EDMONTON – Anna Huang continued her excellent summertime stretch by earning low Canadian honours for the very first time at the CPKC Women’s Open, where Miyu Yamashita won in a runaway.
Yamashita shot a final-round 66 to win by nine shots. In the process, she set the tournament scoring record for the CPKC Women’s Open and also tied the 72-hole scoring record on the LPGA Tour.
“I don’t know what golf course she’s playing,” Jennifer Kupcho said about Yamashita’s torrid scoring effort in Edmonton.
Her nine-shot margin of victory was also a record at the CPKC Women’s Open. In the process, she was the first golfer since Jin Young Ko in 2019 to win the CPKC Women’s Open in her tournament debut. This marked her fourth career LPGA Tour title.
Yamashita is still learning English, but said she felt like she played better this week in Canada versus at her previous win in mid-July at the Meijer LPGA Classic.
“I didn’t expect to win,” she said via a translator, “but it feels similar to Japan, so I’m really happy to win.
“A lot of people came out to support me, and I was able to enjoy playing today and throughout the week.”
It was a special week for most of the Canadian contingent on home soil as well, with Huang earning the Sandra Post medal as the top Canadian. As a bonus, since she finished inside the top 10 this week at Royal Mayfair, she also earned her way into next week’s FM Championship on the LPGA Tour.
Huang shot a 5-under 65 Sunday, matching her low round of the week. She opened with four birdies in her first seven holes and added two more birdies in her final five holes. She ended up climbing 11 spots on the leaderboard after riding a hot putter. Huang struggled with the flatstick on Saturday but said some extra work overnight alongside Team Canada’s national women’s team head coach Salimah Mussani helped her to get into a better headspace on the greens.
Huang became the youngest low Canadian winner since Brooke Henderson in 2014, and her tie for fourth was her best career result on the LPGA Tour.
“Just means so much to me to be back home, playing in front of home crowds. And just I had a lot of fun this week and I gained a lot valuable experience, so overall very happy,” Huang said.
Huang has put together a tidy campaign on the Ladies European Tour with two victories already. She sits second on the LET’s Order of Merit and is basically guaranteed a spot in the final stage of LPGA Tour Q-Series, where she could earn a full-time LPGA Tour card. She said this week she learned that sometimes playing things simple is often the key to success.
“Even if you think you're playing some really boring golf, it's always a good day because you're hitting fairways and greens. So, it's always something to look forward to,” Huang said.
“I'm really happy that I played well in front of the best in the world and hopefully I can continue doing that.”
Joining Huang in the top 10 was Aphrodite Deng, who shot a 1-under 69 Sunday to finish tied for seventh. Deng earned low amateur honours for the second year in a row after finishing tied for 20th in Mississaugua.
Deng, whose 10-under 200 was the lowest 54-hole total by an amateur in LPGA Tour history, said she was buoyed by the fan support through the week.
“It feels great,” Deng said, “and I'm so proud of the way I played this week.”
In all, seven Canadians made the cut at Royal Mayfair – the most since 1996.
Defending champion Brooke Henderson had an in-between Sunday with some highlights – she chipped in for an eagle on No. 5 – but also three bogeys in an eight-hole stretch, which put the brakes on any kind of final-round charge.
Still, Henderson finished tied for 13th and continued her impressive play at her national open. Despite the fact that the tournament moves around to new cities each year, the defending champion has only finished outside the top 15 once since 2016.
“It's so amazing. This week is always so special and so amazing to be a part of. I just feel like it's such a cool opportunity to be able to play at home in front of all these people that are cheering for you so hard,” Henderson said. “It was a great week overall.”
While it was a solid week for the Canadian contingent in Edmonton, the first time the CPKC Women’s Open had been contested at Royal Mayfair since 2013, it was a record-setting week for Yamashita, who has now recorded two wins on the LPGA Tour in her last six starts.
“I’m so happy,” Yamashita said with a big smile.
Just play, we’ll handle the rest
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