A year and a half after she captured the Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship at the age of 14, Lansdowne, Ontario’s Carlee Meilleur has another big win to add to her burgeoning resume.
Meilleur, now 15, prevailed at the AJGA Butterfield Bermuda Championship in Bermuda. She toured the 54 holes at the Port Royal Golf Club in Southampton in a score of even par in challenging conditions for the win. She was three strokes clear of two players who shared second place, one of them being Ann-Sophie Bourgault of Gatineau, Ontario (Royal Ottawa GC).
Carlee, who plays out of the Loyalist G&CC in Bath, Ontario, and can often be found practicing closer to home at Smuggler’s Glen Golf Club, was thrilled by the success. A member of the Golf Canada NextGen team, she shared some thoughts with Flagstick.com about the tournament where she had the help of a local junior who is not only a friend, but qualified for last year’s PGA TOUR event in Bermuda at age 15.
“Day 1 I had some awesome approach shots that set me up for birdie,” said Meilleur of her opening score of -3 that pushed her into a lead that she would not relinquish. “I wanted to take advantage of the nice weather because I didn’t know how the conditions were going to be the next two days. The last two days were good too, I felt comfortable with my game and I knew my landing zones. My friend Oliver Betschart helped me out a lot, he brought me on the course and showed me different shots during practice round.”
With intensely windy condition over the last two days, Carlee backed up her opening 68 with scores of 73 and 72 over the par 71 layout.
“It feels amazing to get this win, it’s been awhile since I’ve had one,” continued Meilleur in an exchange with Flagstick.com. “Not only was this my first AJGA win but this was my first destination tournament as well. I’m super happy with how this week went and I hope that 2024 brings a lot more great games.”
Meilleur now returns to Florida, where she spends part of the winter, with more competitions on her calendar.
