2. This week: CN Canadian Women's Open, Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, $2,750,000, September 3-6, 2009; TV Times; GCSAA Course Information
3. Kay McMahon receives 2009 Ellen Griffin Rolex Award
4. Benson selected as 2009 Nancy Lopez Golf Achievement Award recipient
5. Pipeline to the LPGA Tour
6. Rolex Rankings move of the week: Hur moves up 104 spots
7. Next week: P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons, Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers, Ark., $1,800,000, September 11-13, 2009; TV Times
8. Hur becomes Rolex First-Time Winner at Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola
9. Mackenzie has career week at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club
10. Aces run wild in North Plains, Ore.
11. Hur becomes fifth Rolex First-Time Winner of the season
12. Hur earns stay at Canyon Ranch
13. LPGA T&CP Mihelich to be on "Golf Chicago TV"
14. Hanna-Williams hosts second charity outing
15. Bartholomew wins Women's Met Open
1. Hull defends CN Canadian Women's Open, leads 156 players to Calgary
Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club hosts LPGA for first time since 1999
PRIDDIS, Alberta, Canada - The 10th staging of the CN Canadian Women's Open boasts a tournament-high $2.75 million purse and one of the strongest fields of the season as all 75 LPGA members on the LPGA Official Money List are entered.
Australia's Katherine Hull returns to Canada to defend her 2008 title, when she became a Rolex First-Time Winner. However, given the tournament's rotating course format, the course is new to many in the 156-player field. Perhaps the player to have the best advantage at Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club this week is Karrie Webb - who won the 1999 du Maurier Classic - the last time the LPGA played in Calgary. Webb has already won once this year - the J Golf Phoenix LPGA International Presented by Mirassou Winery - the 36th LPGA career victory for the LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Famer. Returning to a course that fits her eye could result in season-win number two.
Hull's win was one of nine top-10 finishes in 2008. This season, she's carded a runner-up finish at the HSBC Women's Champions and is fast approaching the $2 million mark in career earnings. She will be competing against all of the season's tournament champions, including multiple winners Lorena Ochoa - the world's top-ranked female professional golfer - and LPGA Tour rookie Jiyai Shin, who holds a commanding lead in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race.
The 2009 rookie class has proven to be one of the most talented-ever with three of the season's five Rolex First-Time Winners: Shin (HSBC Women's Champions, Wegmans LPGA), European Solheim Cup team member Anna Nordqvist (McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola) and 2008 Duramed FUTURES Tour standout M.J. Hur (Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola). Michelle Wie is in the field this week, coming off a tie for fourth at last week's Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola. Wie scored 3 ½ points for the victorious U.S. Team at Rich Harvest Farms Aug. 21-23 - the most of anyone on the U.S. Team, but nearly matched by both Creamer and Christina Kim, who scored three points, each, and are also planning to compete for the $412,500 winner's check. In 2008, Wie played in the CN Canadian Women's Open on a sponsor exemption and tied for 12th.
2. This week: CN Canadian Women's Open, Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, $2,750,000, September 3-6, 2009; TV Times; GCSAA Course Information
Par: 35-36, 71
Yardage: 6,445
Format: 72-hole stroke play
Winner: $412,500
Runner-up: $252,744
Field: 156 players
Defending champion: Katherine Hull
Victory margin: Defeated Se Ri Pak by one stroke
Media center: 403-441-0457
LPGA media contact: Dana Gross-Rhode
● TV Times
CBC Bold
Sept. 3-4 5-8 p.m.
CBC
Sept. 5 2-6 p.m.
Sept. 6 3-6 p.m.
Golf Channel
Sept. 5 11:30 p.m.-2 a.m. (tape delay)
Sept. 6 9:30 p.m.-12 a.m. (tape delay)
All times Eastern
● GCSAA Course Information
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
GCSAA Class A Golf Course Superintendent, contact: James Beebe, 403-333-6444
Course architects, date: Bill Newis, 1983
Course grasses
Tees - Bentgrass
Fairways - Poa annua
Greens - Bentgrass
Rough - Kentucky bluegrass
For more information, access GCSAA Fact Sheets at GCSAA.org
3. Kay McMahon receives 2009 Ellen Griffin Rolex Award
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Aug. 31, 2009 - Kay McMahon, a 30-year Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) joins an elite group of her peers in receiving the 2009 Ellen Griffin Rolex Award. The award has annually been given since 1989 to recognize a member for her superior contributions to teaching golf.
