Their golf reunion couldn't have gone much better.
During the Ladies Simon Fraser Open at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club this past weekend, Lindsay MacDermott and Jackie Touchet - former teammates at the University of British Columbia - got together with their former coach, Ann Holmes. In the final standings, MacDermott placed first, Touchet was second and Holmes tied for fourth.
Holmes, an instructor at the College of New Caledonia, organized the gathering in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the UBC women's national golf championship in 2001.
"It turned out only two of us could come," said MacDermott, who now lives in Kamloops.
"We've had these varying degrees of actually playing so it was great motivation to get back to the game and have a weekend away and enjoy playing competitive golf because none of us have played anything competitive in a number of years."
The 36-year-old MacDermott, a former CPGA teaching pro who still gives lessons at the Kamloops Golf & Country Club, shot an opening-round 78 and a closing-round 76 on the par 72 PGGCC layout. She finished 11 strokes ahead of Prince Rupert's Touchet (86-79), who, in turn, was one ahead of perennial champion Betty Ann Shiels (83-83). Holmes, with rounds of 84 and 83, was just off the pace of Shiels, as was junior player Natasha Kozlowski.
MacDermott hadn't played in a tournament since 2010, when she teed up at Black Mountain Golf Club in Kelowna. She described that result as "horrendous" but that certainly wasn't the case this time around.
"The golf course was in amazing condition, and nothing was bad - if I missed, I was missing in the right areas, the greens were rolling really nice and I hit my driver well.
"I can hit a longer ball so the golf course kind of set up well for that," added MacDermott, who bombs a well-struck drive 250 yards. "I could take a few little shortcuts and was hitting some shorter irons into greens. And then I putted very well, especially lag putting."
The overall key for MacDermott was consistency. She made just one birdie all weekend, on No. 1 on Sunday, but had no big scores.
"It wasn't anything with a lot of flair," she said. "It was just fairways and greens, and then if I missed the green, I made a lot of up-and-downs. I didn't hit it in the water, I didn't take any penalty strokes - I was really boring.
"I was out for a good time. It was relaxed. I never stressed out, I just enjoyed my game of golf."
Given her lack of tournament play in the last number of years, MacDermott didn't expect to win the Simon.
"I was pleasantly surprised," she said. "When I sent the message home, I said, 'You're never going to believe what happened.'"
On the home-front, MacDermott and husband Brice are raising two young golfers, five-year-old Cooper and his sister, Hannah, who is almost four. Brice is general manager and head pro at the Kamloops G&CC.
"We're definitely a little golfy family," MacDermott said. "There are so many great things to be learned at the golf course."
MacDermott plans to return to Prince George next summer to try to defend her Simon title.
"You better believe it," she said with a grin. "I will for sure."
The Men's Simon Fraser Open starts Friday and runs through Sunday at the PGGCC.
