For the second year in a row, the CPKC Women’s Open ended in dramatic fashion.
After Megan Khang claimed victory in a playoff last year over Jin Young Ko, Lauren Coughlin captured her first career title after making a clutch birdie on the 71st hole of the championship to secure a two-shot victory.
Earl Grey Golf Club is a great preview for the skill set needed to contend at the Portland Classic. For the 37th time, the LPGA Tour heads to Columbia Edgewater Country Club, a venue that will hope to challenge the LPGA’s best out West.
History is on the side of the fans when predicting who will play well in Portland. Entering last week, Earl Grey Golf Club was a brand-new venue for Canada’s national championship, and the parkland layout alongside the Elbow River proved to be a wonderful setting for an elite event.
Much like a major championship test, Earl Grey required players to blend power with accuracy. Contenders from Canada last week are definitely worthy of attention this week, as Columbia Edgewater also requires a high level of accuracy.
The 144-player field will face narrow fairways and small greens on this par-72 layout measuring 6,478 yards. The players won’t need length as much as knowing where it will land. This venue is very similar to Sahalee, which hosted the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, as well as Earl Grey Golf Club. That’s going to be the best place to start breaking down this field. If you plan to get inside the top 65 and ties and play the weekend for a share of the $1.75 million purse, then you must find the short grass.
Portland has been dry and warm for a number of weeks. Those conditions will see the fairways play firm and become even more difficult to hit. Strokes gained off the tee numbers favor length over accuracy. For this week, combine strokes gained off the tee with fairway accuracy to find the right complement of driver skill needed to contend.
Lauren Coughlin, Caroline Masson and Mao Saigo will have a huge advantage. How much? Twenty-four players, including ties, finished in the last two top 10s at the Portland Classic, Those women hit 73 percent of their fairways.
An even bigger advantage can be found with approach shots. A quick breakdown of the common ranges players will be playing from shows that 56 percent of their iron shots are between 125-175 yards. The best mid-iron players tend to separate themselves from the field. The average green size at Columbia Edgewater Country Club is 5,500 square feet, very small by LPGA standards.
But the accuracy examination doesn’t end at just hitting the fairway. Watch Narin An, Ariya Jutanugarn, Saigo and Allisen Corpuz use their iron game to contend. Looking back at those top 10s from the past two years, they gained an average of 4.5 strokes on the field with their iron game.
If a player can avoid the trees, 54 bunkers, seven holes with water and find those putting surfaces, they can make putts. The contenders have shown that gaining on the greens is the final path to playing late on Sunday afternoon.
The average winning score over the past five years is 21-under. Chanettee Wannasaen won at 26-under a year ago, and over the past two years, the leaders made an average of 23 subpar scores over 72 holes. Putters like Sei Young Kim, Aditi Ashok, Gabriela Ruffels and Coughlin, who can convert birdie opportunities, will have the best chance to win.
It has been a while since the Portland Classic has been played under firm and fast conditions. The last two LPGA Sundays have been decided late in the competition. The athletes listed are sure to be a big part of that storyline.
While many went to Paris to prepare for the Olympics, these Tour stars in Portland have a much different agenda. Capture your first trophy like Coughlin did on Sunday, and you have secured your card for the future. Enjoy the new stars of the game as they compete to elevate their careers.
Keith Stewart is an award-winning PGA Professional. He covers the LPGA and PGA TOUR for Golf Digest, SportsGrid, The Sporting News, LPGA, and PGA TOUR. If you are looking to raise your golf acumen and love inside information about the game, check out his weekly newsletter called Read The Line.
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