Everyone knows about the Korda sisters and Brooke and Brittany Henderson, even the Jutanugarn siblings and Annika and Charlotta Sorenstam. But this week at the CPKC Women's Open, a new sister act is set to shine in their home country as Ellie and Maddie Szeryk will tee it up together for the first time on the LPGA Tour at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club.
Ellie currently plays collegiate golf at Southern Methodist University, and Maddie is in her second year on Tour, first earning LPGA Tour Membership at 2021 LPGA Q-Series. While both sisters are absolutely jazzed to be competing alongside each other in the first two rounds, for Ellie in particular, this week in Vancouver is a real pinch-me moment.
"It's always been a dream of mine," said the younger Szeryk, who also competed in the 2018 CPKC Women's Open. "I always knew my sister was going to be on LPGA, and she's five years older than me, so growing up, I was like, 'I can't wait to play with my sister one day,' because I never really got to play with her in amateur golf. It was pretty cool putting next to her on the green. It's comforting because if she wasn't here, I would be a nervous wreck. Just having Maddie here it's definitely a big comfort and pretty cool."
Maddie has enjoyed watching her younger sister take on this latest competitive opportunity and looks forward to seeing how Ellie will fare this week against her LPGA Tour colleagues. She'll also enjoy having more family members than normal out watching, as many of them made plans to attend once Ellie was extended a sponsor invitation, something that the elder sister jokes doesn't always happen when it's just her in the field.
"It's really special. We played a practice round together (Tuesday) morning, so just a lot of heckling going on. Love and support," Maddie said. "Both parents are here. Then I think we have a couple of aunts and uncles that are coming that are from here. Everyone was like once Ellie got in, 'Oh, I'll come over.' No one was coming when it was just me."
However, Ellie knows there are two Canadians competing this week that will garner most of the hometown crowd's love and attention – Brooke Henderson and her older sister, Maddie. While Canadian golf fans certainly don't discriminate when it's one of their own teeing it up, the younger Szeryk knows that she still has a way to go before becoming one of Canada's designated darlings.
"I'm just happy to be here. I have no expectations for anything," said Ellie when asked about the crowds that will surely turn out in droves to follow the Szeryk sister grouping on Thursday and Friday. "I'm not the star of the show here. It's more Brooke and Maddie. So I'll take it even if it's one person, that person being my mom or my dad."
But playing in her sixth CPKC Women's Open this week in British Columbia, Maddie has a much better idea of what to expect. "The Canadian Open always has a huge fan base," she said. "There are always the biggest crowds, and I think the Canadians really rally around this because it's their one event and no matter where it is, there are just tons of people. It's cool."
With at least 36 holes of LPGA Tour golf on tap, Ellie plans to take as much of Maddie's sisterly advice as possible and apply it to the first two rounds at Shaughnessy on Thursday and Friday. Few stages are bigger in women's golf than the one she finds herself on this week in Canada, so the young amateur will do everything she can to learn from the game's top talent and have as much fun as she can alongside her sister in the process.
"It kind of feels normal because I have Maddie here. I think if Maddie wasn't here, I would be losing my mind a little bit," said Ellie. "But just hearing Maddie's experience throughout the years, I've kind of gotten to live through her in that situation. Not as many nerves as I think I would've had without Maddie.
"For me, because I am hoping to go to Q-School next year, I'm really looking to see what I need to improve on. I'm learning about patience. A lot of the stuff I've learned from Maddie really over the years. It's a really big learning experience and seeing what can I take into Q-School next year and what will I need to be better."
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