At the top of her game
Her game is as good as it’s ever been and her confidence is at an all-time high.
Not surprisingly, Alena Sharp will be shooting for a podium performance at next month’s Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The Hamilton golfer is one of four players who will be nominated by Golf Canada for a spot on the Canadian Olympic team, along with Brooke Henderson, David Hearn and Graham DeLaet.
The nominations will become official during a free-to-attend ceremony next Tuesday at Oakville’s Glen Abbey Golf Club.
Currently ranked 91st in the Rolex world rankings — more than 110 spots higher than this time last year — Sharp is coming off a 21st place finish at the U.S. Women’s Open and has four top-25 finishes in her past five starts.
The 11-year veteran of the LPGA Tour credits the work she’s done with her new coach, Tristan Mullally, as well as sessions with a sports psychologist for turning her career in a positive direction.
“In the last month, I’ve played with a lot of the girls that are going to be down there and there’s no difference there and that’s the huge thing for me,” the 35-year-old Sharp said Monday at a media event to promote the upcoming Manulife LPGA Classic.
“I’m just as good as them. I can compete for a medal and that’s what I want, I want a medal,” Sharp said.
Sharp’s short game was in great form Monday during a charity fundraiser outside the Cambridge Mill. A makeshift green was set up across the Grand River, approximately 135 yards away, and Sharp hit the target with her nine-iron on nine of 10 attempts to raise $90,000 for St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation.
The fifth Manulife LGPA Classic is scheduled for Sept. 1-4 at Whistle Bear Golf Club and will feature a stellar field that includes Lydia Ko and Henderson, the world’s first- and second-ranked players, respectively.
Tournament director Milaina Wright announced Monday that U.S. Women’s Open champion Brittany Lang, who won the inaugural Manulife title in 2012 at the Grey Silo Golf Course, will also play along with defending champion Suzann Pettersen.
Sharp is looking forward to the full experience in Rio, which includes living in the Olympic Village and cheering on her Canadian teammates in other sports. She plans on taking in several events during her time there and mentioned swimming and track and field as the top two on her list.
Sharp is also excited about playing alongside Henderson, the 18year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., who has already won twice this season on the LPGA Tour.
“We’re going to be a good team together. She’s so fearless and energetic and positive, it’s helped me a lot and I think we’ll feed off each other,” she said.
Sharp also shared her opinion on what went down during Sunday’s night playoff between Anna Nordqvist and Lang at the U.S. Women’s Open.
Nordqvist was assessed a twostroke penalty for moving a few grains of sand in a fairway bunker. The infraction was caught by a Fox Sports’ high-definition camera and reported to the United States Golf Association, which waited several minutes before informing the players of the ruling.
Nordqvist was told after taking her third shot on the par-5 18th hole and Lang was informed before taking her third shot, which prompted her to play a safer shot. Nordqvist, on the other hand, would have taken dead aim at the flag if she had been aware of the penalty.
“I think they should have stopped play. If there was an issue … they could have just stopped play for a minute to take a look at it. Obviously, it was an advantage to Brittany to have that information and Anna didn’t have it until after her third shot,” said Sharp.
“I think they didn’t handle it very well but you always learn from your mistakes and hopefully that won’t happen again.”
Sharp said she felt for both players, adding it was unfortunate for Lang that she wasn’t able to fully celebrate her achievement in front of Nordqvist, who was clearly devastated. To make matters worse, USGA president Diana Murphy referred to Lang as “Bethany” during the awards ceremony.
“That wasn’t very good, not once, but three times she did it,” said Sharp.
The Manulife LPGA Classic is one of two Canadian stops on the LPGA Tour and this year will feature a purse of $1.6 million. The tournament has donated more than $1.2 million toward the Regional Cardiac Care Centre at St. Mary’s General Hospital.
Go to manulifeclassic.ca for more information on the tournament ticket purchases and volunteer opportunities.