Champion Ariya and her Canadian Pacific Open trophy are well guarded by two members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, famous world wide as the Mounties.
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Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn notched her fifth victory inside four months when she powered to a four-stroke triumph at the Canadian Women’s Open in Alberta yesterday.
Jutanugarn was the leader after the opening round there. “It’s getting a lot better”.
South Korean Kim Sei-young (66) claimed second place on 19 under, with compatriot Chun (69) a shot further back in third.
They included New Zealand’s world number one and defending champion Lydia Ko, who is gunning for her fourth victory in the tournament. Chun closed birdie-eagle for a 67.
“I felt like I wanted to have fun and be happy”, Jutanugarn said.
“After I won my first tournament, I kind of know how I play under pressure, so I know when I get really excited what I have to do”, she told reporters.
Ariya said her sore knee had improved gradually over the course of the week following her withdrawal in the third round in Rio.
Southeast Asian players dominated the top of the leaderboard on Sunday, taking the first three spots. Her birdie putt climbed the hill on the green and curled from right to left to settle inside the hole. Leblanc, 27, was not as happy after missing a short par putt for a bogey there.
“I played pretty solid the past few days”, said Ko, who has won the Canadian Open in three of the past four years including last year at the Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C.
“It was very important to play well here”.
After a late meltdown cost Jutanugarn her first LPGA Tour victory in April in the major ANA Inspiration, she broke through in May with three straight victories. “And honestly, I’ve said it so many times, but the fans are seriously awesome”.
“I’ve had such an incredible experience here in Calgary and I think just being a little bit closer to home, I think the crowds will be outstanding”. A member of Canada’s Golf Hall of Fame, Coe-Jones of Lake Cowichan, B.C., underwent surgery on her right leg in March to remove cancerous tumours.
“Some weeks I use my driver if it’s wide enough and if I need the distance, but this week I don’t need that”, she said rather flatly.
Other notable names to make the cut include Suzann Pettersen and Amy Yang (T9, -7), Anna Nordqvist, Minjee Lee and Stacy Lewis (T20, -5), Haru Nomura (T36, -3), Morgan Pressel (T52, -2) and Michelle Wie (T63, -1).
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“On the back nine, everything went in, which I haven’t seen much this year, so it was good to see”. Enjoying a renaissance over the last two seasons with the help of a sports psychologist who’s elevated Sharp’s self-confidence, the veteran heads into the weekend tied for 10th at six under par. “I’m hitting it well, driving it well, keeping it in the fairway, which is important here, rolling it well”.
