SPORTS FLASHBACK 2004: Fly-In basks in success of national golf finals

The Steinbach Fly-In Golf Club and the City of Steinbach put their best foot forward in hosting the highly successful Royale Canadian Senior Women’s Golf Championship last week.

It was the first national championship in any sport staged in Steinbach, and by all accounts came off as an unqualified success.

Sixty-nine of the top senior women’s golfers in Canada converged on Steinbach for the four-day event, which included a practice round on Monday, followed by three competitive rounds on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

To a player, the competitors sang the praises of their experience in the Steinbach tournament. Although some of the golfers did not perform as well as they would have liked to, they were generally in awe of the spectacular conditions created by superintendent Rob Fast and his grounds crew.

Competitors, who came from all 10 provinces, gushed about the hospitality they received at the Fly-In as more than 70 volunteers catered to their every need. The host committee, chaired by Ingrid Penner, was there from morning to night, taking care of all the details.

Despite soggy conditions because of never-ending rain through the first two rounds and extremely windy conditions in the final round, some outstanding scores were turned in during the 54-hole event.

The eventual winner was 54-year-old Alison Murdoch of Victoria, BC, who also won the 2002 event. She defeated Winnipeg’s Judi Lidstone by three strokes to claim the 2004 crown. Murdoch had a three-round total of 228 at the Fly-In Golf Club, which played to a par 71 for the championship.

Murdoch carded rounds of 76-73-79-228, compared to Lidstone’s 77-78-76-231. Jane Kirkpatrick of Woodbridge, Ontario, who led through the first two rounds , struggled in the wind with an 89 on the final day to finish sixth. Defending champion Lynda Palahniuk of Kelowna, BC, formerly of Winnipeg, wound up ninth at 243.

The front and back nines were reversed at the golf club for the tournament, so the finishing 18th hole was what would normally be the ninth hole. Several hundred spectators were crowded around the clubhouse and finishing hole when Murdoch arrived at the 18th to clinch her second national title.

In accepting the championship trophy, Murdoch dedicated the win to her father, who introduced her to golf when she was only eight, but passed away only a month prior to the 2004 championship.

In her victory speech, on behalf of all the players, she paid tribute to the members of the Steinbach Fly-In Golf Club, as well as the local organizers and volunteers for the superb job they did all week.

Lidstone, one of the top amateur players in the province for many years, admitted to being surprised at her second place finish at the national championship. Someone who has had much success in Steinbach over the years, winning several tournaments here, says the course was very challenging this week, particularly the final day, with winds gusting over 40 km/h, when she carded a 76, the second lowest score of the day.