The Ellen Griffin Rolex Award, instituted by the LPGA T&CP membership in 1989 to honor the late Ellen Griffin, recognizes an individual, male or female, who has made a major contribution to the teaching of golf and who emulates Griffin's spirit, love and dedication to students, teachers, teaching skills and the game of golf. Griffin, who passed away in 1986, was one of the best-known women's golf teaching professionals in American history.
"Kay McMahon truly represents the best of the LPGA Teaching & Club Professionals," Leslie Andrews, executive director of the LPGA T&CP. "Not only is she an outstanding and widely respected teacher, she has dedicated years of service to the LPGA. She is a continuing source of inspiration to me and to all our members."
A native of Minnesota, McMahon graduated from the University of Minnesota, Duluth with a Bachelor of Science in education. She became a LPGA T&CP member in 1979 and received her Class A status five years later. For more than 25 years, she was a teacher for all ages in Palm Springs, Calif., and later created, developed and operated golf business for City Golf Boston (Boston, Mass.) and Innerform Golf (Saugatuck, Mich.). In 1995, she was recognized as the LPGA National Teacher of the Year. McMahon is currently head of eduKaytion golf, which she established eight years ago and has expanded to include several locations in the Berkshires (Mass.) and was just recently named head golf professional at Egremont Country Club in Great Barrington, Mass.
"The name Ellen Griffin and teaching are synonymous with the finest and purest form of teaching in the country," McMahon said. "I'm very thrilled to have followed in the footsteps of Ellen and the other award recipients, from whom I have learned so much from along every step of my career. I am very thrilled to have received this award - the highest honor from the LPGA."
While progressing through a successful professional career, McMahon also managed to give her time back to the LPGA T&CP membership as the national president (1998-99) and has twice been nominated for the LPGA T&CP Hall of Fame (2006, 2008).
The 2009 PGA NENY Section Teacher of the Year - bestowed by the PGA of America - McMahon was also recognized by Golf For Women magazine as a Top 50 Teacher (2000) and one of GOLF Magazine's Top Regional Teachers (2007). In 2001, she was also named a Top 400 instructor for both GOLF Magazine and Golf Digest.
Past recipients of the Ellen Griffin Rolex Award are: Peggy Kirk Bell, 1989; Linda Craft, 1990; Shirley Englehorn, 1991; Harvey Penick, 1992; Goldie Bateson, 1993; Carol Clark Johnson, 1994; Joanne Winter, 1995; Ann Casey Johnstone, 1996; Dr. DeDe Owens, 1997; Shirley Spork, 1998; Betty Hicks, 1999; Gary Wiren, 2000; Penny Zavichas, 2001; Annette Thompson, 2002; Dr. Barbara B. Smith, 2003; Marjorie Burns, 2004; Pat Lange, 2005; Donna White, 2006; Betsy Cullen, 2007; and Lynn Marriott.
Rolex is the official timepiece of the LPGA and sponsors of many of the LPGA's annual awards, including the Ellen Griffin Rolex Award, Rolex Player of the Year and Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year awards. Rolex honors the LPGA Tour's Rolex First-Time Winners, and is a supporting sponsor of the annual LPGA T&CP National Championship. At tournament sites, Rolex has a presence by providing the official time at selected tournaments and advertises in many event programs.
About the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals
The LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) membership, founded in 1959 and celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has enjoyed an unprecedented rate of growth in recent years and boasts the largest membership of women golf professionals in the world. With nearly 1,300 members, the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals are dedicated to the advancement of golf through teaching, coaching and managing golf facilities. Its national member programs including teaching, coaching, business management and leadership skills training programs and conferences, tournaments, employment services, online education and junior golf programs. LPGA T&CP members also teach and support the LPGA's various grassroots programs that are working to increase the involvement of women and youth in golf, as well as contribute to the growth of the sport overall including LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, Ronald McDonald House Charities LPGA Tour Junior Clinics and the LPGA Golf Clinics for Women. The LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla. For more information on the LPGA, log on to www.LPGA.com.
4. Benson selected as 2009 Nancy Lopez Golf Achievement Award recipient; Honor given to LPGA T&CP member who exemplifies Lopez' characteristics on, off course
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Aug. 31, 2009 - Patti Benson, national president of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Teaching and Club Professionals (T&CP) for the past eight years, is the recipient of the 2009 Nancy Lopez Golf Achievement Award, which recognizes a LPGA professional who gives back to the game in the spirit of Nancy Lopez. Benson has been a member since 1979 and tirelessly given of her time and passion toward the further growth and development of the LPGA T&CP.
