History in Canada

Canada has a rich history of hosting LPGA tournaments, dating back to 1966 when Kathy Whitworth beat Mickey Wright by three strokes at the Supertest Ladies Open at Sunningdale Golf Course in London, Ontario. This includes the du Maurier Classic, which was a major championship on the LPGA from 1979-2000.

This week’s Manulife Financial LPGA Classic marks the 47^th tournament to be played in Canada and will be the first of two events there this year, with the CN Canadian Women’s Open slated for Aug. 23-26.

Here is a list of LPGA events played in Canada:
Year	Tournament	Site	Winner
1966	Supertest Ladies Open	Sunningdale GC, London, Ontario	Kathy Whitworth
1967	Supertest Ladies’ Open	Sunningdale GC, London, Ontario	Carol Mann
1968	Supertest Canadian Open	Bayview GC, Toronto	Carol Mann
1968	Willow Park Ladies Invitational	Willow Park CC, Calgary	Carol Mann
1969	Ladies’ Supertest Open	Bayview CC, Toronto, Ontario	Sandra Haynie
1969	Tournament of Champs	Glendale G&CC, Winnipeg, Manitoba	Carol Mann
1969	Molson’s Canadian Open	Shaughnessy G&CC, Vancouver, BC	Carol Mann
1973	LaCanadienne Golf Championship	Montreal GC, Montreal	Jocelyne Bourassa
1974	Peter Jackson Ladies Classic	Canadian GC, Montreal	Carole Jo Skala
1975	Peter Jackson Classic	St. George’s CC, Toronto	JoAnne Carner
1976	Peter Jackson Classic	Cedar Brae G&CC, Toronto	Donna Caponi
1977	Peter Jackson Classic	Lachute G&CC Montreal	Judy Rankin
1978	Peter Jackson Classic	St. George’s GC, Islington, Ontario	JoAnne Carner
1979	Peter Jackson Classic	Richelieu Valley CC, Montreal	Amy Alcott
1980	Peter Jackson Classic	St. George’s GC, Islington, Ontario	Pat Bradley
1981	Peter Jackson Classic	Summerlea CC, Dorion, Quebec	Jan Stephenson
1982	Peter Jackson Classic	St. George’s G&CC, Toronto	Sandra Haynie
1983	Peter Jackson Classic	Beaconsfield GC, Montreal	Hollis Stacy
1984	du Maurier Classic	St. George’s G&CC, Toronto	Juli Inkster
1985	du Maurier Classic	Beaconsfield CC, Montreal	Pat Bradley
1986	du Maurier Classic	Board of Trade CC, Toronto	Pat Bradley
1987	du Maurier Ltd. Classic	Islesmere GC, Laval, Quebec	Jody Rosenthal
1988	du Maurier Ltd. Classic	The Vancouver GC, Coquitlam	Sally Little
1989	du Maurier Ltd. Classic	Beaconsfield GC, Montreal	Tammie Green
1990	du Maurier Ltd. Classic	Westmount G&CC, Kitchener, Ontario	Cathy Johnston
1991	du Maurier Ltd. Classic	Vancouver GC, Coquitlam, BC	Nancy Scranton
1992	du Maurier Ltd. Classic	St. Charles CC, Winnipeg, Manitoba	Sherri Steinhauer
1993	du Maurier Ltd. Classic	London Hunt & CC, London, Ontario	Brandie Burton
1994	du Maurier Ltd. Classic	Ottawa Hunt Club, Ottawa, Ontario	Martha Nause
1995	du Maurier Ltd. Classic	Beaconsfield GC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec	Jenny Lidback
1996	du Maurier Classic	Edmonton CC, Edmonton, Alberta	Laura Davies
1997	du Maurier Classic	Glen Abbey GC, Oakville, Ontario	Coleen Walker
1998	du Maurier Classic	Essex G&CC, Windsor, Ontario	Brandie Burton
1999	du Maurier Classic	Priddis Greens G&CC, Calgary, Alberta	Karrie Webb
2000	du Maurier Classic	Royal Ottawa GC, Aylmer, Quebec	Meg Mallon
2001	Bank of Montreal Canadian Women’s Open	Angus Glen GC South, Markham, Ontario	Annika Sorenstam
2002	Bank of Montreal Canadian Women’s Open	Summerlea G&CC, Vaudreuil-Dorian, Quebec	Meg Mallon
2003	BMO Financial Group Canadian Women’s Open	Point Grey G&CC, Vancouver, B.C.	Beth Daniel
2004	BMO Financial Group Canadian Women’s Open	Legends on the Niagara, Battlefield, Niagara Falls, Ont	Meg Mallon
2005	BMO Financial Group Canadian Women’s Open	Glen Arbour GC, Halifax, Nova Scotia	Meena Lee
2006	CN Canadian Women’s Open	London Hunt&CC, London, Ontario	Cristie Kerr
2007	CN Canadian Women’s Open	Royal Mayfair GC, Edmonton, Alberta	Lorena Ochoa
2008	CN Canadian Women’s Open	Ottawa Hunt&GC, Ottawa, Ontario	Katherine Hull
2009	CN Canadian Women’s Open	Priddis Greens G&CC, Priddis, Alberta	Suzann Pettersen
2010	CN Canadian Women’s Open	Coquitlam, British Columbia	Michelle Wie
2011	CN Canadian Women’s Open	Mirabel	Brittany Lincicome

