Canadian Open champ Lydia Ko breaks down Calgary’s Earl Grey Golf Club

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Lydia Ko says the key to taming Earl Grey Golf Club is to stay between the lines.

Take heed, LPGA stars …

Because Ko knows how to win this thing.

After all, the veteran from New Zealand has three Canadian Women’s Open victories to her name coming into this week’s US$2.6-million LPGA Tour stop in Calgary.

“I think the fairways aren’t the narrowest I’ve seen, but they’re on the narrow side,” said Ko, the 2012, ’13 and ’15 queen of the national championship. “The rough has gotten thicker, I think even since yesterday. So being on the fairways is key.

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“These greens aren’t massive, so if you are in the rough, it could be quite difficult to get close to them or get on the greens,” continued Ko. “Yeah, I think being really consistent off the tee, that’s going to just give you a better chance of hitting the greens.”

The 27-year-old golf superstar isn’t the only one carting that theory around the 6,856-yard course in the southwest part of the city.

Plenty of her fellow LPGA shooters are thinking the same way …

Keep that ball in play at all costs or risk falling out of the race for the coveted victory here at the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open.

“I didn’t know too much coming in, but you definitely need to drive it straight,” said Brittany Lincicome, another tour vet and the 2011 Canadian Women’s Open winner at Hillsdale Golf and Country Club in Mirabel, Québec. “This course is pretty generous off the tee — it’s not too, too narrow, which is good.

“Being a longer hitter, I think that’ll be a huge advantage. Because there are some holes that are 430 yards, like over 400, which is unusual.

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“But if you get it in the rough, it’s pretty thick,” continued Lincicome, a 38-year-old Floridian. “You try to hit one out of the rough, and you can’t advance it super far. If it’s a Par 5, maybe not a big deal. If it’s a Par 4, you might not be able to get to the green in two.

“But we’ve always said, ‘Canada should be our fifth major,’ so they’re going to play it kind of like a major. So the rough is thick and greens are fast.”

Once you get to the greens, that’s where Canada’s own Alena Sharp believes the tourney is to be won.

“The greens are all tilted, so they require pretty precise shotmaking into the them,” said Sharp, a native of Hamilton, Ont. “It’s playing long right now. Not sure if it’ll firm up or not. Definitely not getting any run on the drives yet. You need a lot of mid-irons into the green, so you have to have some good trajectory to stop them.

“I think it suits my game, really.”

Truthfully, for 43-year-old Sharp, Alberta’s always been a hot-spot — maybe not as hot as the weather this week here.

But that — and the fact she’s on home soil — might make her ear one to bend, too.

“Last time I was her in Calgary, I had my best finish on the LPGA at Priddis right after the Olympics,” Sharp said. “And I won the Canadian Junior here (at Stony Plain Golf Course).

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“Yeah … Alberta has been good to me.”

But the Canadian Women’s Open, in particular, has been Ko’s conquest. She went back-to-back at the Vancouver Golf Club and Edmonton’s Royal Mayfair for her first two title takes and then repeated at VGC in Coquitlam, B.C., in 2015.

As much as anyone else, she’s got Canada figured out, it seems.

“I think Canada reminds me a lot of New Zealand, especially some of the rural, residential areas,” Ko said. “I feel like when I’m in America, I know I’m in the U.S. When I go to some areas of Canada, it really feels like home. So I think that’s always something that I’ve kind of taken away from being in Canada.

“I don’t know why Canada has given me so much love and given me the opportunity to be a past champion three times, but … yeah … I always love coming here. Golf has grown a lot I think in Canada since even my first time here. So there is just a lot more attention to golf. Yeah … I don’t know what about Canada that brings out a lot of positive and smiles, but I always enjoy my time here.”

Figuring out Earl Grey would help make her visit even more enjoyable.

“It is a really good golf course,” Ko said. “But I think you need to be really precise around this course. So I’m going to work on that a little bit more before tee-off (Thursday).”

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And from another Canadian champ — the one embraced by Canadian golf fans — comes similar advice.

“The course looks great — it’s in really good shape,” added Canadian star Brooke Henderson, the 2018 queen at Regina’s Wascana Country Club. “The rough is very thick. It’s very important to hit a lot of fairways around here, I believe, and I think you’re going to see some good scores. So hopefully get off to a fast start Thursday and make a bunch of birdies.”

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

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2024 CPKC Women’s Open
Thursday-Sunday at Earl Grey Golf Club

ABOUT THE COMPETITORS
The 156-player field features many of the biggest stars on the LPGA Tour, including 23 players who will soon be headed to Paris to represent their respective countries at the Summer Olympics. Brooke Henderson headlines a list of 17 Canadians — a dozen professionals and five amateurs — and Megan Khang of the U.S. arrives as defending champ after winning the 2023 edition at Shaughnessy in Vancouver.

ABOUT THE COURSE
Earl Grey, located on the banks of the Glenmore Reservoir, has long enjoyed a reputation as one of Calgary’s best private clubs. Even the members might need a map this week, since the course routing has been tweaked to accommodate grandstands and other tournament infrastructure. For example, what is usually the 10th hole will play as No. 18. The LPGA Tour stars have raved about the conditions at Earl Grey, consistently pointing out this 6,856-yard layout is in top-notch shape.

SPECTATOR INFO
The gates open Thursday at 6:30 a.m., with the first tee-time at 7 a.m. If you’re planning to follow Brooke Henderson, she will strike her first shot at 8:32 a.m. … Tickets are available online at cpkcwomensopen.com or at the tournament entrance. Admission is free for juniors aged 12 and under … Spectator parking is available at Mount Royal University, with free shuttles to Earl Grey … Be sure to check out the hockey-themed ‘Rink Hole,’ which is No. 17 on the scorecard this week.

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