Whatever golf has given Gord in his life, Gord has more than given back as a player, volunteer and role model.
Gord was born in Stonewall, Manitoba on June 8, 1927 and took up golf at an early age, joining the Selkirk Golf and Country Club in 1939 and moving to Pine Ridge Golf Club in 1952. Gord has had associations with both clubs, being a member of Selkirk between 1973 and 1993 and Pine Ridge since 1973. For his many contributions to the game, Gord was inducted into the Selkirk Golf and Country Club Wall of Fame in 1989.
During the 1959 and 1960 seasons, Gord was the first golf professional at Selkirk. He was re-instated to the amateur ranks in 1964 and the golf accomplishments came quickly. Gord was the low amateur in the 1965 and 1966 Manitoba Opens.
From 1969 to 1972 Gord lived in Québec due to work commitments and was low amateur in the 1971 Québec Open. He tied for third in the 1972 Québec Men’s Amateur. Gord has been a member of both Manitoba (1967) and Québec (1970) Willingdon Cup teams.
A two-time Manitoba Senior Champion (l982 and 1987), Gord had an epic battle in the 1982 Championship with fellow Honoured Member Bill Pidlaski at Pine Ridge when, on the final day Gord had 18 consecutive pars to force a playoff which he promptly won on the first extra hole with a birdie. Gord was especially proud that his son Scott, who was 12 years old at the time, caddied for him all three days of the 1982 Senior.
Gord was the Senior “A” Group winner in the 1982 Canadian Senior Open Championship and tied for 2nd in the 1986 Canadian Senior. He was also the Manitoba Rural Senior Champion in 1984 and 1985. In addition, Gord was a member of the Manitoba Senior Team eight times 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1993.
Gord first shot his age (69) in a Senior Tournament in Carman in 1996 and has done so more the 180 times since then.
Gord’s love of the game also prompted him to volunteer to assist other golfers. He was a Manitoba Golf Association rules official from 1984 until 2001 including a time as head rules official, and he was a member of the first course rating team in 1991 and over the course of a decade was involved in rating more than 35 golf courses. He has always given freely of his time to others and was instrumental in teaching the basics of golf to a 9 year old Glen Hnatiuk at Selkirk Golf and Country Club who would go on to play the PGA Tour and himself become an Honoured Member of the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame.
Gord continues to golf with enthusiasm in his 89th year, always with a smile and quick wit.
Gord Lenton is an inductee into the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame and Museum Inc., September 19, 2016.