One stroke made all the difference in the world last year at the Ladies Simon Fraser Open golf tournament.
That was the margin of victory for Holly Sanders of Tsawwassen, whose last swing of a club on the 18th hole prevented a playoff with Betty Ann Shiels of Prince George, trying for her sixth Simon Fraser title at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.
Shiels, a PGGCC member, is among the 72 players entered in the two-round tournament, which starts Saturday at 8 a.m., but Sanders has decided not to make the trip north. That leaves Shiels, the 2009 champion, among the favourites to enter the winner's circle Sunday afternoon in what is recognized as the north central Interior's most prestigious amateur women's golf event.
Shiels is among a group of golfers with handicaps of 10 or less entered in the tournament, a list includes Shirley Halliday, Cheryle Poulin and Teria Wiebe.
"We're down a little bit from last year, maybe five or six golfers, but it's not too extreme," said Geof Magrath, the head pro at PGGCC.
Magrath said the course is in good shape, aside from a few rough patches on the first and 16th greens.
"We haven't had the weather to get the greens to fill in," Magrath said. "We're getting the weather now, but it's too late for the tournament."
The PGGCC is also preparing for the Men's Simon Fraser Open, a three-round tournament that starts next Friday.
