Canada’s Brooke Henderson moves one shot off clubhouse lead at CP Women’s Open
REGINA – Sung Hyun Park emerged from the scorer’s tent after a masterful round of 64 at the CP Women’s Open to a swarm of golf fans.
Few seemed to notice the defending champion and world’s best women’s golfer as she strolled undisturbed down the path, fresh from tying a course record at the Wascana Country Club.
This crowd had only one person on its mind. Canadian star Brooke Henderson is the star of this show, especially after a second straight 66 left her just one stroke behind clubhouse leader Amy Yang of South Korea.
“Brooke is almost like Canada’s Tiger Woods,” said Park, who played with Henderson and Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist. “I was really surprised at how many fans came out to support Brooke today. To witness that was pretty awesome.”
Dozens of fans – many clad in red and white and waving small Canadian flags – let out a roar when Henderson chipped in on her opening hole and they were just as vocal when she capped her round with another birdie.
The 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., was at 12-under-par 132 and right in the mix for what could be a very exciting weekend.
“I hit the ball in good spots and made birdie putts when I had them,” Henderson said. “I feel like I made the most of today’s round, which is always a great feeling.
“To be close to the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend is awesome, especially when you’re here in Canada.”
Henderson has managed to score in different ways over the first two rounds. She took advantage of her impressive length on Thursday and had her short game working when the wind picked up Friday.
Highlights from @BrookeHenderson’s second-round 66 at the #CPWO pic.twitter.com/8oB7WVXWwG
— CP Women’s Open (@cpwomensopen) August 24, 2018
Yang shot a 65 to move into top spot at 13-under-par 131. American Angel Yin (67) joined Henderson in second place with several groups still on the course.
“I was hitting it pretty solid out there,” Yang said. “But I gave myself a lot of good chances and I think I made most of them out there.”
Park, from South Korea, was three shots off the lead after her 64, a score that three players attained a day earlier. She was joined at 10 under by first-round co-leader Nasa Hataoka of Japan (70) and Maria Torres of Puerto Rico (66).
Starting on the par-4 10th hole, Henderson had four birdies over her first six holes before missing a three-foot putt on the 16th for a bogey.
She started to spray the ball a little bit after that miscue, but the six-time winner on the LPGA Tour had some luck on her side too.
Her drive sailed well right on the 18th hole, hitting a grandstand post on a bounce before settling in the rough. Henderson found the green with her next shot and two-putted for par.
Five pars followed after the turn before Henderson found a late groove. She hit a tricky four-foot downhill putt on the sixth hole and drained a 22-footer from the fringe for another birdie on the seventh.
“Definitely have a lot of confidence in (my putter) this week, which is always amazing when you can depend on that club,” she said. “But I think overall, everything is kind of going really well.”
The 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., closed her round by going up-and-down from the side of the ninth green for birdie to the delight of the partisan gallery.
Americans Mariah Stackhouse (69) and Austin Ernst (69) were at 9-under-par 135, one shot ahead of Nordqvist (66) and several others.
It was hot and sunny again on the 6,675-yard course and the wind really started howling later in the day. First-round co-leaders Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe had late tee times.
Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City (71), one of 16 Canadians in the field, was a good bet to make the cut at 3-under 141. The early projected cut line was 2 under.
Play continues through Sunday at the US$2.25-million event.
Herperger caps super summer with 11th place finish at Canadian mid-am
Humboldt’s Mike Herperger didn’t get off to a great start at the Canadian Mid-Amateur Men’s Championship this week, but his finish left him in a tie for 11th overall at the event.
The four-day tournament concluded Friday in Victoria, B.C. with Herperger carding a 1-under, 69 leaving the 25-year-old a respectable 11 strokes back of American Joseph Deraney who won the event. The Humboldt Golf Club member said he’s happy with his performance through 72 holes.
“It was a surprise, I was seven over on the front nine in the first round,” he told Golf Saskatchewan. “I was just trying to hold my own and from there on I finished even for the tournament, so it was really good.”
Saskatchewan sent 13 players to the national championship. Many of the representatives bounced up and down throughout the event including Herperger who was a slow as 44th at one point. Regina’s Travis Fifi climbed as high as fifth at one point as well. He ended the event in a tie for 44th. Herperger said the host course is to blame for the rise and fall of the players.
“The Victoria Golf and Country Club, it was amazing to be out there. You are right on the ocean and the biggest part of it was the greens. The greens had angulations at some points 15 feet high. The speed and difficulty of them made it a very difficult course, that’s what it was,” he said.
Five players made the cut following the first two rounds. Regina’s Shawn McNall shot a four-day total of 293 leaving him in a tie for 28th. Prince Albert golfer Brett Henry tied Fifi at 296 and Saskatoon’s Shaun Dunphy finished in a tie at 60th with 302. Team Saskatchewan finished in sixth during the inter-provincial competition. Herperger said that was a let down after losing in a playoff last year in Regina.
