Jasmine Ly captures Ontario Women’s Amateur; Terrill Samuel nabs 4th Mid Am title
Amherstburg, ON – With the temperature feeling like it was in the mid-thirties, players battled the Thomas McBroom designed course as we witnessed competitors rise and fall on the leaderboard throughout the day. In the thrilling final round of the 2021 Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship at Pointe West Golf Club, the course record has been broken and a 106th Ontario Women’s Amateur Champion has been awarded.
Shooting a low round of 69 and a total of 280 on the championship to complete the 72-holes of competitive play, Jasmine Ly (Public Player) emerges as the newly crowned 106th Ontario Women’s Amateur Champion. The Windsor native is a 2018 Ontario Junior (U19) Girls Champion, 2019 Ontario Junior Girls’ Spring Classic Champion, plays NCAA golf at the Northern Illinois University, and qualified for the second consecutive year for the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
During the post win interview, Ly speaks of how great it feels to win the championship adding, “especially because I won it in my hometown.” Approaching the green, Ly expressed that she “was definitely nervous. I hadn’t looked at the leaderboard all day so I had no idea where anyone was. I just stuck to my game plan and tried to stay aggressive with that approach shot. My irons this week were really solid. I hit a lot of greens which helped for sure.” Final remarks include a nod to the spectacular condition of Pointe West Golf Club and a thank you to Golf Ontario for putting on such a great event. Ly will be celebrating her win over dinner with family and friends, including the silver medalist, Monet Chun, whom she played a lot of junior golf with.
In second place position taking home the silver medal, is Monet Chun (Summit G&CC), who had a stellar round of eight birdies to grant her the honour of a new Pointe West course record of 64. Chun is a sophomore at the University of Michigan and is only the second athlete on the women’s golf team to earn conference honours, which hasn’t been accomplished in 25 years. The bronze medalist position was earned by former Team Ontario teammates, Nicole Gal (Oakville GC) and Bo Brown (Blue Springs GC). Gal is a Team Canada National Junior Squad member and is the 66th Canadian Junior Girls Champion. Brown will be attending the University of British Columbia on a scholarship this fall, to pursue a Bachelor of Kinesiology and play on the Thunderbirds Women’s Golf team.
In addition to a 2021 Ontario Women’s Amateur Champion being crowned, an Ontario Women’s Mid-Amateur Champion was presented following round three. Terrill Samuel fired a 75 to secure her fourth Ontario Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship title. The 2021 Ontario Senior Women’s Champion, Judith Kyrinis, shot her lowest round of the championship to claim the silver medal; while defending 2020 champion Nonie Marler (Marine Drive GC), claims the bronze.
In the post-round interview, Samuel expressed that “anytime you can win your provincial championship it feels good. It’s amazing, it just feels like such an accomplishment so I was very happy to do so.” Approaching the eighteenth green, Samuel felt pretty calm. “I was leaking oil the whole back nine, so I was just trying to hang on. I remember Tiger Woods once saying it doesn’t matter, you’re in the lead, so I was focusing on that. I had the lead so I didn’t worry about it. I kept trying to self-talk that way.” In closing, Samuel noted how “unbelievable this course is. It’s so nice that we got to play on such a great course. There’s not a hole out there that’s bad and that’s unusual. Every hole is absolutely amazing and the course is in great shape. Anytime that you can have great greens, it doesn’t matter what the rest of the course is like. But Pointe West Golf Club has both. It has great greens and it’s also superb strategy wise.”
Golf Ontario would like to thank the players, rules officials, staff and members for their support of the 2021 Ontario Women’s Amateur and Mid-Amateur Championship. To Pointe West Golf Club and their passionate team – Head Professional Rick Schmidtgall and the Pro Shop Team, Greens Superintendent Matt Erickson and his team, Director of Food and Beverage Dave VanderHoeven, Executive Chef Vanessa Parent, and Host Club Volunteer Chairwoman Patty Marcus – Thank you to your staff and volunteers for being such welcoming hosts on a stunning track.
Lastly, a huge thank you to our sponsors and partners; Adidas, TaylorMade, Golf Talk Canada, Play Golf Myrtle Beach, Humber College, HUB International, BioSteel, Golf Genius, Modern Golf, Dormie, Durham Artificial Grass, Foresight Sports Canada, Baka, Nikon, Solo Golf, and Sport Travel. We are grateful for your continued support.
To view the leaderboards from the 2021 Ontario Women’s Amateur and Mid-Amateur Championship, click HERE.
About the Ontario Women’s Am & Mid Am Championship
First played in 1904, the Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship is Ontario’s oldest provincial championship and is the pinnacle of women’s golf in the province. The event features the best female golfers from across Ontario in a 72-hole stroke play format.
The Women’s Amateur has produced a rich history of champions throughout the tournaments long and cherished existence. Past winners include 1968 LPGA Tour players Sandra Post (1964), Alena Sharp (1989), Jennifer Kirby (2009, 2010), Augusta James (2011), Brittany Marchand (2012), Brooke Henderson (2014), Maddie Szeryk and Team Canada standout Brigitte Thibault (2019). World, Canadian and Ontario Golf Hall of Fame member, Marlene Stewart Streit, holds the record for the most titles with 11 (’51, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’72, ’74, ’76, and ’77).
First played in 1989, the Ontario Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship is open to female golfers aged 25 and over. In honour of her outstanding accomplishments at the Mid-Amateur level in Ontario, the trophy is rightfully named after 14-time champion Mary Ann Hayward. The event is contested annually in a 54-hole competition. Other notable past champions of the event include 2012 Canadian Senior Women’s Champion Terrill Samuel (1991, 2000 and 2010), Casey Ward (2015) and Golf Ontario Hall of Fame members Gayle Borthwick Hitchens (1992, 1993), and Judith Kyrinis (2017).