New venue is a public course

Grey Silo Golf Course, the site of this week’s tournament, is located about 70 miles west of Toronto. The course is situated along the Grand River and is owned by the city of Waterloo. Being a public course is one of the main reasons tournament organizers chose Grey Silo as the site.

Grey Silo’s normal course routing will be altered for this week’s tournament. The 160-yard, par-3 16^th hole, which plays over water, will be the 17^th hole. The 450-yard, par-5 17^th, which has no water, will be the finishing hole. There are also consecutive par-5 holes on the front nine (Nos. 4 and 5).

Home country participants

There are nine Canadians in the field this week. They include Lorie Kane of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ontario; Jessica Shepley of Oakville, Ontario; Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Quebec; Stephanie Sherlock of Barrie, Ontario; Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Richmond Hill, Ontario; Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C.; and amateur Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ontario, who was a member of Alabama’s NCAA championship team.

Statistically speaking

Two Canadians are at the top of the driving categories on the LPGA. Samantha Richdale leads the LPGA in Driving Accuracy at 85.7 percent. Maude-Aimee Leblanc is second in Driving Distance at 278 yards, just one yard behind Brittany Lincicome.

New tournaments

This week’s event is the third new tournament on the LPGA schedule this season. The ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open started the season in Australia. The LPGA LOTTE Championship in Hawaii was the second new tournament of the season. The Jamie Farr Toledo Classic is scheduled for Aug. 9-12 in Sylvania, Ohio, and the Kingsmill Championship in Virginia on Sept. 6-9.

Next tournament after a major

Only five players have won the Wegmans LPGA Championship and come back with a victory in the next tournament, still the most week-after success of any major on the LPGA. Shanshan Feng, the winner of the Wegmans LPGA two weeks ago, is aiming to join that group this week. The consecutive winners include:

Player	Date of LPGA Championship Win	Tournament won next week, date
Beverly Hanson*	July 17, 1955	Battle Creek Open, July 31, 1955
Nancy Lopez	June 11, 1978	Bankers Trust Classic, June 18, 1978
Jan Stephenson	June 13, 1982	Lady Keystone Open, June 20, 1982
Patty Sheehan	June 3, 1984	McDonald's Kids Classic, June 10, 1984
Sherri Turner	May 22, 1988	LPGA Corning Classic, May 29, 1988

*An unofficial event, the Virginia Hot Springs Four-Ball, was staged between Hanson’s win at the LPGA Championship and her win at the Battle Creek Open.

Stats and Stuff: Manulife Financial LPGA Classic

Related Articles