“As a team we were a little disappointed. We wanted to put in a better showing in and get a few more quota spots for guys next year. We were happy to be at the course and have a chance to play a track like that, but we were disappointed we couldn’t play as well as the guys did last year,” Herperger said.
Overall the season was a successful one for Herperger. He placed sixth in the Lobstick at Waskesiu, won the Saskatchewan Men’s Mid-Amateur and placed second in the Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur behind Kade Johnson. He also sits fifth overall in the Men’s Order of Merit standings. Herperger said he’s happy with the season’s outcome.
“It was an eventful summer,” he said. “From last year essentially quitting golf to this year getting back into it and 11th in this tournament, it’s exciting.”
You can see the complete results from all 13 Saskatchewan competitors here.
LPGA experience special for Brandon
With family and friends in the gallery, Prince Albert’s Bobbi Brandon was able to share her CP Women’s Open experience.
The Moon Lake Golf and Country Club professional qualified for her second ever LPGA event on Monday through a one-day event at the Royal Regina Golf Club. On Friday she shot an 18-over, 90 at the Wascana Country Club to finish the tournament at plus-29. She said she wanted to finish with a better score but, overall the experience of playing in a pro tour event in her home province was special.
“It was a very awesome experience. Obviously, I’d like to play better but towards the end I found my swing again and it was good to finish my last hole with a birdie,” Brandon told Golf Saskatchewan.
Brandon had a morning tee time on Thursday where wind was not a factor. On Friday the gusts exceeded 50 kilometres and hour at times pushing the scores in the field higher. She said she has plenty of experience playing in Saskatchewan weather but not on a course this challenging.
“I’m not used to it on a course that is this demanding. The greens were quick, and your ball was moving around. I can’t use the wind as an excuse though, it was the same for everybody,” she said.
Brandon said she recognized family and friends in the gallery from across the province. Her mom was also in attendance both rounds. She played in an LPGA event in Ontario back in 1998 but said the support this week has been exceptional.
“Thanks for all the support from everyone. I would have loved to have played better but it was great seeing everyone out there,” she said.
Three way tie for first round lead at CP Women’s Open; Henderson two shots back
REGINA – An early bogey may have been a good thing for Canada’s Brooke Henderson at the CP Women’s Open on Thursday.
She attacked the Wascana Country Club course with a vengeance after the early hiccup, firing six birdies over seven holes at one point en route to a 6-under-par 66 that left her two shots off the first-round lead.
“It was really solid today,” Henderson said. “I got off to a little bit of a shaky start with a bogey on the first hole but I made a ton of birdies today and that’s always a really good sign.”
Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe, Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka shared the course record by opening at 64. American Angel Yin and Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Denmark were one shot back.
Henderson was joined at 66 by three-time CP Women’s Open champ Lydia Ko of New Zealand, Australia’s Minjee Lee and several others. Victoria amateur Naomi Ko was in a group at 68.
Uribe was in one of the opening threesomes and set the early tone by trimming a shot off the course record.
“It’s nice to start with a bogey-free round to actually see my golf game getting to where I know it is,” Uribe said. “It’s going to be a good week.”
Jutanugarn matched her score about an hour later. The world No. 2 opened with four straight birdies and had just one blemish with a bogey on the par-4 16th hole.
“Today my goal was (just) don’t worry about the future too much,” she said. “Don’t think about what I’m going to shoot today. Just try to focus on things I can control.”
Several players went low in the morning as they took advantage of ideal weather conditions. Hataoka and Henderson were two of the afternoon standouts.
Preferred lies were in effect on the 6,675-yard course. Greens were playing firm and fast and there was only a light breeze in the heat and sunshine.
Henderson was hitting the ball long off the tee and left a few strokes out there. She missed a seven-foot par putt on the 11th hole and settled for par on the 12th after missing an eight-footer.
https://www.facebook.com/cpwomensopen/videos/1807037606031530/
Playing in a group with top-ranked Sung Hyun Park and Anna Nordqvist, Henderson moved back up the leaderboard with back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th. She saved par on the 17th hole after a nice up-and-down from the sand and just missed an eight-foot birdie putt on No. 18.
The course seems to set up well for the 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont. If her short game is on point, Henderson could be in the mix on the weekend.
Another hot day was in the forecast for Friday but the wind was expected to pick up.
“I think this course is meant to be windy, so I think some holes can kind of play in your favour that way,” Henderson said. “It’s just going to be a challenge for the whole field.
“Hopefully I still hit the ball in good places, give myself a lot of birdie looks and hopefully capitalize.”
Nordqvist, from Sweden, and Park, from South Korea, were at 2-under 70 in a group that included Maude-Aimee LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que., and Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City. Alena Sharp of Hamilton and amateur Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-l’Ile-Perrot, Que., opened at 71.
