LPGA Tour News: Tuesday Pre-Tournament Notes – 2023 CPKC Women’s Open

By Carey Van Lue

CPKC Women’s Open

Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club | Vancouver, BC | August 24-27

Tuesday Pre-Tournament Notes

Aug. 22, 2023

SOCIAL MEDIA: #DRIVEON

Tournament – @cpkcwomensopen (Twitter, Instagram), #CPKCWomensOpen

 

LPGA Tour – @LPGA and @LPGAMedia (Twitter), @lpga_tour (Instagram)

 

TV/STREAMING TIMES

(all times EDT; live digital streaming on the NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com, golfchannel.com and Peacock)

 

Thursday, August 24

6:30—9:30 p.m. – GOLF Channel/Peacock/International

 

Friday, August 25

6:30—9:30 p.m. – GOLF Channel/Peacock/International

 

Saturday, August 26

7:00—10:00 p.m. – GOLF Channel/Peacock/International

 

Sunday, August 27

7:00—10:00 p.m. – GOLF Channel/International/NBC Digital

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE CPKC WOMEN’S OPEN

  • This is the 21st playing of the CPKC Women’s Open
    • From 1979-2000, this tournament was a major on the LPGA Tour and known by a series of names, most famously the du Maurier Classic
    • The event was not contested in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club was founded in 1911 and on its current site since 1960
    • It has hosted the RBC Canadian Open four times
    • It becomes the 14th club to host both of Canada’s Men’s and Women’s Open Championships
    • It also becomes the only Canadian golf club to host both the Women’s and Men’s National Open in the last 20 years
  • This is the first time British Columbia has hosted the CPKC Women’s Open since 2015
    • The CPKCWO has also been played at Vancouver Golf Club (2012, 2015) and Point Grey Golf & Country Club (2003) since 2001
  • The CPKC Women’s Open field consists of 156 golfers that include:
    • Eight past champions; Paula Reto (2022), Jin Young Ko (2019), Brooke Henderson (2018), Sung Hyung Park (2017), Ariya Jutanugarn (2016), Lydia Ko (2012, 2013, 2015), Brittany Lincicome (2011), Cristie Kerr (2006)
      • Henderson is the only Canadian to win this event since it shifted from a major championship in 2001
        • Jocelyne Bourassa won the inaugural event, then called the La Canadienne, in 1973
      • Reto looks to become the first player to defend her title since Lydia Ko in 2013
      • Lydia Ko is one of two champions to win this event multiple times since 2001
        • Meg Mallon won in 2002 and 2004
          • ​​​​​​​Mallon also secured her first win in this event in 2000
    • 14 of the 16 winners on Tour this season
      • Henderson and Jin Young Ko are the only two 2023 winners who have also won this event
      • All four 2023 major championss are in the field as well; Celine Boutier (Amundi Evian Championship), Allisen Corpuz (U.S. Women’s Open), Lilia Vu (The Chevron Championship, AIG Women’s Open) and Ruoning Yin (KPMG Women’s PGA Championship)
    • 22 LPGA Tour rookies
      • Grace Kim (LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei), Alexa Pano (ISPS Handa World Championship) and Rose Zhang (Mizuho Americas Open) are all rookies who have also won on Tour this season
    • 15 Canadian players, including Lauren Kim from Surrey, British Columbia
    • 16 sponsor invites including:
      • Gabriela Ruffels who recently secured her third Epson Tour victory of the season at the Four Winds Invitational, mathematically earning her LPGA Tour card through the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card
        • Ruffels has appeared in three LPGA Tour events this season
          • She has finished inside the top-50 in each event
          • Her best finish was a T23 at the Dana Open
      • Ellie Szeryk who is a senior at Southern Methodist University in Dallas
        • She earned All-Conference honors her junior season
        • She was a two-year member of Canada’s National Junior Team
        • This is her second appearance at the CPKC, she missed the cut in 2018
        • She is the younger sister of Maddie Szeryk
          • This is the first time the two are competing in the same LPGA Tour event
    • Four Monday qualifiers; Alice Ziyi ZhaoKum-Kang ParkLuna LuMagdalena Simmermacher
  • In her 2022 victory, Reto tied the 18-hole tournament record (62) en route to becoming a Rolex First-Time Winner
  • Jin Young Ko set the tournament scoring record in her 2019 win (262)
  • The CPKC Women’s Open is also the last qualifying event for the 2023 U.S. Solheim Cup Team
    • Four players have already clinched their spots on the U.S. Team: Lilia Vu, Nelly Korda, Allisen Corpuz and Megan Khang
    • On Tuesday, the European Solheim Cup Team captain Suzann Pettersen announced her four 2023 captain’s picks: Gemma Dryburgh, Caroline Hedwall, Emily Pedersen and Madelene Sagstrom

 

2023 Statistical Leaders

Official Money: Allisen Corpuz, $2,920,565

Scoring Average: Hyo Joo Kim, 69.686

Birdies: Nasa Hataoka, 233

Eagles: Jennifer Kupcho and Bailey Tardy, 9

Holes in One: In Gee Chun, 2

Greens in Regulation: Hyo Joo Kim, 74.7%

Average Driving Distance: Xiaowen Yin, 278.940

 

