Nanoose Bay's Shelly Stouffer Chosen Sport BC Master Athlete of the Year

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Nanoose Bay’s Shelly Stouffer was selected the Sport BC Master Athlete of the Year after an incredible 2022 season that saw the 53-year-old become the first British Columbian to win a United States Golf Association championship when she captured the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur in Alaska.

Image Courtesy Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

Shelly Stouffer With Some Of The Hardware She Picked Up Last Year

Stouffer won lots of other events last summer, including the B.C. Senior and Mid-Master titles, the Canadian Senior, Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master crowns and the Pacific Northwest Golf Association’s Senior Women’s Championship. “I guess I was lucky I wasn’t up against Connor Bedard,” Stouffer said with a laugh about her Sport BC award.

“It was awesome and really exciting to be recognized by Sport BC.” When she reflects on her summer of ’22, Stouffer is understandably most proud of her U.S. Senior Amateur win. “It still blows my mind that I am the first B.C. person to ever win a USGA event,” she said. In an interview from her Nanoose Bay home, Stouffer said she hopes she delivers a solid encore performance this summer.

“I am going to play in a lot of events. I am going to play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur and I am thinking I might go overseas to play in the British Senior Women’s Amateur. I have kind of laid out my schedule and it’s a lot.”

Her schedule includes both the B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Sandpiper Golf Course in Harrison Mills and the B.C. Senior Women’s Championship at Christina Lake Golf Club, where she will attempt to win her fourth straight title.

Stouffer has continued to work on her game over the winter. “I have worked hard on my body this winter and I am really excited about where my game is going. I’m hitting the ball farther than I have in the last five years. I feel like there’s more great things to come this year.”