Orr does it again

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This article was published 31/07/2024 (613 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SELKIRK — Winning never gets old for Rhonda Orr, who captured a ninth-consecutive provincial women’s Senior Championship — and eleventh-overall title — under hot, humid conditions Wednesday at Selkirk Golf & Country Club.

“It was definitely a grind out here with challenging pins,” said Orr, who plays out of Southwood. “I had a tough time this last day, I didn’t play well, but managed to scrape it in and make a few shots when I needed to.”

The 63-year-old, who has been named Female Amateur Golfer of the Year five times, had rounds of 79-80-85. Fellow Southwood member Fran Povoledo (85-80-82) and Niakwa’s Tammy Gibson (79-88-80) finished tied for second, three strokes back.

“I definitely work hard at it, there’s no doubt about that,” Orr said when it was suggested she’s making it look easy.

“I try not to think about what I’ve won in the past when I come to the events. Every day is a new day, every shot is a new shot, every event is a new event. But you draw on your experience and think about it as a positive.”

Over on the men’s side, it was an entirely new experience for Brad Moore. The Pine Ridge member held off a late charge from a local golfing legend to taste victory for the first time.

“It’s been a long hard struggle,” said Moore, who was fighting back tears of joy as he spoke with the Free Press. “A lot of people to thank. Family and friends, my grandpa who started me in the game. We’ve got a lot of good golfers in Manitoba. To be able to beat them, to be honest, it’s hard.”

Moore, 63, finished second in the event in 2016, but hadn’t been that close in the years since. He finished at four-over par after rounds of 71-76-70. That was good enough to finish three strokes ahead of five-time Manitoba Amateur champion Todd Fanning of Niakwa (73-75-72).

“He played so incredible for the first two hours. He pulled away. It’s not like I played poorly,” said Fanning. “He made some incredible pars on 10 and 11 and right there I knew he wasn’t going to back away. And then I just kind of ran out of holes.”

Fanning cut the lead to two strokes with three holes to play, but Moore showed no signs of cracking as he continued his solid, steady play down the stretch.

“After (Fanning) made the two birdies on 14 and 15 I knew it was getting a little tight there. But just make the pars, don’t make any big mistakes and I kept hitting it solid,” said Moore.

He credited Pine Ridge pro Shane Dick with helping get his game to a good place through lessons in recent years.

“My putter really worked well all week. I made a lot of good putts, a lot of saves. There weren’t a lot of birdies, but the putter saved me on a couple holes,” he said.

Dwayne Heinrichs of Bel Acres (72-79-74) finished third to round out Team Manitoba. The trio will compete in the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship Sept. 12-15 in Port Elgin, Ont.

“My goal is to win a Canadian Senior,” said Fanning, 56. “I’ve won two Canadian Juniors, I’ve won a Canadian Mid-Amateur, and I’d love to win a Canadian Senior. I probably have a window in age for the next five years, so that’s kind of the goal.”

First-round leader Mike Walker of St. Boniface, 2023 champion Jay Doyle and 2022 winner Rob Oliphant all just missed out, finishing fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

Orr, Povoledo and Gibson will tee it up in the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship Aug. 27-29 in Georgetown, Ont.

While Orr continues to break her own records and set the pace, she’s thrilled about the current state of the local women’s game which includes several young up-and-coming amateur players on the scene.

“The junior girls that we have right now, they’re amazing,” said Orr.

“I hope they stay with it. I think a lot of people fall off. I think there’s some people in their forties who are maybe ex-amateurs and talking about coming back and getting ready to play in the seniors, so hopefully we’ll have new people coming in and I’ll step aside.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg