Primer: Canadian Pacific Women’s Open

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On the heels of the biennial Solheim Cup matches, the LPGA Tour gets back to its regular schedule this week with the 2017 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club.

A star-studded field of the world’s best female golfers will be in Ottawa this week, including eight of the world’s top 10 players on the current Rolex Rankings list.


HISTORY

The first Canadian Pacific Women’s Open was played in 1973 at Montreal Municipal Golf Club. Canada’s own Jocelyne Bourassa took home the inaugural title.

For its first six years, it was played as three-round (54-hole) tournament, but in 1979 it expanded to a full four-round tournament as it transitioned into one of the LPGA Tour’s major championships.


 
In 2001, after 22 years as a major, the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open was replaced by the Women’s British Open, which was already a major on the Ladies European Tour.

In 2012, then-amateur Lydia Ko became the youngest-ever LPGA Tour winner with her three-shot victory in Vancouver.

At just 15 years and four months, the young New Zealander bested Lexi Thompson, who had captured the Navistar LPGA Classic a year earlier at 16 years and seven months.

Still an amateur at the time, Ko successfully defended her title in 2013. She won her third Canadian Open title in 2015 as a professional. Ko’s three wins in four years is the tournament’s best run. Meg Mallon and Pat Bradley are the other three-time winners. Mallon captured her three titles over a five-year span (2000, 2002, 2004), while Bradley won in 1980, 1985 and 1986.


NAME CHANGES

The tournament was first known as La Canadienne; it later became the Peter Jackson Classic (after a brand of cigarettes); it was also called the du Maurier Classic (a reference to du Maurier cigarettes) until Canadian tobacco restrictions came into force.

  • 1973: La Canadienne
  • 1974–1983: Classique Peter Jackson Classic
  • 1984–1987: Classique du Maurier Classic
  • 1988–2000: du Maurier Ltd Classic
  • 2001–2002: Bank of Montreal Canadian Women’s Open
  • 2003–2005: BMO Financial Group Canadian Women’s Open
  • 2006–2013: CN Canadian Women’s Open
  • 2014–Present: Canadian Pacific Women’s Open

THE COURSE

The Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club is a private golf club located in Ottawa, Ontario. It was originally founded as a hunting club in 1908; its golf course was built in 1924 by famed architect Willie Park, Jr. – a two-time British Open champion (1887, 1889).


 
The Club hosted the Canadian Open in 1932 and the Americas Cup golf matches in 1960.

This will mark the third time that Canada’s women’s championship will be played at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club.

After a redesign in 1993 by Tom McBroom, it hosted its first national championship with the LPGA Tour’s 1994 du Maurier Classic, won by Martha Nause.

In 2008, it hosted its second women’s national championship, on its South and West nines, where Katherine Kirk (then playing under her maiden name of Hull) captured her first LPGA title by one stroke over Se Ri Pak.


THE FIELD: BY THE NUMBERS

The field is headlined by World No. 1 So Yeon Ryu, who won this event in 2014 at London Hunt and Country Club, as well as defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn (No. 3), and Brooke Henderson (No. 10), the Canadian native who is looking to capture her first national championship.


 

2017 LPGA WINNERS

There are 15 players in the field who have wins on tour this season.

  • Brittany Lincicome (Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic)
  • Amy Yang (Honda LPGA Thailand)
  • Inbee Park (HSBC Women’s Champions)
  • Mirim Lee (Kia Classic)
  • So Yeon Ryu (ANA Inspiration, Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G)
  • Cristie Kerr (LOTTE Championship presented by Hershey)
  • Haru Nomura (Volunteers of America Texas Shootout presented by JTBC)
  • Sei Young Kim (Citibanamex Lorena Ochoa Match Play presented by Aeromexico and Delta)
  • Shanshan Feng (LPGA Volvik Championship)
  • Ariya Jutanugarn (Manulife LPGA Classic)
  • Brooke Henderson (Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give)
  • Danielle Kang (KPMG Women’s PGA Championship)
  • Katherine Kirk (Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic)
  • Sung Hyun Park (U.S. Women’s Open Championship)
  • Mi Hyang Lee (Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open)

PLAYERS FROM CANADA

There are 14 players in the field from Canada, headlined by Henderson, who lives in nearby Smiths Falls (45 miles south).

  • Jennifer Ha
  • Hannah Hellyer
  • Brooke Henderson
  • Augusta James
  • Lorie Kane
  • Naomi Ko
  • Maude-Aimee Leblanc
  • Jaclyn Lee
  • Brittany Marchand
  • Samantha Richdale
  • Alena Sharp
  • Grace St-Germain
  • Maddie Szeryk
  • Anne-Catherine Tanguay

FORMER CHAMPIONS

There are eight (8) past Canadian Pacific Women’s Open winners in the field.

  • Karrie Webb (1999, as the du Maurier Classic)
  • Cristie Kerr (2006)
  • Katherine Kirk (2008)
  • Michelle Wie (2010)
  • Brittany Lincicome (2011)
  • Lydia Ko (2012, 2013, 2015)
  • So Yeon Ryu (2014)
  • Ariya Jutanugarn (2016)

2017 SOLHEIM CUP PLAYERS

There are 18 (of 24) players in the field who competed in last week’s Solheim Cup matches.

  • USA: Paula Creamer, Austin Ernst, Danielle Kang, Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lang, Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, Michelle Wie, Angel Yin
  • Europe: Carlota Ciganda, Charley Hull, Karine Icher, Caroline Masson, Catriona Matthew, Emily K. Pedersen, Mel Reid, Madelene Sagstrom, Jodi Ewart Shadoff

THE SKINNY

Tournament: Canadian Pacific Women’s Open
Managed By: LPGA Tour and Golf Canada
Title Sponsor: Canadian Pacific
Dates: August 24-27
Course: Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club
Where: Ottawa, Ontario
Vitals: par-71, 6,419 yards
Architect: Willie Park, Jr. (1924), Redesign: Tom McBroom (1993)
Purse: $2,250,000
Winning Share: $337,500
Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter


GOLF CHANNEL COVERAGE

Round 1: Thursday 10:30 AM-1:30 PM
Round 2: Friday 10:30 AM-1:30 PM
Round 3: Saturday 3-6:00 PM
Round 4: Sunday 3-6:00 PM


Sources/Credits: LPGA Tour Communications, Getty Images, Golf Canada


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