Click here for the field at the 2016 Manulife LPGA Classic.
Week Two In Canada For World's Best
For the second consecutive week, the Tour tees it up in Canada, making the trip from Calgary to Cambridge, Ontario for this week’s Manulife LPGA Classic. 16 of the top-25 ranked players in the world are playing in this week’s event, headlined by world No.1 Lydia Ko, last week’s winner and world No.2 Ariya Jutanugarn and No.3 Brooke Henderson. Also in the field this week is world No.6 Sei Young Kim and No.7 In Gee Chun, who finished second and third respectively at last week’s Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. No.8 Stacy Lewis, No.10 Ha Na Jang and No.12 So Yeon Ryu are also in the field.
Canadian Craze
After representing Canada at the Olympic games in Rio, Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp have kept the patriotism rolling during the Tour’s two-week stretch in Canada. While neither finished on the podium, both were overwhelmed by the fan support they received back home in Canada where huge crowds followed them throughout the week of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open where Sharp finished a career best of fourth. Henderson posted a T-14 showing before heading to Ontario where she will be playing in front of friends and family with her home of Smiths Falls just a few hours away. She missed the cut in her first start in this event last year where she shot opening rounds of 71-70.
Fellow Canadian Lorie Kane, who was inducted last week into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, received a sponsor invite to compete for the second consecutive week on Tour.
On A Roll
Perhaps the hottest player on the planet, Ariya Jutanugarn is in the midst of yet another winning streak after winning the last two events on the LPGA Tour at last week’s Canadian Pacific Women’s Open and RICOH Women’s British Open. Jutanugarn got on a winning streak in May where she captured the entire month’s schedule, winning the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic, Kingsmill Championship and Volvik Championship for her first three wins on Tour. She’ll hope to better her 2015 showing at the Manulife LPGA Classic where she missed the cut last year with rounds of 77-67.
Back To Defend
15-time LPGA Tour winner and defending champion Suzann Pettersen returns this week to the Manulife LPGA Classic, site of her last victory on Tour. Pettersen is coming off a T-10 finish last week in Calgary for her fifth top-10 finish of the year. Pettersen is one of three former champions in the field this week in addition to 2013 winner Hee Young Park and 2012 champion Brittany Lang, the reigning U.S. Women’s Open Champion. 2014 winner and gold medalist Inbee Park is the only former champion not in the field this week.