2007 CN Canadian Women's Open

There are three national championships that are part of the LPGA tour's yearly schedule: the US, British and Canadian Women's Opens. Besides being national championships, all three events also share the quality of being contested on different courses every year. Of the three, the US Women's Open is without a doubt the most important. It is in fact the top event in all of women's golf, not only a Major but certainly the most important of the four Major tournaments. The British Women's Open became a Major in 2001, and has grown steadily in importance ever since. It is played on some of the greatest golf courses in the world, and this year it reached a new high when they played the event for the first time at the birthplace of golf, St. Andrews.

The Canadian Women's Open has a much more checkered history than those other two events, and unlike them, has been steadily decreasing in importance over the last decade. At the end of the nineties, the event was a Major, sponsored by du Maurier. But the event was always the least important of the four Majors on the calendar. The last Major of the year, it was even skipped occasionally by top players, most notably Annika Sorenstam. At the end of the decade, the Canadian government decreed that it would henceforth be illegal for tobacco companies to sponsor sporting events in the country. Suddenly, the event had lost its sponsor, and had to scramble to see if they could find another. They did, but not in time to save their Major status, which was transferred to the British Women's Open.

In the early part of this decade, the Canadian Women's Open continued its downward spiral. It reached its nadir in 2005, when only two of the top 20 players on tour bothered to show up. The top player in the field, Meena Lee (pictured above and below), won that year, in fact the only time a Korean golfer had claimed the prize there. But everyone was concerned about the future of this once important event.

Since then, things have brightened somewhat. Last year, the event, given a better spot on the schedule, attracted a more impressive field, and this year, they have a new sponsor, CN, the Canadian railway company. With a bigger purse than ever and a prime spot on the schedule, the 2007 Canadian Women's Open attracted one of its strongest fields in years. It may still not be as important now as it was in its Major days, but it definitely seems to be on track to again becoming one of the elite events on tour.

This year, all eyes were on the LPGA's top player, Lorena Ochoa. Ochoa had won her first career Major, at St. Andrews no less, when she had captured the British Women's Open two weeks prior to the Canadian. Could she grab her second national championship of the year? The event was being held this year in Edmonton, where the weather was a bit cool and rainy. She had already won an event in cool and rainy weather in Scotland (although the weather there was definitely worse than in Canada), so the odds were good she could do it again.

The leader after the first round, however, was not Ochoa, but American golfer Laura Diaz. Another important factor to consider was that the Solheim Cup, the biennial team event that pits the Americans against the Europeans, was to be contested just a few weeks after the Canadian Open. The American team would be finalized following the Safeway Classic, the next event on the calendar. The top ten players in terms of Solheim points, which are accrued over two years based on tournament finishes, automatically get in, after which the captain, which this year is Betsy King, would pick two more golfers to round out the team. Diaz was one of the Americans who was not automatically qualified, but a good finish in Canada or Portland could change that. She got off on the right foot by shooting a 6 under par 65 to place herself all alone at the top of the leaderboard. In second place was another American, a far more unlikely one, however: Kelli Kuehne. Whereas Diaz has been periodically a great golfer, Kuehne has been pretty much struggling to maintain status on tour the last few years. Yet on day one, she shot a 5 under par 66 and sat tied for second place.

The other golfer who shot a 66 was a Korean: Kyeong Bae (pictured). Bae is a second year player who has been a success on every level of the game. She turned pro when she was only 15 years old, one of the youngest to ever do that in Korea (ironically, an even younger player, Seon Hwa Lee, turned pro at roughly the same time). She has won multiple times on the KLPGA, even heading the money list in 2005. She moved to America and played on the Futures Tour, where she earned her tour card in 2005 by finishing third on that money list (behind Lee, who finished first). Coming onto the tour as a rookie in 2006, she looked primed to be a star. And she had a decent year, finishing 48th on the money list and easily keeping her exempt status. But it was nothing like the year her countrywoman Lee had. Lee won the Rookie of the Year race in a rout and finished in the top 20 on the money list. Bae was still waiting to get her first win on tour as the Canadian Open started, whereas Lee already had two wins. Bae had managed good rounds at times in 2007, but had not yet been able to keep it going for four straight rounds. But she also had had some great moments in 2007, including her first ever top ten at a Major when she finished tied for 10th at the US Women's Open. Could this be her breakthrough week?

Tied for fourth were a bunch more top Korean golfers: Jeong Jang, Meena Lee and Shi Hyun Ahn. All three of those women have won on tour before, and Lee was a former champion in Canada. Lee has struggled to find her footing this year, but Jang has had some success, including a recent playoff loss at the Evian Masters. She had surprisingly missed the cut at the British Open, an event she usually plays quite well, but her 4 under par 67 was a nice return to form. Ahn had struggled with injuries in 2007, but when she is healthy she has shown she is quite strong. Also tied at 4 under was Ya Ni Tseng, a young Taiwanese golfer who has enormous potential to be a superstar. Not playing regularly on any tour, Tseng only recently turned pro. Expect to see her at Q-School this fall.

Ochoa opened her week with a decent one under par 70, as did Seon Hwa Lee, Mi Hyun Kim, and a young professional named Mi Sun Cho, whom we will be discussing more in a minute. Among those who struggled was Se Ri Pak. Pak was coming off a top five at the British, and it looked like she was finally ready to turn the corner on her season. But she shot an abysmal 6 over par 77 en route to missing the cut. The major problem she had was putting: in two rounds, she would have 67 putts. Considering a mediocre putting round would be around 30 putts, or 60 for two rounds, you can pretty easily see where she lost the strokes that cost her the missed cut. On the plus side, she hit 75% of her greens in regulation, so with luck she would find a way to correct her putting woes and get back on track soon. Jee Young Lee, who has struggled with injury, and In-Bee Park, were also coming off a strong British Open, but also had bad first rounds here.

The leaderboard shifted a lot in round two. Some of the Korean stars had good rounds, while others struggled. Kyeong Bae had a fairly unspectacular day, carding mostly pars. She finished one over on the round and 4 under par for the tournament. The big mover was Shi Hyun Ahn (pictured). Ahn had started the day at 4 under in 4th place, but two birdies moved her up the leaderboard nicely. The highlight, or should we say first highlight, of her week came on the par three 16th hole, where she drilled the ball into the hole for a hole in one! She eventually carded another 4 under par 67, which was good enough to moved her into the lead at 8 under par. At the end of the day, she would be tied for the lead with American veteran Juli Inkster.

The other two Koreans who were near the top of the leaderboard after the first day did not fare as well. JJ shot an even par round and wound up tied for 8th at 4 under, while Meena Lee fell apart, shooting a 3 over par round and falling off the leaderboard. Lee had had a fair amount of success in Canada the two previous years: she won the event in 2005, and did well in her title defense last year, finishing 4th. But her struggles of 2007 would not end, even in a place where she has had so much success. She wound up finishing the event well down the leaderboard, tied for 58th.

Meanwhile, Ochoa had a fantastic round and shot up the leaderboard. She shot a 6 under par 65 and sat at 7 under, just a shot behind Ahn and Inkster. Just what Shi Hyun didn't need, but Ahn seemed to be showing signs that her old injury free form was back. Could she hold on?