"Patti epitomizes all that is represented in the spirit of the Nancy Lopez Golf award: leadership, passion, giving and approachability," said LPGA T&CP Executive Director Leslie Andrews. "Patti's service and dedication to the LPGA are unparalleled. She is a role model to members all over the world."
The Nancy Lopez Golf Achievement Award was created in 2007, and is given to a LPGA professional who emulates qualities valued by Lopez: Leadership; Passion; Giving; and Approachability. Lopez is a 48-time LPGA Tour winner and four-time Rolex Player of the Year. She was inducted into the LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame in 1987, and captained the victorious 2005 U.S. Solheim Cup Team.
"Winning this award is such an honor because of who Nancy Lopez is as a whole," said Benson. "She is someone with heart and passion and has given so much to the game of golf and beyond. There are so many traits of Nancy that I still am striving to achieve -- her heart and kindness that she shows to others comes to mind, but there is so much more. People look up to Nancy because she included everyone. She was never abrupt with anyone and a warmth and love still exudes from Nancy when she just says hello. I am very thrilled and will do my very best to live up to the spirit of the Nancy Lopez Award all of the days of my life."
Benson earned her Class A status in 1983, shortly after spending four years playing on what is now the Duramed FUTURES Tour - the official developmental tour of the LPGA. She began to take leadership roles within the Southeast section and was elected section president in 1997. That same year, Benson was named LPGA Southeast Section Golf Professional of the Year. She furthered her sectional involvement by assisting in various roles for area LPGA T&CP testing sites. In 2000, Benson was part of a steering committee for Celebrating Women in Golf: An LPGA 50th Anniversary Event, which was hosted and conducted by the LPGA T&CP. It allowed amateur female golfers the chance to meet, mingle and play golf with members of the LPGA. One year later, Benson was in the race of her life - against ovarian cancer. A battle she was determined to overcome, she not only rebounded from treatments, but did so shortly before being elected as LPGA T&CP National President in 2001 - a role that concludes on Dec. 31, 2009.
Benson is currently a co-owner and teaching professional at the Bobby & Patti Benson Golf Shop at Palm Beach Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.
About Nancy Lopez Golf
The Nancy Lopez Golf (NLG) line provides unprecedented choice to the woman golfer in the selection of golf equipment and apparel. The four-step NLG Match Play Process also provides selection in club configuration to best fit the game of each woman. Nancy Lopez Golf embodies the spirit and energy of women's golf and of its namesake Nancy Lopez, who captured the imagination of people everywhere with her remarkable playing career and the genuine warmth of her charm. For more information about Nancy Lopez and Nancy Lopez Golf, visit www.NancyLopezGolf.com.
About the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals
The LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) membership, founded in 1959 and celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has enjoyed an unprecedented rate of growth in recent years and boasts the largest membership of women golf professionals in the world. With nearly 1,300 members, the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals are dedicated to the advancement of golf through teaching, coaching and managing golf facilities. Its national member programs including teaching, coaching, business management and leadership skills training programs and conferences, tournaments, employment services, online education and junior golf programs. LPGA T&CP members also teach and support the LPGA's various grassroots programs that are working to increase the involvement of women and youth in golf, as well as contribute to the growth of the sport overall including LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, Ronald McDonald House Charities LPGA Tour Junior Clinics and the LPGA Golf Clinics for Women. The LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla. For more information on the LPGA, log on to www.LPGA.com.
5. Pipeline to the LPGA Tour
On Sunday, Sept. 6, 2009, when the 2009 Duramed FUTURES Tour season concludes, the players finishing in the top 10 on the final 2009 Duramed FUTURES Tour money list will receive membership on to the 2010 LPGA Tour. Please see current standings below.
Rank |
Player | Events played |
Earnings |
1 |
Mina Harigae | 15 |
$83,485 |
2 |
Jean Reynolds | 16 |
74,419 |
3 |
Misun Cho | 15 |
63,137 |
4 |
Samantha Richdale | 16 |
54,391 |
5 |
Whitney Wade | 16 |
40,658 |
6 |
Angela Buzminski | 16 |
35,713 |
7 |
Christine Song | 16 |
34,470 |
8 |
Alison Walshe | 16 |
29,324 |
9 |
Dewi Claire Schreefel | 15 |
28,803 |
10 |
Pernilla Lindberg | 9 |
28,432 |
Next tournament: $110,000, ILOVENY Championship, Capital Hills at Albany, Albany, N.Y., September 4-6, 2009
Charity: Albany Police & Fire Foundation
For more information, log on to www.duramedfuturestour.com.