There are 16 Canadians in the field. Play will continue through Sunday at the US$2.25-million tournament.
Charles Fitzsimmons of London, Ont., and Todd Fanning of Winnipeg shared the previous course record at Wascana. They posted rounds of 65 at last year’s Canadian men’s mid-amateur championship.
“It was awesome:” Young beaming following LPGA debut
Saskatoon’s Anna Young will never forget her first 36-holes on the LPGA Tour.
The 24-year-old won’t make the cut at the CP Women’s Open in Regina on Friday but overall, she said the experience “was awesome.”
Young fired a 3-over, 75 to cap her first ever Tour event at plus-9. She said her second round went better than her first 18 holes on Thursday.
“I started off a little better. My putting has been solid the last couple days which I’m proud of because these are different conditions than what I normally play on the Symetra and Mini-Tour so I’m proud of myself for adapting to that,” she said.
For the second day in a row the back nine holes at the Wascana Country Club caused Young all kinds of trouble. She was 3-under par on the front nine holes over her two days and plus-12 on holes 10 to 18. Young said she was more familiar with the front leading up to the event.
“I was much more comfortable playing off the front nine because I was only allowed to play the front more often,” she explained. “I hit a lot more shots on the front this week leading up to the event and that showed.”
Despite missing the cut and not playing on Saturday and Sunday Young said taking part in the tournament fulfilled a life-long dream.
“It’s been an awesome experience talking to the media, it’s been a real cool experience and good preparation for the future. It’s been so much fun signing autographs, I love playing golf for me, but I also like to aspire younger kids,” she said.
Young will now fly to Siuox Falls, South Dakota on Monday and play in the next Symetra Tour event. Following that she will continue to play events on a “week to week” basis.
Saskatchewan golfers continue strong showing at mid-amateur
Brett Henry put up the best score among the handful of Saskatchewan golfers still in the field at the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship in Victoria, B.C. on Thursday.
The Prince Albert product stroked a 1-over, 71 bringing his three-round total to 217. Henry’s score leaves him in 16th place heading into Friday’s final round of the event at the Victoria Golf Club. He opened with a birdie on hole one but ran into trouble with a trio of bogeys in a row on holes three, four, and five. Henry managed to sprinkle three birdies into his best round of the 72-hole tournament.
Humboldt’s Mike Herperger continued his solid showing as well shooting a 2-over, 72. He sits in a tie for 17th.
Regina’s Travis Fifi, who was once as high as fifth in the event dropped back to a tie for 31st after posting an 11-over, 81 in round three. Shawn McNall of Regina played well carding a 73, he’s in a tie for 45th and Saskatoon’s Shaun Dunphy shot a 6-over, 76. Dunphy sits in a tie for 60th.
Victoria’s Saare Adams leads the tournament at 3-under par, the winner receives an exemption into the 2019 RBC Canadian Open.
Round four tee offs begin at 7:30 a.m. Pacific time. Online scoring is available here.
Young rebounds from early round jitters; finishes LPGA debut on a roll
Anna Young’s first round in the LPGA will be remembered as a tale of two nines.
Young, 24, teed off on the back nine holes first at the Wascana Country Club for the CP Women’s Open Thursday showing signs of nerves until the turn. Young shot 45 through the first half of her debut round but found her game on the front nine holes shooting 2-under par dropping her score to a respectable plus-6, 78. The Saskatoon product admitted the first nine holes were a struggle.
“I was a little bit nervous,” she said after the round. “Sometimes when nerves kick in you lose a little feeling and I forgot my swing thoughts. It was the first shot of the Canadian Open and right now that’s something that’s important to me is to feel my swing. I forgot it on the first one and thought, I need to remember that.”
She certainly found her game during the latter portion of the round including knocking down a trio of birdie putts in her last five holes. Young said she identified what was causing her to pile on strokes during the opening nine holes.
“It wasn’t so good at the beginning, I figured out what I was doing and came back on the back which feels pretty good. The front nine was rough so I had to do something about it,” she said.
She will have some work to do on Friday if she hopes to make the cut and play on the weekend. Young said she wasn’t aware of the rest of the 156 player’s scores instead just focusing on her own round. She tinkered with some mechanics halfway through which also brought her score back to a competitive level.
“Tempo is a big thing I work on, especially in tournaments. That is what I was focused on, but I realized that my tempo was quick, but it was a shorter swing. I was leaving the face open and as soon as I realized that everything went better,” she said.
She won’t have much time to rehash her first 18 holes, Young will tee off in the first group Friday at 7 a.m. along with fellow Canadian Brittany Marchand and Daniela Iacobelli.
