Eye on the ball
Local golfer Shauna Wilde hits out of the thick rough on the 5th hole while trying to qualify for the 2016 Manulife LPGA Classic at Whistle Bear in Cambridge on Monday.
NORTH DUMFRIES — Vivian Tsui posted a number and waited.
The first-year Symetra Tour player from Markham was on pins and needles for more than an hour Monday before learning she had earned one of two available spots for this week’s Manulife LPGA Classic at the Whistle Bear Golf Club.
Tsui shot a 2-over 74 to join Brantford’s Nicole Vandermade, who shot 73, in the $1.6-million tournament that starts Thursday morning.
Only seven players attempted to qualify for the tournament with the first two groups of two players finishing in about four hours. The final group of three players took more than five hours before wrapping up in the early evening.
“The wait was tough, I was getting a little tired and hungry, but it’s my first event on the LPGA Tour, so I’m really excited. Being from Markham, which isn’t too far away, it kind of feels like playing in front of a home crowd,” said Tsui, who graduated from North Carolina State University last year.
“I just want to go out and enjoy myself, really take in the experience and go from there. I’ll just try to play my best and we’ll see what happens.”
The fifth edition of the 72-hole tournament features 29 Olympians and 85 of the top 100 earners on the LPGA Tour money list.
Olympic silver medallist Lydia Ko, the No. 1 player on the Rolex world rankings, tops a star-studded field that includes No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn, No. 3 Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. and Alena Sharp of Hamilton.
Sharp, who is coming off a career-best fourth-place finish Sunday at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open outside Calgary, jumped 24 spots in the rankings Monday to No. 55.
Defending champion Suzann Pettersen is also scheduled to participate, along with fan favourites Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer. Sixth-ranked Sei Young Kim, No. 7 In Gee Chun, No. 8 Stacy Lewis, No. 10 Ha Na Jang, and No. 12 So Yeon Ryu will also compete.
Olympic gold medallist Inbee Park, the world’s fifth-ranked player, will miss this week’s tournament with an injury.
The South Korean star won the 2014 edition of the Manulife LPGA Classic at Waterloo’s Grey Silo Golf Course.
No. 14 Shanshan Feng, No. 9 Amy Yang and No. 5 Lexi Thompson will also skip the tournament that wraps up Sunday.
The tournament, of course, is heavy on Canadian content.
Manulife extended invitations to Lorie Kane, Jennifer Ha, Jennifer Kirby, Josée Doyon, Maddie Szeryk and Selina Costabile, while Maude-Aimee Leblanc, Samantha Richdale, Anne Catherine Tanguay, Tsui and Vandermade round out the Canadian contingent.
Vandermade, who competed at the 2014 Manulife LPGA Classic at Grey Silo, is taking a break from competitive golf this season after growing weary of the “weekly grind” on the Symetra Tour. The Brantford native took a job with Golf Canada as a player development intern in the spring and finished that job on Friday.
She entered the Monday qualifier with a “nothing to lose” attitude and her decision paid off.
“I finished my job on Friday, practised for two days and here I am. I thought ‘What the heck, why not give it a try? What’s the worst that can happen?’” said Vandermade, who graduated in 2012 from the University of Texas.
“I’m pretty much a weekend warrior now so this is amazing. I’m so happy to make it, especially considering I really haven’t played a lot this year.”
She isn’t certain what will come next but Vandermade said she hasn’t ruled out a return to the Symetra Tour in the coming weeks.
Practice rounds will take place Tuesday with the pro-am tournament scheduled for Wednesday.
Tickets and tournament information are available at manulifeclassic.ca.