Little Wins Back-To-Back Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Senior Championships

Diane Williams wins super-senior division

Bridgewater, N.S. (RCGA) – Jackie Little of Port Alberni, B.C., fired a final-round 8-over par 80 Thursday to win the Royale Cup Canadian Senior Women’s Championship held at Osprey Ridge Golf Club in Bridgewater, N.S.

Little finished the tournament at 4-over (70-70-80-220), to reclaim the Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Senior Championship title.

“Winning this year feels just as good as last year!” said an elated Little. “Winning a national championship is always an accomplishment. With good players like we had this year, you always have to be on top of your game. But I played pretty solid, and it feels awesome.”

Little headed into her final round with an impressive 7-stroke lead, but struggled against Thursday’s windy conditions.

“The wind was tough today,” said Little. “It came across every hole and it made for a lot of second guessing. The shots I thought were right just weren’t.”

With her win, Little caps off a successful season. Earlier this season, Little captured the Alberta Women’s Senior championship title and was the low medalist at the United States Senior Women's Amateur sectional qualifier at Willamette Valley Golf Club in Canby, OR. Little also placed fourth in the British Columbia Senior Championship and T8 at the BC Women’s Amateur Championship.

Lynda Palahniuk of Kelowna, B.C., finished second at 8-over (75-76-73-224), while third place honours went to Kathy Powers of Hammonds Plains, N.S., who finished at 10-over (73-74-79-226).

In the Women’s Super Senior championship, Calgary’s Diane Williams clinched her victory after she fired a final-round 80 to finish at 16-over, thirteen-strokes ahead of runner-up Gloria Sinclair of Georgetown, Ont., who finished at 29-over. Third place went to Jane Kirkpatrick of Woodbridge, Ont., who finished 32-over.

The Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Senior Championship is open to women who have reached their 50th birthday by the first scheduled day of the championship, August 25, 2009. Corresponding with the championship is the Super Senior competition, open to female amateurs who have reached their 60th birthday by the first scheduled day of the championship, August 25, 2009.

A complete list of players, starting times and post-round results for the 2009 Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Senior Championship can be found at www.rcga.org/Championships.

The following are final results for the 2009 Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Senior Championship:

1. Jackie Little, Port Alberni, BC, 70-70-80-220 +4
2. Lynda Palahniuk, Kelowna, BC, 75-76-73-224 +8
3. Kathy Powers, Hammonds Plains, NS, 73-74-79-226 +10
4. Holly Horwood, Vancouver, BC, 75-76-77-228 +12
4. Alison Murdoch, Victoria, BC, 77-75-76-228 +12
6. Louise Boivin, Repentigny, QC, 78-76-77-231 +15
7. Diane Williams, Calgary, AB, 76-76-80-232 +16
8. Cheryl Van Dornick, Camrose, AB, 78-75-81-234 +18
9. Teri deLuis, Brockville, ON, 78-77-80-235 +19
9. Karen Pultz, Surrey, BC, 78-75-82-235 +19
11. Phyllis Laschuk, Vancouver, BC, 76-81-80-237 +21
12. Cheryll Damphouse, Amherstburg, ON, 78-76-84-238 +22
12. Debbie McDonald, Claremont, ON, 78-77-83-238 +22
14. Kathy Grebenc, Bathurst, NB, 81-83-77-241 +25
15. Karen Saarimaki, Geraldton, ON, 80-83-79-242 +26
15. Ginny Marshall, Waterloo, ON, 80-81-81-242 +26
15. Ivy Steinberg, Cedar Valley, ON, 79-78-85-242 +26
18. Lynn Kuehn, Lacombe, AB, 77-90-76-243 +27
18. Susan Pearl, Ottawa, ON, 78-79-86-243 +27
20. Vicki Torbet, Richmond, BC, 80-84-80-244 +28

ABOUT IRVING TISSUE AND THE ROYALE BRAND
Irving Tissue, the makers of Royale, is proud to be the official title sponsor of all three of the Canadian Women’s amateur competitions; Royale National Junior Girl’s Championship, Royale Cup National Women’s Amateur Championship and the Royale National Women’s Senior Championship.

Irving Tissue is a family run, privately owned company which began in 1998 and since then has grown to become one of North America’s leading tissue manufactures. The Royale brand is owned and proudly manufactured by Irving Tissue. Royale has been trusted by generations of Canadian families and traces its roots back to 1932. The product line-up includes kitten soft bathroom tissue, facial tissue, napkins and paper towels. For more information on Royale products, visit www.royale.ca

ABOUT THE ROYAL CANADIAN GOLF ASSOCIATION
The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) is the governing body of golf in Canada, representing 377,000 members at 1,600 clubs across the country. Recognized by Sport Canada as the National Sports Organization (NSO) for golf in this country, the RCGA’s mission is to grow participation in and passion for the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. The RCGA conducts programs and services to help shape the future of golf in Canada. High performance athlete development, CN Future Links, Canada’s national junior golf program, turfgrass and environmental research, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum, Rules of Golf and amateur status, handicapping and course rating are only some of the initiatives the association leads for golf in Canada. In addition, the RCGA conducts Canada’s most prestigious golf championships. The RBC Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women’s Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while regional junior and national amateur championships showcase the best in Canadian golf.

For further information on what the RCGA is doing to support golf in your community please visit www.rcga.org.