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Olympians steal the show at CP Open

They did the impossible at the CP Women's Open.

They did the impossible at the CP Women's Open.

The best in women's golf turned in an encore performance for the ages at the LPGA CP Women's Open at Priddis Greens on Sunday where Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn won the tournament and Canada's Alena Sharp earned her best finish on tour one week removed from competing at the Olympic Games.

“After the first round I thought maybe this course is good for me,” Jutanugarn said after Sunday's final round. “Before today I really wanted to have fun and be happy on the course, no matter what can happen I can handle it.

“I feel very happy and proud of myself right now.”

Jutanugarn finished four shots clear of second place Sei-Young Kim at -23. The Bangkok native surged to the top of the leaderboard with a second round 64 and closed the weekend with back-to-back rounds of 66 and 67. She hit 50 of 56 fairways over four days where she knocked in 27 birdies.

Impressive, especially given the 20-year-old was forced to withdraw from the Olympics in the third round due to a knee injury less than a week prior to teeing off in Priddis.

“I had to come back from injury so I just really wanted to be happy and have fun on the course,” she said. “When I got here on Monday and Tuesday it (my knee) was feeling a lot better.”

She cemented her second-ranked status on tour with her fifth win in her past 10 LPGA events.

Jutanugarn's title came at the expense of the heavy favourite and defending CP Open champion.

World number-one Lydia Ko from New Zealand saw her tournament hopes slip away after shooting a 70 in round three. Still, the Olympic silver medallist closed on a high note with a birdie on the 18th hole on Sunday to finish tied for seventh at -13.

“I played solid all week,” she said. “I'm happy with it and especially when I'm defending and I'm still able to have a top-10 finish.”

Finishing amongst the leaders was something of a novelty for Canada's Sharp. Putting together back-to-back rounds of 67 to close out the tournament, the Olympian earned her best ever showing on tour as the fourth place finisher at -16. She won the Sandra Post Award as the top Canadian in the event.

“These last three months have been amazing, leading up to the Olympics, going there, playing well, but not scoring well and then coming here and playing really well,” Sharp said. “This is my best ever finish on the Tour and I guess I love Alberta. My first top 10 ever on Tour was at the Mayfair in 2007.”

She also earned a measure of redemption seven years in the making after missing the cut the last time the national open was held at Priddis Greens in 2009.

“To come back here and miss the cut last time and then really dominate and kind of take a little back from the course that it took from me in 2009 and be here in front of the hometown crowd, it's amazing,” Sharp said. “There is no better feeling to have.”

Crowd favourite and fellow Canadian Olympian Brooke Henderson shook off an inauspicious debut to earn a 14th place finish at -11.

The Smiths Falls, Ont. native credited the Canuck crowd who followed her every move with baited breath and chorus of applause for turning her week around after finish even in the first round.

“That big crowd at the end was something I will definitely remember,” Henderson said. “Early in the week I wasn't playing that well and (the crowd) just gave me that extra boost to start playing well.

“The more people the better, the bigger the crowds the more energy I feel.”

Though conceding her game wasn't at a 100 per cent level, it was a positive step forward in a tournament that has traditionally given the phenom fits.

“Canadian Opens I haven't always finished the best here just because it's so busy,” she said. “I have so many appointments and a lot of other things going on. Since I've started when I was 14 I've continued doing better every year which is always a good sign.”

Maude-Aimee Leblanc tied for the second-highest finisher among Canadians after turning in a final round score of 69 to finish at -11, tied for 14-place in the competition.

“It means a lot to play well in front of everybody,” Leblanc said. “I know the purse is very big here compared to other tournaments, so it was very important to play well here.”

For three Canadians – Sharp, Henderson and Leblanc — to finish in the top-15 is a seldom seen feat on tour so rare in fact it had never happened at the national championship. Until now.

“Both of them are really good friends to our family,” Henderson said. “It's really cool to see them succeed and having awesome weeks, especially back home in Canada where the fans are there.”

Henderson and Sharp will take the next crack at the national title in their home province when the 2017 CP Women's Open shifts to the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club.

For the latest on Canadians on the tour visit golfcanada.ca


Remy Greer

About the Author: Remy Greer

Remy Greer is the assistant editor and sports reporter for westernwheel.ca and the Western Wheel newspaper. For story tips contact [email protected]
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