The temperature was rising as they made the turn on the course at Prince George Golf and Curling Club and Betty Ann Shiels simply warmed to the occasion, knowing a sixth Ladies Simon Fraser Open championship was well within her grasp.
Teria Wiebe, on the other hand, withered in the heat that came with trying to win her first Simon title.
Shiels picked up the pace late in the round and shot an 81 Sunday, three better than Wiebe, to win by two strokes with a 168 total.
"It's fantastic anytime you can win this tournament, it's one of the best tournaments in northern B.C.," said Shiels. "Both Saturday and Sunday I didn't have good front nines and had better back nines. I shot 48 on the front Saturday and I was thinking, 'how am I going to break 90?' And then I shot 39 on the back. The back nine (38) saved me today."
Leading Shiels by three strokes as they started the back-nine in Sunday's final round, Wiebe got into trouble with a double-bogie on No. 11, a bogie on No. 12, and a triple-bogie on the par 4 No. 13.
"The front nine went really well and I was getting quite excited because I shot probably the best I've ever shot on the front-nine when I was three-over (par for the front is 35)," said Wiebe, who totaled 86-84--170. "Then in the back nine, I don't know if the heat tired me out, but I was so shaky and nervous. My stomach was not settling the whole round and my hands were shaky the whole round."
Shiels gained two strokes on Wiebe on No. 13 , picked up one more in No. 15 and had a three-stroke lead heading into No. 18. She four-putted on the par 4 No. 4 on Saturday and was forced to record a 6 Sunday on the par 3 No. 5. But those two triples were not enough to spoil her weekend.
"I didn't get into any trouble with my driver today, for the most part it kept me in the game, and I putted well, with 31 putts," said Shiels. "I was just glad the sun was shining. It's so nice to play in weather like this, the ball just flies."
Wiebe and the other half of her Sunday foursome -- Lynne Martin and Laurel Clark -- were tied after the opening round at 86, with Shiels just one back of the leaders. Although Wiebe finished her round with a birdie, the damage had been done on an unlucky 13.
"That was pretty sad -- I hooked my drive left and it went out of the bunker into some stumps, but it was still a decent lie," the 26-year-old Wiebe said. "I thought I could punch it out onto the fairway to about a 100 yards, where I'm pretty golden from that distance and, unfortunately, I flew the fairway and put it into into the far trees.
"But I'm happy. At least I know I can compete. I've only played golf competitively for the last six or seven years."
Cheryle Poulin of Mackenzie (90-82--172) was third, followed by Shannon Briggs of Taylor (89-84--173).
Shiels captured the Simon in 1991, 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2009 and has been a runner-up numerous times. Her first win in '91 stands out, mostly for the souvenir she took home that day.
"That was when [former PGGCC head pro] Findlay Young started the wee birdie trophy and the keeper trophy was a little replica of that, so that first time is pretty special," Shiels said.
With her sixth win, Shiels moved ahead of five-time champion Kathy Mears of Prince George. Kim (Cowburn) Evans of Kitimat claimed the title eight times, dominating the tournament from 1994 to 2004.
