Ziemer's B.C. Golf Notes: Henderson hoping for more West Coast magic; Taylor top-20s at Scottish Open; Five British Columbians in U.S. Girls Junior field; Angela Zhang reaches final of PNGA Women’s Amateur
Canada's Brooke Henderson Is A Big Fan Of Playing Golf In The Pacific Northwest - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Brooke Henderson has won twice in Portland, picked up another victory in Seattle and now figures it’s time to add Vancouver to her list of West Coast triumphs.
Henderson made a quick visit to Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club last week to help promote next month’s CPKC Women’s Open. She referenced her past success in the Pacific Northwest.
“I love this area, I love the Pacific Northwest and having won in Portland and Seattle I feel the next stop has to be here in Vancouver,” she said.
Henderson was joined at the media conference at Shaughnessy by defending champion Paula Reto, the South African who won last year’s event at the Ottawa Hunt Club.
Henderson is experiencing a bit of an up-and-down 2023 season that started out wonderfully when she won the year’s first event, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Florida. However, her game has not been as consistent as normal. That win is Henderson’s only top-10 finish this year.
She has been buoyed by her play in two recent major championships, a tie for 15th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and a tie for 12th at the US. Women’s Open. “The game is trending,” she said. “It was a dream start to come out and win your first event.
Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf
CPKC Women’s Open Defending Champion Paula Reto
"That felt really nice and was a huge confidence-booster. Since then I have had some ups and downs, but I definitely think things are starting to come together and that’s a great feeling.” Henderson missed the cut at last week’s Dana Open in Sylvania, Ohio.
The Shaughnessy tournament figures to have a strong field. Player commitments include world No. 1 Jin Young Ko, Rose Zhang, Minjee Lee, Jennifer Kupcho, Danielle Kang, Lexi Thompson, Nelly Korda, Ariya Jutanugarn, recent U.S. Women’s Open champion Allisen Corpuz and three-time CPKC Women’s Open winner Lydia Ko.
CPKC, the new name adopted after Canadian Pacific purchased Kansas City Southern Railway, has extended its sponsorship of the tournament through 2028. The tournament’s purse has been increased by $300,000 this year to $2.5 million US.
Shaughnessy will become the only Canadian golf club to play host to both the Women’s and Men’s National Open Championships in the last 20 years.
Tickets are now on sale at cpkcwomensopen.com
OPEN SEASON: Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor will tee it up in his first Open Championship this week at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. And the RBC Canadian Open champion will do it coming off a solid result at the Genesis Scottish Open at North Berwick Golf Club, where he tied for 19th and made $105,750. Taylor finished the event at six-under par, nine shots behind winner Rory McIlroy. He is currently 10th on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup points list. Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin is hoping to draw into the Open Championship. He was second on the alternate list at the start of the week.
TAKING FLIGHT: Five British Columbians are playing in this week’s U.S. Girls Junior Championship. Surrey’s Lauren Kim, Yeji Kwon of Port Coquitlam, Luna Lu of Burnaby, Martina Yu of Coquitlam and Anna Huang of Vancouver are in the field for the July 17-22 championship, which is being played at the United States Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club (Blue Course) in Colorado Springs, Colo. The event marks the first time a United States Golf Association championship is being held on a military base. Kim is one of nine players in the field who played in the recent U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
FINAL RUN: Vancouver’s Angela Zhang made it all the way to the 36-hole match-play final of the PNGA Women’s Amateur at Olympia Country & Golf Club in Olympia, Wash. Zhang dropped that championship match 4&3 to Lauren Sung of Palo Alto, Calif. Vancouver’s Victoria Liu was the stroke-play medalist at the event, but lost her opening match.
TOP-10 FINISH: Delta’s Mary Parsons tied for eighth at the Texarkana Children’s Charities Open in Arkansas on the Women’s All Pro Tour. Megan Osland of Kelowna tied for 16th. Parsons and Osland stand sixth and seventh, respectively, on the WAPT’s Race to Stage II points list. The top five players on the points list at season’s end will earn an exemption into Stage II of the LPGA Tour qualifying school and have their Q-school entry fees paid.
ON TO OTTAWA: The PGA Tour Canada circuit heads to Ottawa this week for the Commissionaires Ottawa Open. British Columbians in the field include Chris Crisologo of Richmond, Jared du Toit of Kimberley, A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam, Jake Lane of Charlie Lake, Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver and Lawren Rowe of Victoria.
TEXAN ON TOP: Texan Mikel Martinson shot rounds of 64 and 65 to win the Vancouver Golf Tour’s Meadow Gardens Open in Pitt Meadows. His 15-under total was two shots better than James Allenby of the Langley Golf Centre. Martinson earned $5,000 for the win. Allenby took home $3,000.