Meg Mallon has been busy defending several championship titles these past few weeks. The U.S. Women’s Open, the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic and this week’s Canadian Women’s Open have kept Mallon in the spotlight. A tie for 13th and then a tie for 7th respectively has Mallon itching to see if she can successfully defend at least one of her three victories of 2004.
With a five-year history, a purse of $1.3 million and $195,000 going to the winner it would be interesting to see if a Canadian will ever hold this trophy on their own soil.
The par-72 6,544 yard Glen Arbour Golf Course in Nova Scotia sets the stage for this week’s activities. Lorena Ochoa, Natalie Gulbis, Jennifer Rosales and Christina Kim will headline at the tournament.
Lorena Ochoa tied for third place at last year’s Canadian Open. She grabbed her first victory of 2005 at the Wegmans after a shaky start at both the Mastercard Classic and the Corona Morelia from Mexico.
Natalie Gulbis has been heating up the golf course as well keeping herself atop the ADT Official Money List with six top-ten finishes this year.
Jennifer Rosales grabbed the first trophy of the year at the SBS Open but hasn’t been seen much near the top of the leaderboard since that victory.
Christina Kim’s jolly demeanor will also be on display here at the Open. Kim came close to victory at the Sybase Classic but lost her cool allowing Paula Creamer the win on a rainy Sunday.
Brittany Lang is one of sixteen sponsors exemptions this week. Lang’s disappointing professional debut at the Owens Corning Classic (T-36) was highlighted by the media after her stellar second place amateur finale at the U.S. Women’s Open. Can Brittany cut it as a professional? Her appearance this week makes you wonder if and when Brittany will shake her performance jitters.
Some of the heavy hitters have taken a break this week. Michelle Wie is busy at the Men’s Amateur Publinks with a hopeful eye to the 2006 Masters. Although Annika Sorenstam captured the inaugural event here in 2001 she will not attend this year. Charlotta will provide the famous Sorenstam name. The question is whether or not Charlotta can supply the game.
The Canadian Women’s Open will be televised by TSN with the following schedule: July 14-15th from 2:30-4 pm, July 16th, 2:30-6:00 pm and July 17th on tape delay from 9:00-11:30 pm (ET)