6. Rolex Rankings move of the week: Hur moves up 104 spots
M.J. Hur earned the Rolex Rankings move of the week with a 104-spot jump up the Rolex Rankings. With a playoff win at last week's Safeway Classic presented by Coca-Cola, 2009 LPGA rookie Hur moved up 104 spots to 46th in the Rolex Rankings. Hur fired a career-low 65 in the final round of the three-day event to claim her first-ever LPGA victory, becoming the LPGA's fifth Rolex First-Time Winner of the 2009 season.
The Rolex Rankings (www.rolexrankings.com) are sanctioned by the five major women's professional golf tours: the LPGA; Ladies European Tour (LET); Ladies Professional Golfers' Association of Japan (LPGA of Japan); Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA); Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG); as well as the Ladies Golf Union (LGU), which administers the RICOH Women's British Open. The Rolex Rankings are the only women's world rankings that incorporate player performances from the five major tours and the Duramed FUTURES Tour, the official developmental tour of the LPGA.
7. Next week: P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons, Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers, Ark., $1,800,000, September 11-13, 2009; TV Times
Par: 36-35, 71
Yardage: 6,274
Format: 54-hole stroke play
Winner: $270,000
Runner-up: $165,433
Field: 144 players
Defending champion: Seon Hwa Lee
Victory margin: Defeated Jane Park and Meena Lee by one stroke
Tournament information: 479-657-6410
● TV Times
Golf Channel
Sept. 11 12:30-2:30 p.m.
Sept. 12-13 1-4 p.m.
All times Eastern
8. Hur becomes Rolex First-Time Winner at Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola
19-year-old rookie holds off veterans Pettersen, Redman in two-hole, sudden-death playoff
NORTH PLAINS, Ore., Aug. 30, 2009 - LPGA Tour rookie M.J. Hur became the season's fifth Rolex First-Time Winner at the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola, beating out a pair of LPGA veterans - Suzann Pettersen and Michele Redman. Hur, a player out of South Korea, fired a career-low 65 in the final round of the three-day event to claim her first-ever LPGA victory, and the $255,000 winner's paycheck.
Hur (69-69-65=203, -13) arrived at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club's Ghost Creek course Sunday morning four strokes out of the lead. After taking advantage of the day's near-perfect conditions, she recorded the round of her career with an eagle on the par-5, 495-yard 10th hole, and birdies on holes eight, nine, 11, 12 and 14. Once she signed her scorecard, Hur was unsure if she was done for the day quite yet. At the end of regulation, she was called back to the 18th tee, along with Pettersen (68-68-67=203, -13) and Redman (67-69-67=203, -13), for a playoff. Hur and Pettersen both saved par on the first playoff hole, while Redman bogeyed, ending her run. The South Korean, Hur, and the Norwegian, Pettersen, traveled back to the 17th tee and, after the hole was done, Hur was left standing in the winner's circle with a big smile on her face.
"It was my goal this year (to win) because I working really hard last winter training with my swing coach," Hur said. "It makes me really, really happy. It helped me a lot."
Before joining the LPGA Tour, Hur competed on the Duramed FUTURES Tour in 2008, competing in 17 events and finishing in the top-10 eight times, including a win at the Louisiana Pelican Classic. Finishing fourth on the season-ending money list, she earned membership for the 2009 LPGA Tour season.
Competing in her seventh season on the LPGA Tour, Pettersen has now finished in the runner-up spot on the final leaderboard eight times during her career, including three times in 2009. Pettersen slowly crept up the standings last week, finishing tied for 11th after the first round, tied for fourth after the second round, and finished tied for second with Redman. Pettersen, a five-time LPGA Tour winner, although unable to earn her sixth career win this week, was content with how she played throughout the week.
"I mean I finished yesterday feeling I was really low out there, and I played really good today," Pettersen said. "It was a blend of chances, I made a lot of good putts, so I got a nice streak there on nine, 10, 11, 12, and just an unforced error on 15 (double-bogey). Don't ask me what happened there. I had my chance on the first playoff hole, just made a poor putt and she (Hur) made a great putt."
Bowing out after the first playoff hole was 18-year LPGA Tour veteran Redman. The Minneapolis, Minn., native earned her best finish last week since a runner-up finish at the season-ending ADT Championship in 2005. On Redman's final day in North Plains, Ore., she recorded a bogey-free, five-birdie performance, good enough to advance to the three-way playoff, which resulted in her tie for second $136,476 paycheck.
"I hit two really good putts," she said. "It was a good putt on 18, it just hit something. I hit what I thought was a really good putt, but it just didn't go in the hole."
Approaching her final hole of regulation, Redman was unaware of her position on the leaderboard.
