Tanguay sets record straight on her ‘ sister’
ORA, Ont • For the record, Anne- Catherine Tanguay does have a sister, but it’s not fellow tour pro Valerie.
After Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp, Canada’s next most successful golfer this year on the LPGA Tour is Tanguay. When the moderator at Wednesday’s press conference asked her about “sister” Valerie, it wasn’t the first time the 28- year- old has had to set things straight.
“She is not my sister,” Tanguay said at Magna Golf Club ahead of this week’s CP Women’s Open. “She’s also from Quebec and we went to the same school, University of Oklahoma.”
We’ve crossed paths with Tanguay twice this summer and both times someone has asked her about “sister” Valerie. Once golf is over, Tanguay might have a career in politics based on her diplomatic answers.
“She feels like my little sister and I’m really happy she’s here this week,” she said.
Tanguay has made six of 13 cuts this year on the LPGA Tour, but has had trouble carrying over some strong early play into the weekend. She also battled a back injury early in the summer.
“I’m getting more comfortable in my environment, I think, for me, it has been a little challenge to play better on the weekends and go low,” she said. “I think I was just kind of getting maybe a little bit more nervous and experiencing new emotions, but I think it’s part of the learning process as well.”
Tanguay’s best finish this year is a tie for 11th at the Shoprite LPGA Classic in early June. She has some work to do down the stretch to keep her tour card for next season. She enters the week 128th on the money list and needs to crack the top 100.
Whatever is in the cards, she has come a long way since her first CP Women’s Open in 2013.
“We were completely lost,” she said. “I didn’t know I could park in the players’ parking. ( My caddie) dropped me off at the course and then he went to park. I tried to get into the clubhouse and they wouldn’t let me in.”
Eventually, a fellow golfer came to Tanguay’s rescue.
“One of the girls was just like, ‘She’s with me. Let her in.’ So it was very overwhelming, but such an amazing experience.”
This year at Magna Golf Club, Tanguay has everything under control. And, yes, she does have a sister.
“Marie- Chantal,” she said. “She doesn’t play golf.”