Pat Fletcher with golf trophy |
Pat Fletcher was one of the greatest golfers ever to come out of Victoria and Canada. Before he turned the trick at Point Grey in 1954, no Canadian had won the Canadian Open since 1914 and no Canadian has won the Canadian Open since. The Oak Bay High School graduate turned to caddying at the Victoria Club to make some money during the depths of the Depression. That, along with the encouragement of club pro Phil Taylor was the introduction to what became a long and glorious association with the game. Pat won the Canadian PGA in 1952 and was low Canadian at the 1953 Open at Scarborough. Other career highlights included winning the Saskatchewan Open in 1947, 1948 and 1951, the Alberta Open in 1946, the Quebec Spring Open in 1956 and 1957 and he was runner-up in the 1968 CPGA Seniors. Away from competition, Pat was a caddie, club manager, club professional and three-term president of the Canadian Professional Golfers' Association. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and the RCGA Sports Hall of Fame.
Victoria's "first lady of golf," Violet Pooley, was introduced to the sport at the age of eight when she caddied for her father at the United Service Macauley Point Course in 1892. By age 15 she was invited to play in the Mixed Foursomes championship. In 1905 Violet won both the British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Ladies Championships. By 1906 she was playing to a "scratch" handicap, a Canadian rarity in those days. She went on to claim the PNGA award on three occasions, the 1909 Oregon State crown and the B.C. title five times. Violet also represented Canada in the 1911 & 1913 British and the 1913 U.S.A. Ladies Championships. As Mrs. Violet Sweeney, she added four more PNGA plus four B.C. Ladies titles between 1920 and 1929. Throughout her career as a player and later, she played a pivotal role in the formation of the Canadian Ladies Golf Association and was the West's representative for a number of years. Violet (Pooley) Sweeny was inducted into the PNGA, B.C.& Canadian Golf Halls of Fame and the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame.
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