In the News

[Jeffrey Reed]

For Immediate Release
June 10, 2011

CLUB DE GOLF BELOEIL NEXT STOP ON CN CANADIAN WOMEN’S TOUR
- Winner to earn exemption into 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Open;
LPGA players Jessica Shepley and Samantha Richdale headline second Tour event -


Beloeil, Que., (Golf Canada) – The 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Tour stops in Beloeil, Que., next week as the second of three Tour events will be contested at Club de golf Beloeil from June 13-15.



Conducted by Golf Canada, the event features 90 players and is the second qualifying stop for top international professional and amateur golfers hoping to earn an exemption into the 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Open, Canada’s only LPGA Tour event, to be held at Hillsdale Golf & Country Club in Mirabel, Que., from August 22-28.



LPGA Tour member Jessica Shepley of Oakville, Ont., is seeking her second consecutive CN Canadian Women’s Tour victory after capturing the first Tour stop at Squamish Valley Golf Club in Squamish, B.C. Shepley, the reigning Jocelyne Bourassa Player of the Year, earned an exemption into this year’s CN Canadian Women’s Open with a playoff win over fellow LPGA Futures Tour member, Joy Trotter of Chino Hills, Calif.



Joining Shepley and Trotter in Beloeil is LPGA Tour and LPGA Futures Tour member, Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., along with two-time CN Canadian Women’s Tour event winner and 2008 Jocelyne Bourassa Player of the Year, Sue Kim of Langley, B.C., a graduate of Team Canada.



Several other former CN Canadian Women’s Tour event winners will also be in Beloeil, including two-time winner Salimah Mussani of Burlington, Ont., Kirby Dreher of Fort St. John, B.C., and Candace Schepperle of Birmingham, Ala. Also competing is LPGA Futures Tour member and two-time CN Canadian Women’s Tour winner Isabelle Beisiegel of St. Hilaire, Que., who recently became the first woman to successfully achieve status on a men’s professional golf tour by earning non-exempt status on the Canadian Tour.



“We are looking forward to continuing the momentum of the CN Canadian Women’s Tour next week at Club de golf Beloeil,” said Adam Helmer, Tournament Director for the CN Canadian Women’s Tour. “The first event in Squamish featured exciting play from a strong field and I expect we’ll see more of the same in Quebec as competitors vie for an exemption into the 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Open.”



A total of 18 amateurs are slated to compete for the exemption into Canada’s only LPGA Tour event including former Team Canada member, Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont., Sabrina Sapone of Montreal, Sarah-Andrea Landry of Brossard, Que., Lauren Mielbrecht of Gulf Stream, Fla., and Erynne Lee of Silverdale, Wash.



Seven members of Team Canada’s Women’s Development Squad are also in the field, including 2011 CN Future Links Pacific Junior Girls champion, Jisoo Keel of Coquitlam, B.C., who finished third in Squamish. Keel set a Squamish Valley Golf Club course record, carding a final round 6-under-par 66, breaking the old mark of 69 set at the 2005 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship. Also slated to compete are Brogan McKinnon of Mississauga, Ont., Delaney Howson of Newmarket, Ont., Taylor Kim of Surrey, B.C., Augusta James of Bath, Ont., Leilanie Kim of Surrey, B.C., and Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont.



Additional notables include LPGA Futures Tour members, Seema Sadekar of Toronto, Danielle Mills of Pointe-Claire, Que., Christina Stockton of Rocklin, Calif., and Lindsey Bergeon of Sarasota, Fla.



Local participants include Elyse Archambault of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., Josée Doyon of St-Georges-de-Beauce, Que., Sarah-Andrea Landry of Brossard, Que., and Sylvia Schetagne of Delson-Laval, Que.



Players competing on the Tour also earn points towards the CN Canadian Women’s Tour Order of Merit. The player with the most points at the end of the season earns the Jocelyne Bourassa Player of the Year Award. The top three players on the CN Canadian Women’s Tour season-ending Order of Merit will be awarded direct entry into Stage 2 of LPGA Qualifying School. All entry fees will be paid for Stage 2 and, if applicable, Stage 3 (up to a value of $4,000 each). In addition, the top two competitors on the season-ending Order of Merit not already exempt also earn entry into the 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Open.



The final CN Canadian Women’s Tour stop takes place June 27-29 at Blue Springs Golf Club in Acton, Ont. The event features a $60,000 (CAD) purse, with $10,000 (CAD) awarded to the winner, along with an exemption into the 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Open.



More information about the CN Canadian Women’s Tour, including a full listing of competitors, post-round results and championship start times are available through the CN Canadian Women’s Tour website at www.cncanadianwomenstour.com.



ABOUT CN

Canadian National Railway Company and its operating railway subsidiaries – spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information on CN, visit the company’s website at www.cn.ca.



CN DELIVERS THE GREAT GAME OF GOLF

CN is proud to support golf in Canada and is pleased to bring the best of women’s professional golf to Canada with its title sponsorship of the CN Canadian Women’s Open and the CN Canadian Women’s Tour. In addition to supporting women’s golf, CN contributes to the development of golf among young people across the country through its sponsorship of the CN Future Links program. CN is pleased to work with Golf Canada to help develop golf as a sport for women and juniors across Canada and to increase the accessibility of golf to recreational and competitive golfers. Visit www.cn.ca.



ABOUT THE CN CANADIAN WOMEN’S TOUR

One of the world’s premier developmental tours, the CN Canadian Women’s Tour continues to attract rising Canadian and international female golf professionals as well as top female amateurs. Many of Canada’s top professionals, including Lorie Kane and Alena Sharp as well as 2011 LPGA Tour members Lisa Meldrum and Samantha Richdale have competed on the CN Canadian Women’s Tour as a springboard to future success. The 2011 season will see events hosted at Squamish Valley Golf Club in Squamish, B.C., Club de golf Beloeil in Beloeil, Que. and Blue Springs Golf Club in Acton, Ont. Total season prize money for 2011 is $180,000 (CDN); each championship purse will be $60,000 with the champion earning $10,000. As well, the top three players on the CN Canadian Women’s Tour season-ending order of merit will be awarded direct entry into Stage 2 of LPGA Qualifying School. All entry fees will be paid for Stage 2 and, if applicable, Stage 3 (up to a value of $4,000 each). For more information, visit www.cncanadianwomenstour.ca.



GOLF CANADA – LOVE THE GAME. GROW THE GAME.

Golf Canada – a member-based organization governed by the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) – is the governing body of golf in Canada, representing close to 350,000 members at almost 1,500 clubs across the country. Recognized by Sport Canada as the National Sports Organization (NSO) for golf in this country, Golf Canada is responsible for promoting participation in and a passion for the game of golf in Canada.



Golf Canada actively conducts championships, programs and services to help shape the present and future of golf in Canada. High performance athlete development, National Golf in Schools, Golf Fore the Cure, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum and CN Future Links, Canada’s national junior golf program, are only some of the initiatives the association leads for golf in Canada. As the authority for golf in Canada, the association also administers the Rules of Golf, amateur status and handicapping and course rating under the respected RCGA brand.



In addition, Golf Canada conducts Canada’s most prestigious golf championships. The RBC Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women’s Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while regional junior and national amateur championships provide world class competitive opportunities for Canada’s top golfers to showcase their talents.



For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit us online at www.golfcanada.ca.



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