The LPGA Tour heads north of the border for the second time this season for the CN Canadian Women’s Open where 16-year old amateur Lydia Ko will defend her first LPGA victory. Ko rewrote the Tour s record books last year when she became the youngest winner in LPGA history at 15 years and four months old after a 13-under par performance in Vancouver. The New Zealand native will tee it up with 155 of the world s best female golfers again, this time at Royal Mayfair Golf Club in Edmonton. Karrie Webb, Julia Boland, Breanna Elliott, Katherine Hull-Kirk, Sarah Kemp, Sarah-Jane Smith and Lindsey Wright will head the Australian contingent in Edmonton. The field features 156 players including six amateurs and a crop of young Canadian rising stars who will play as sponsor s invites. Eleven of the 12 Solheim Cup team members are slated to play in Edmonton this week including the star of the biennial event, Caroline Hedwall. The Swede will be bringing plenty of positive momentum to Canada after becoming the first player to go 5-0 in Solheim Cup history en route to Europe s 18-10 victory last week at Colorado Golf Club. Hedwall sank the clinching putt on the 18th hole to defeat Michelle Wie 1 up and helped the Europeans defeat Team USA for the first time on U.S. soil. Fellow European teammate Charley Hull will also be in the field this week playing on a sponsor exemption. Hull, who became the youngest player in Solheim Cup history at 17 years, four months and 25 days, posted an impressive 2-1-0 record over three days and routed American Paula Creamer in Sunday singles 5&4. The England native has had an impressive start to her young professional career and has recorded four runner-up finishes in her first nine starts on the Ladies European Tour. Twenty-two of the top 25 players in the Rolex Rankings will be in Edmonton this week including all 10 players in the top-10. No. 1 Inbee Park will try to continue her stellar play and will be looking for her seventh victory of the 2013 season. Park, who won the first three majors of the year, has a strong lead in the Player of the Year race (281 points) and leads the money list with $2,147,619.
Author: LPGA