 6 team of Stouffer and Josée Deslauriers of Parksville. . .Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen will play host to the 2026 B.C. Senior Women’s Championship.