Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/165363
8/27/13 3:29 PM Page 1 CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN BY ALFIE LAU Stories From The Fringe The eighth and final year of CN's sponsorship of the Canadian Women's Open produced one of the most memorable finishes in the long and storied history of the tournament. But everything wasn't all serious, as these anecdotes from a week at Royal Mayfair Golf Club can attest to. HOW TO MAKE SOME MONEY OFF A PORTA-POTTY Cristie Kerr almost jumped out of her spikes when a Porta-Potty door slammed in the middle of her approach on the 18th hole during her second round. "Yeah, it really, really scared me," she said of the sound that echoed like a gunshot across the fairway. Kerr almost yanked her 100-yard wedge shot into the water and did end up making bogey on the hole, but that was due to a balky putter instead of a crappy Jiffy John. So why don't the potty people make foam padding on the doors during golf tournaments to muffle the sound? "Because they're cheap," said Kerr. "(That's why) nobody wants to go to the bathroom in a Porta-Potty." TAKE OFF, EH Canadians are proud of their Hoser past, but it's not as if Bob and Doug McKenzie are working as marshalls at Royal Mayfair. The signs the volunteer marshalls put up to quiet the crowd as players hit have a unique twist to them. "QUIET" goes down vertically, but across the bottom is the great Canadian phrase "EH" Almost makes you wish for an athletes' version of "QUIET, YOU KNOW." OLD AT 22 OR 26 For the first three days, 16-year-old Lydia Ko played with 17-year-old Charley Hull. Their third on the first two days was 22-year-old Canadian and University of Alabama grad Jennifer Kirby and on Day 3, 26-year-old Kathleen Ekey joined the teenage slumber party/golf tournament. "I think they're both wise beyond their years and they're both great players so it wasn't too bad and I didn't feel too old," said Kirby, who had to laugh off being called the "elder statesman of the group." As for Ekey, who toiled on the Symetra Tour, she seemed almost ancient, as her interests, as told in the LPGA Media Guide, include wishing she could be on Dancing With the Stars because she was passionate about ballet and dance when growing up, reading, shopping and going to the beach on her day off. If she wasn't a golfer, she'd have become a lawyer. Wonder if she asked the 16 and 17-yearolds in her group what they want to be when they grow up, or at least when they graduate high school! WHEN IS NEWS NEWS? As Golf Canada executives look to the future, there are two big things they need to figure out: Who will take over sponsorship of the Women's Open and where will the 2015 RBC Canadian Men's Open be played. Official comment from Golf Canada is that sponsorship finalists are down to two or three, with an announcement not forthcoming for another month. But read Terry Jones' story in the Edmonton Sun and it's down to Kia, Canadian Pacific and RBC. I'm not a betting man, but with Hunter Harrison, who engineered the deal for CN, now the top dog at CP, that would seem to be the logical guess. As for the Men's Open, Bob Weeks blogged about Shaughnessy all but booked as the venue for 2015 and the Vancouver Sun's Brad Ziemer has also posited this theory. Without revealing my sources, I heard it directly from someone who needs to know if the tournament is being held at Shaughnessy and he let it slip during a July tournament. With 2014 set for Royal Montreal and Toronto-area courses unavailable in 2015 because of the Pan-Am Games being held at the same time, Vancouver is the only place for the RBC Canadian Open to go. Golf Canada is adamant that no decision has been made on a 2015 location, but that's also what they've been saying about the women's sponsorship. I guess it will still be news when those two pieces of information are finalized, but you can say you read it here first! Richdale & Shepley Make Cut... 18 Canadians Don't The stats will show that two Canadians made the cut at the 2013 CN Canadian Women's Open, a 100 per cent increase over last year's total of one. But that's where the good SAMANTHA RICHDALE news ends, as Kelowna's Samantha Richdale was top Canadian finishing in a tie for 62nd and a cheque for $4,854 that will barely cover her expenses for the week. JESSICA SHEPLEY Oakville's Jessica Shepley, the lone Canadian to make the cut last year, placed 72nd place for a $3,995 cheque. "My ball striking has been a little terrible this week so far," said Richdale. "I just kind of struggled out there. I didn't really hit it that well." Richdale said making the cut was one more positive in a year full of good things. "I've had a pretty good year so far," she said. "I'm 24th on the money list on the Symetra Tour, so that's going pretty well. … And I won the BC event for the CN event here to get into this event so I feel like I've had some pretty good finishes this year and I was pretty confident coming into this week." As for Shepley, she couldn't build any momentum after her first hole of the third round when she yanked her drive right and that led to a triple bogey, which derailed the rest of her weekend. "There's not a whole lot I can do right now," said Shepley. "I kind of blew this one… I'm still a little disappointed with myself, obviously, but yeah, I like playing at home (in Canada) and the crowds have been great." Richdale echoed those sentiments, even though her score went the wrong way on Sunday. "It means a lot to me to be able to come out here and play," said Richdale. "It's a great experience to come out here and play in this tournament. I love being in a Canadian Open and close to home." 20 Canadians were in the field of 156 for the CN Canadian Women's Open. IMAGES CREDIT JURGEN KAMINSKI iG1308--proof2 HOW HISTORIC IS LYDIA KO'S SECOND CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN VICTORY? Lydia Ko is rewriting golf history before she finishes high school. Her win at Royal Mayfair at the ripe old age of 16 years, four months and one day, marks her fourth career victory at a professional event, which includes the last two Canadian Opens, the 2012 Women's New South Wales Open and the 2013 New Zealand Women's Open. Ko also became the first amateur to win two LPGA Tour events, and her win marks the sixth time an amateur has won an LPGA Tour event. She also became the first person to successfully defend the Canadian Open title since Pat Bradley won in 1985 and 1986. Ko now holds the top two spots for youngest winners in Tour history as her two Canadian wins trump Lexi Thompson's 2011 Navistar LPGA Classic win as a 16year-old. Ko has also jumped from 19 in the Women's World Golf Rankings to 7 and her 10 appearances on the LPGA Tour this year have also included three top-10 finishes to go with her win in Edmonton. Her amateur career has also been stellar, including wins at the US Women's Amateur and Australian Women's Amateur in 2012, and Australian Women's Amateur Strokeplay, New Zealand Women's Amateur Strokeplay and New Zealand Women's Amateur Match Play in 2011. Because of Ko's amateur status, her $300,000 first-place cheque went to runner-up Karine Icher of France. Last year, South Korea's Inbee Park took home that cheque for her runner-up finish. 61