2023 Award Leaders

Rolex Player of the Year
1 Lilia Vu 154 points
2 Celine Boutier 133 points
3 Ruoning Yin 106 points

 

Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year
1 Hae Ran Ryu 593 points
2 Grace Kim 488 points
3 Rose Zhang 334 points

 

Rolex ANNIKA Major Award
1 Lilia Vu 120 points
2 Allisen Corpuz 84 points
T3 Celine Boutier 60 points
T3 Ruoning Yin 60 points

*Clinched

 

#AonRiskReward Challenge
1 Hye-Jin Choi -0.929
2 Atthaya Thitikul -0.923
3 Hae Ran Ryu -0.893

 

Race to the CME Globe
1 Celine Boutier 2,380.550 points
2 Lilia Vu 2,068.618 points
3 Ruoning Yin 1,744.870 points

 

AON Risk Reward Challenge: No. 18, par 5

This week’s Challenge hole should play as a reachable par-5 at least two of the days, forcing the players to make a decision depending on their execution off the tee. Entering this week, Hye-Jin Choi sits atop the leaderboard with a -0.929 scoring average. Atthaya Thitikul is right behind her with an average of -0.923 over the season-long challenge. Hae Ran Ryu is third with an average of -0.893, Stephanie Kyriacou with an average of -0.885 is in fourth and rounding out the leaderboard is Dewi Weber with a scoring average of -0.875.

 

Race to CME Globe Update:

The 2023 Race to the CME Globe continues this week at the CPKC Women’s Open. With three victories this season including back-to-back wins during the European swing, Celine Boutier (2,380.550 points) continues to lead the race. Boutier’s nearly 600 point lead last week has been closed significantly by two-time major champions and three-time LPGA Tour winner Lilia Vu, who won the AIG Women’s Open and claimed the last 650-point prize of the year. Vu has 2,068.618 points in the Race, trailing Boutier by a little more than 300 points. In third is 2023 major winner Ruoning Yin (1,744.870 points) followed by Hyo Joo Kim, who has eight top-10 finishes in 2023 and has not missed a cut in 13 starts this season. Rounding out the top 5 is U.S. Women’s Open champion Allisen Corpuz (1,619.154 points).

 

Following her first LPGA Tour victory at the ISPS Handa World Invitational, Alexa Pano jumped from No. 132 in the Race to 36th, the biggest move of last week.

 

The Race to the CME Globe is a season-long points competition with LPGA Tour Members accumulating points in every official LPGA event to qualify for the season-ending tournament, the CME Group Tour Championship. The player who wins the CME Group Tour Championship is named the “Race to the CME Globe Champion.” The top 60 points earners and ties earn a spot into the season finale with the entire field competing for a $7 million purse highlighted by a $2 million winner’s check, which ties the largest single prize in the history of women’s golf.

 

CME Group Cares Challenge – Score 1 for St. Jude Update:

The CME Group Cares Challenge is a season-long charitable giving program that turns aces into donations. CME Group donates $20,000 for each hole-in-one made on the LPGA Tour in 2023, with a minimum guaranteed donation of $500,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which is leading the way in how the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and life-threatening diseases. There have been 11 hole-in-one’s made this season, bringing the donation total to $220,000. No aces were made at last week’s ISPS Handa World Invitational.

 

2023 Wins by Country (21 tournaments, 10 countries)

8 – United States (Allisen Corpuz, Cheyenne Knight, Alexa Pano, Elizabeth Szokol, Lilia Vu (3), Rose Zhang)

2 – Australia (Hannah Green, Grace Kim)

3 – France (Celine Boutier (3))

2 – People’s Republic of China (Ruoning Yin (2))

2 – Republic of Korea (Jin Young Ko (2))

1 – Canada (Brooke Henderson)

1 – Ireland (Leona Maguire)

1 – South Africa (Ashleigh Buhai)

1 – Sweden (Linn Grant)

1 – Thailand (Pajaree Anannarukarn)

 

2023 Wins by Player (21 tournaments, 16 players)

3 – Celine Boutier (LPGA Drive On Championship, Amundi Evian Championship)

3 – Lilia Vu (Honda LPGA Thailand, The Chevron Championship, AIG Women’s Open)

2 – Jin Young Ko (HSBC Women’s World Championship, Cognizant Founders Cup)

2 – Ruoning Yin (DIO Implant LA Open, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship)

1 – Pajaree Anannarukarn (LPGA Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play presented by MGM Rewards)

1 – Ashleigh Buhai (ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer)

1 – Allisen Corpuz (U.S. Women’s Open) 1 – Linn Grant (Dana Open)

1 – Linn Grant (Dana Open)

1 – Hannah Green (JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro)

1 – Brooke Henderson (Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions)

1 – Cheyenne Knight (Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational)

1 – Grace Kim (LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei)

1 – Leona Maguire (Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give)

1 – Alexa Pano (ISPS Handa World Invitational)

1 – Elizabeth Szokol (Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational)

1 – Rose Zhang (Mizuho Americas Open)

 

Average Age of 2023 Winners: 25.318

Youngest Winner: Alexa Pano (19 years)

Oldest Winner: Ashleigh Buhai (34 years, 1 month)

COURTESY LPGA TOUR COMMUNICATIONS