Brandon bound to bounce back at CP Women’s Open
Prince Albert’s Bobbi Brandon feels she can do more in her second round of the CP Women’s Open at the Wascana Country Club in Regina.
The Moon Lake Golf and Country Club professional qualified for her second career LPGA event on Monday at the Royal Regina Golf Club. She said just getting a chance to play in her first tour event since 1998 was special.
“I was super excited,” she told Golf Saskatchewan after round one at the Wascana. “It looked more and more possible as the numbers got lower. I have been working on my game leading up to the qualifier and I knew if I put something solid together I knew I’d have a chance.”
Brandon teed off in one the early groups on day one of the 72-hole event playing with Jessy Tang and Jackie Stoelting. Stoelting’s caddy is the 2018 Saskatchewan senior men’s champion Rick Hallberg. Brandon said she wasn’t jittery ahead of the round but did have trouble finding the fairway.
“It was nice seeing a lot of familiar faces, I wasn’t actually that nervous either which was good. I just couldn’t get it going, I struggled off the tee which was unfortunate because my swing felt pretty good. I’m not happy with the score and maybe tomorrow I can fix the kinks and put something together that will feel better,” she said.
Brandon shot an 11-over, 83. As of press time she was sitting 100th overall. Making Friday’s cut will be a challenge, but she said there are still positives to take out of the experience.
“I know I have a good score in me, I want to see what I can shoot on this course. It’s been super fun, and everyone’s been super supportive. I appreciate it,” she said.
Brandon will tee off for round two Friday at 12:37 p.m. with the same two players.
Fifi in the hunt at Canadian Mid-Master Championship; five Sask. golfers make cut
Saskatchewan will have five players stick through cut down day at the Canadian Mid-Master Championship including Travis Fifi who sits in fifth place halfway through the event.
Fifi shot a stellar 3-under, 67 on Wednesday allowing the Regina product to climb to fifth on the leaderboard at 1-under par. Fifi only carded one bogey during the round to go along with four birdies including holes one and two.
Joining Fifi for rounds three and four will be Mike Herperger, Brett Henry, Shaun Dunphy, and Shawn McNall. Herperger, the Saskatchewan mid-amateur champion bounced back from a 5-over, 75 on Tuesday with a 71 to sit at plus-6. He’s in a tie for 33rd place. Prince Albert’s Henry is also in 33rd after carding his second straight 3-over, 73.
Dunphy and McNall are in a logjam at 58th, both are 9-over par, one stroke ahead of the cut line. McNall was even on Wednesday, Dunphy shot 2-over.
Dave Stewart posted an 11-over, 81, the Saskatoon product finished at plus-13. Colin Coben finished at plus-15, Mitchell Matichuk is 16-over. Brad Phelps will finish the tournament at plus-17, Ken Rodgers was 18-over. Scott Thompson shot his second straight 81 to finish at plus-22, Taylor Afseth was plus-31, and Jason Mohr carded a 10-over, 80 to finish the event at plus-25.
In the inter-provincial competition Saskatchewan finished in sixth place at plus-17.
Scorecards and Thursday’s tee times can be found here.
Golf Canada CEO excited ahead of second CP Women’s Open
On the eve of the CP Women’s Open at Regina’s Wascana Country Club, Golf Canada’s boss is expecting a fantastic event.
Laurence Applebaum is nearing the one-year mark of his tenure as the chief executive officer for Golf Canada and his second LPGA event in the country. Applebaum was in the position last year when the tournament was held in Ottawa. He said Wednesday during a media conference alongside LPGA commissioner Mike Whan at the Wascana Country Club that expectations are high for the first ever event in Saskatchewan.
“It’s obviously Wednesday of this year, but I already feel all of our metrics for the CP Women’s event 2018 is going to exceed. It’ll be a record on many, many fronts here, so I’m excited about this week. I’m excited about 16 Canadians in the field. I’m excited about our prospects for a great weekend,” Applebaum said.
Among the 16 Canadians in the field are Saskatoon’s Anna Young who was exempted into the event via a sponsorship. Moon Lake Golf and Country Club professional Bobbi Brandon got in through the Monday qualifier at the Royal Regina Golf Club. Young is making her debut, Brandon played an LPGA event in 1998. Applebaum was part of a media day event in early June. At that time the Wascana was facing some challenges but Applebaum said the grounds crew and staff have worked tirelessly to get the course into ready shape.
“The CEO and general manager, Greg Dukart, is here. Just what his team has been able to do in the last 60 days in a challenging. It’s a challenging weather environment and a challenging summer, they’ve put their hearts and their minds, and they’ve put their resources into making this a great event,” he said.
Brandon will tee off at 7:22 a.m. in a group with Jesse Tang and Jackie Stoelting. Young is playing in a group with fellow Canadian Brittany Marchand and Daniela Iacobelli, they will tee off on hole 10 at 12:15 p.m.