"Well, you know, I had no idea where I was," she said. "Coming into 18, I really didn't look at the leaderboard because I was just trying to play my own game. I had a great birdie on 17 and I hit a great shot in to here earlier, and the second time around. I just left my putt that far short. It was just fun to be out there again."
9. Mackenzie has career week at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club
Three-year LPGA Tour member Paige Mackenzie turned in the best week of her career, matching her career-low 66 and finishing tied for eighth at the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola. The Yakima, Wash., native fired three birdies on the front nine - on holes one, four and nine, then birdied 10, 14, 16, 17 on the back, with a bogey on number 12, to finish 9-under-par 207 (70-71-66), four strokes behind winner M.J. Hur. Mackenzie now has a top-10 finish to add to her resume, coming on her 26th attempt.
Entering last week's Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola, the 26-year-old's best finish of the 2009 season was a tied for 23rd showing at the Sybase Classic Presented by ShopRite and the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, one of four major championships on the LPGA Tour schedule.
10. Aces run wild in North Plains, Ore.
A trio of players recorded hole-in-ones at the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola - one during each round. On day one, LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame member Karrie Webb recorded her fourth career hole-in-one, using a 4-iron from 184 yards on the par-3 fifth hole. During the second round of the 54-hole event, second-year LPGA Tour member Song-Hee Kim picked up her first LPGA career ace. On the 150-yard, par-3 third hole, the South Korean used a 7-iron to card the hole-in-one. Finally, in the final round at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, rookie Pornanong Phatlum recorded her first LPGA ace with a 4-iron on the par-3, 129 yard 16th hole.
11. Hur becomes fifth Rolex First-Time Winner of the season
With her playoff win on Sunday at the Safeway Classic presented by Coca-Cola, M.J. Hur became the LPGA's fifth Rolex First-Time Winner of the 2009 season. She joins Jiyai Shin (HSBC Women's Champions, Wegmans LPGA), Anna Nordqvist (McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola), Eunjung Yi (Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger) and Ai Miyazato (Evian Masters) as Rolex First-Time Winners in 2009.
12. Hur earns stay at Canyon Ranch
By winning the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola, M.J. Hur earned an all-inclusive stay for two at a Canyon Ranch resort. In a combined effort to promote health and overall well-being among Tour players, Canyon Ranch will provide every winner of an LPGA event with one all-inclusive stay at one of Canyon Ranch's two destination resorts.
13. LPGA T&CP Mihelich to be on "Golf Chicago TV"
LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) Alexis Mihelich, who is the Chicago State University (CSU) women's golf coach, will be featured on "Golf Chicago TV" on Sept. 6 at noon. The show, which airs locally in Chicago on Comcast SportsNet, reports on the golf scene in the City of Chicago via roundtable discussions, interviews and features on golf courses and golf equipment. Mihelich will discuss her selection as the female model for Golden Tee video game, working as the golf instructor for the late Bernie Mac and about her position as the CSU women's golf coach. The show will re-air at 1 p.m. Sept. 10, 12:30 p.m. Sept. 18, noon Sept. 19 and at 5 p.m. Sept. 27.
14. Hanna-Williams hosts second charity outing
LPGA Tour member and Portland, Ore., resident Allison Hanna-Williams hosts the Allison Hanna's Forks, Corks & Wedges Charity Challenge today at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. The scramble-format pro-am began at 7:15 a.m. and featured wine tastings from Portland-area wineries, as well as a lunch after. Team prizes will be awarded and proceeds from the event will be split evenly between the Women's Professional Golf Fellowship (WPGF) and the Doernbecher Children's Hospital. LPGA Tour professionals making appearances include U.S. Solheim Cup Team members Brittany Lincicome, Kristy McPherson and Angela Stanford; 2008 CN Canadian Women's Open Champion Katherine Hull, as well as Meredith Duncan, Allison Fouch, Katie Futcher, Allison Hanna-Williams, Jamie Hullet, Tour rookie Stacy Lewis, Paige Mackenzie, Lisa Strom, Wendy Ward, Leah Wigger, and Lindsey Wright.
15. Bartholomew wins Women's Met Open
LPGA Tour veteran Jean Bartholomew won the 2009 Women's Met Open last weekend at Huntington Country Club in Huntington, N.Y. Bartholomew went 6-under-par on the back-nine, including birdies on the final three holes to defeat 22-year-old Nannette Hill, of Pelham Country Club. Bartholomew, who has been teaching at The Creek Club in Locust Valley, earned $4,000 for the victory.