Strathmore athlete claims gold at Canadian championship

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Strathmore’s Emma Bittorf competed in the Canadian All Abilities Golf Championship, which took place in Brighton, Ont. running from Sept. 10-12, emerging victorious over the Women’s Net Stableford Division.

Bittorf unseated the previous three-time division champion, Tess Trojan to claim the title, collecting 31-33-34 points during the tournament rounds, winning by a five-point margin. 

“It is basically all different abilities, and they can be anything from, Emma has intellectual disability, to people who, quite a few of the competitors had missing limbs or prosthetics or things like that,” said Dawn Bittorf, Emma’s mother.  “Each province has their own All Abilities each year, and then this was the Canadian Championship that happens once a year around this time every year. This was Emma’s second time going.”

Playing golf since she was roughly eight or nine years old, the younger Bittorf is now 21. She explained her enthusiasm for the sport began as she regularly accompanied family to the golf course in her childhood. 

The Canadian All Abilities Golf Championship consisted of a practice round, followed by three competitive rounds, each consisting of 18 holes.

Contestants are grouped for the first two days before being placed against specific competitors on the final day based on their ongoing scores.

“The last day is kind of like the PGA, where depending on your score is who you will get paired up with, so if you are in contention with someone else for stroke play in Net Stableford, you are paired up with them for the last day,” said Dawn Bittorf. 

Emma has previously won the Women’s Net Stableford in Alberta, though this was her first time claiming the title at the Canadian competition. 

She explained following her victory she has no intention of sitting still, as there is more training and practice to do in order to prepare for next year’s competitions. 

As the Canadian All Abilities golf circuit has a shorter season and fewer opportunities to compete throughout the year, the next step is to begin competing internationally in the United States.

“Other than that, she tries to get out all the time if she can at the Strathmore Golf Club because they have really helped her out over the last few years,” said Dawn Bittorf. “They have given her a discounted membership to be able to help her achieve her goals.” 

In the winter months in between being able to be out on the holes, Emma trains at driving ranges in order to continue improving her swing.