Marilyn Palmer O'Connor (born December 17, 1946) is a Canadian amateur golfer. She won the

Canadian Women's Amateur The Canadian Women's Amateur is Canada's annual national amateur golf tournament for women. It is open to women from all countries and is played at a different course each year. History The first championship was held from October 14 to 17, 1901, ...

in 1986. She has been inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame,

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, dedicated to the preservation and history of sports within the province. It was created in 1957 by the Alberta Amateur Athletic Union (AAAU). The museum w ...

, and the Golf Hall of Fame of BC.

Early life

Palmer was born on December 17, 1946, in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia, Canada. Her father Rod Palmer, who was a professional golfer at the Kamloops Golf and Country Club, taught her how to golf from a young age. While her father was working at the club, she trained with the men and boys. During her early teen years, she won the Vernon ladies' low net title, Kamloops Sweepstakes, and B.C. Women's Closs golf tournament. Within her first year out of the junior ranks, Palmer won the Canadian Women's Close golf championship in 1966. While attending Kamloops High School, she also figure skated and won the Okanagan senior pairs title.

Amateur career

While attending the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

to become a primary school teacher, Palmer continued to golf and won the 1969 B.C. championship. From there, she competed and won the International 4-Ball Championship, New Zealand Foursome Championship, Pacific Northwest Ladies Golf Championship, and the 1973 Australia Invitational Team Champion as a member of Team Canada. Although she considered playing professionally with on the

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...

, she chose to remain a school teacher and an amateur. Palmer played on the Canadian team for the

Espirito Santo Trophy The Espirito Santo Trophy (World Women's Amateur Team Championships) is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for women organised by the International Golf Federation. The inaugural event was held in 1964. It was instituted by the Fren ...

(World Amateur Team Championship) six times:

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. She finished tied for 10th place individually in 1968 and the team took the silver medal in 1978. After Palmer married Don O'Connor in 1978, she moved to Alberta and continued golfing in Calgary. While living in Alberta, she won the Alberta Ladies Championship six times; in 1983, 1985, 1989, 1990, and 2001, and was runner-up in 1997, 1999, and 2000. She won the

in 1986. From the 1990s onward, she was an active member at Country Hills Golf Course in Calgary.

Legacy

She has been inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame,

, and the Golf Hall of Fame of BC.

Team appearances

Amateur

(representing Canada):

References

External links

Profile
at Canadian Golf Hall of Fame {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer O'Connor, Marilyn Canadian female golfers Amateur golfers Golfing people from Alberta Golfing people from British Columbia University of British Columbia alumni 1946 births Living people 20th-century Canadian sportswomen