Shepley keeps Canadian hopes afloat, barely
After 36 holes, the field of 14 golfers playing in their home country has whittled down to one
What would the CN Canadian Women’s Open be like on the weekend without any Canadians? Thanks to Jessica Shepley, we don’t have to find out. The Oakville, Ont., native sunk a clutch 10- foot putt for bogey on the final hole Friday night to make the 36- hole cut on the number at Vancouver Golf Club. The other 14 Canadians in the field have the weekend off. “Obviously, that was not what I was looking for, to have a 10- foot downhill, left- to- right slider on 18 to make the cut,” a relieved Shepley said. “But it went in so that’s all that matters.” Shepley fired a two- over 74 Friday, when she bogeyed two of her final three holes, to stand at three- over through 36 holes. “I haven’t had a very good season this year, haven’t really played well, so I am excited that I was able to do it,” she said. “It’s always special to play well here. I love playing out West.” Shepley’s mood was in stark contrast to that of veteran Lorie Kane, who was devastated after a costly double- bogey on the last hole sent her home early. Kane missed the cut by one shot after making a six on Vancouver Golf Club’s par- 4 ninth hole, which was her final hole of the day. “I’m kind of feeling like [ Canadian Olympic sprinter] Jared Connaughton right now,” Kane said. “I touched the line.” Kane had to head to the lockerroom for a couple of moments to compose herself before doing media interviews. But she broke down after answering a few questions and had to walk away. “I am here to win this tournament, to represent CN and to raise money for the Miracle Match and we had great fans out today and I thought that more people would come out the longer the Canadians stayed around in the field,” Kane said. “I’m disappointed, [ and] frustrated.” Kane’s troubles began when her drive flew into a bunker. She elected to lay up a few yards short of the green, but then chunked her third shot and had to try to get it up and down from the front fringe for bogey. Kane’s chip left her about nine feet for bogey and the putt grazed the right side of the cup. While stressing she was not making excuses, Kane questioned the decision to slow down the speed of the greens at Vancouver Golf Club. “It’s disappointing to me that they got slower,” she said. “I played Monday, I played Tuesday and I played Wednesday and yesterday and today they are considerably slower than they were. I don’t think that is the way it should be. I think we should play greens that if we practice Monday and Tuesday they should be that fast the rest of the week.” WEEKEND OFF: Michelle Wie missed the cut and clearly wasn’t happy about it. Wie, who shot 76 Friday to finish at six- over, ducked under the ropes after signing her scorecard and headed straight to the parking lot. Other notables who missed the 36- hole cut included Morgan Pressel, Ai Miyazato and Lexi Thompson. FEELING PRESSURE: Coquitlam teen Jisoo Keel was disappointed she didn’t do more with her home- course advantage. Keel shot a 78 Friday to finish at 11- over par. “Disappointing,” she said. “The course is set up really hard. I was pretty confident coming in. My shots were pretty good, I was satisfied with my long game, but my short game was lacking a little bit.” Keel, who turns 17 next week, plays out of Vancouver Golf Club and thinks maybe that added some pressure. “I actually did feel a little different,” said Keel, who played in this year’s U. S. Women’s Open and last year’s Canadian Open. “Even though it is my home course I wasn’t able to come out as much as I would have liked because I have travelled so much. But the pressure of being on my home course with the home crowd kind of got to me. It was still fun playing in front of friends and family and I really appreciate their support.” Kelowna’s Samantha Richdale fired an even- par 72 to miss the cut by two shots. Kirby Dreher of Fort St. John fired a 78 and finished at nine- over, Richmond amateur Christine Wong bounced back with a 73 Friday to finish at eight- over, while Surrey amateur A Ram Choi shot 77 to stand at 17- over. DOUBLE TROUBLE: First- round leader Yani Tseng ran out of birdies on Friday. She didn’t make a single one and was hurt by a double- bogey on the par- 3 third hole where she hit her tee shot into the water. “I didn’t play terrible today,” said Tseng, who shot 75 and sits at three- under par heading into today’s third round. “I just did one double. If I’m not in the water and I finish one- over, I’m still in a pretty good position. But with three- under, I still have two days to go and hopefully the next two days I can fight back a little bit.”