Marilyn O’Connor with her husband Don (photo credit Kamloops This Week)

Marilyn (Palmer) O’Connor was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame on May 26th in Red Deere, AB. The Induction Banquet welcomed over 600 people from across North America to celebrate the provinces iconic athletic contributors. It not only focused on those that have made a lasting impact, but it also highlighted the importance of community sport. 

Growing up with a golf course as her backyard, how could Marilyn (Palmer) O’Connor be anything other than a golfer? And with talent, positivity and an amazing work ethic, how could she be anything other than a champion?

O’Connor learned the game at the hip of her father, the golf professional at the Kamloops Golf and Country Club. From a young age, she was out on the course working hard to perfect her game, and that hard work paid off. The teenager won her first BC junior championship in 1963 and never looked back.

“It’s often that first prize that you win as a kid that motivates you to keep playing,” says Marilyn O’Connor. “What it comes down to is I just always really loved the sport. That’s what motivated me over the years.”

O’Connor has turned that love into an impressive resumé over the past several decades. She has 26 provincial championship titles in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan, five Alberta senior titles, and a Canadian senior championship. O’Connor is a two-time Vancouver city champion, fourteen-time Calgary city champion and an eight-time Calgary senior champion.  She has also been part of provincial or Canadian teams 52 times and competed in the World Cup six times and the Commonwealth Games four times, winning in 1979.

O’Connor’s success inspired many young girls learning the game, but it was her generous nature, talent, and encouragement of fellow golfers on and off the links that colleagues remember.

“You could not find a nicer person, a more talented player, and I really believe she raised the bar for golfers in this province,” says Judy Forshner, head golf professional at the Glencoe Golf and Country Club. “She’s a phenomenal individual. I feel fortunate to have met her and watched her play.”

After O’Connor married Don O’Connor in 1978, she moved to Alberta and continued golfing in Calgary. However, her golf career changed after starting a family. She still played high-level tournaments but she didn’t compete internationally as much.

“We had a fifth wheel and we’d go to tournaments and I’d play golf while my husband, who was so great, would take the kids and do the camping things,” she says. “My golf in Alberta has been a family affair.”

Today she continues to golf with her family, not for titles but for pure enjoyment of the game. After all, that’s what it has always been about for O’Connor.

“I’ve never played the game for recognition. I’ve played because I love to play. But when you are recognized, it’s very nice,” she says.

She has been recognized for her impressive accomplishments with inductions into the Kamloops, Canadian Golf, BC Golf, Alberta Golf, and the Pacific North Golf Association Halls of Fame. And this May, she will be inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

“It takes in all sports and athletes who have been exceptional in a multitude of endeavours, so to be included is very special for me,” she says.

With a career spanning over 40 years and provincial, national and international championships, Marilyn O’Connor will be right at home at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

Marilyn O’Connor – For the Love of the Game

This article was originally published in the 2017 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.