Katherine Hull wins 2008 CN Canadian Women’s Open

08/17/2008

Ottawa, Ont. (courtesy LPGA Tour) – Five-year LPGA Tour veteran Katherine Hull (71-65-72-69=277, -11) overcame a six-stroke deficit at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club to win the 2008 CN Canadian Women’s Open.

Hull carded a final-round 3-under-par 69 that included four birdies and a single bogey to edge her closest competitors – runner-up Se Ri Pak (68-70-68-72=278, -10) and third-place Yani Tseng (70-64-68-77=279, -9) – who combined for eight bogeys and two double bogeys in the final round.  With the win, Hull also punched her ticket to the season-ending ADT Championship, as the $2.25 million dollar purse made the CN Canadian Women’s Open the 13th and final Winner Event for LPGA Playoffs 2008.

“I’m shocked that this has actually happened to me, but obviously this is a dream come true.  It’s just something that all of us out here dream about as kids, and to finally have it come to reality is just amazing.  I can’t put it into words right now,” Hull said.  “This is probably not going to sink in until tonight or even tomorrow.”

Tseng began the day with a four-stroke lead over 54-hole runner-up Pak, and a six-stroke cushion over Rolex Rankings’ number one Lorena Ochoa (66-68-74-73=281, -7) and Hull.  However, Hull began her charge by making birdie on the third hole while playing in the group ahead of Tseng and Pak, while Tseng made her first of four bogeys on the front nine on the same hole.  Tseng bounced back with a birdie on the fourth hole, but then tallied three-consecutive bogeys to make the turn at 3-over, while Hull birdied holes eight and nine to turn at 3-under and catch Tseng on the leaderboard at 11-under. 

Things appeared to briefly look up on the back side for Tseng when she birdied the 10th hole while Hull bogeyed to give the rookie a two-stroke advantage.  It didn’t last long, though, as Tseng’s bogey woes worsened with a double bogey on the 11th hole to knot Tseng and Hull once again, and an ensuing bogey on 12 by Tseng propelled Hull by one stroke.  Hull increased her lead to two strokes with a birdie on 14, and played even golf the rest of the way to maintain her one-stroke victory over Pak, who snuck up the leaderboard into second place after finishing her round with back-to-back birdies.

In addition to crossing the $1 million mark in career earnings with the $337,500 winner’s check, Hull’s victory marked the 42nd LPGA Tour victory by an Australian.  She joins Jane Crafter (1), Wendy Doolan (3), Rachel Hetherington (8), Mardi Lunn (1), Margie Masters (1), Penny Pulz (2), Jan Stephenson (16) and Karrie Webb (35) as the ninth Aussie to earn a win.

CN Canadian Women’s Open makes donation to Children’s Hospital.  CN announced on Sunday that the CN Canadian Women’s Open raised $1 million for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Foundation through the CN Miracle Match program.  The announcement was made at a special presentation at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, host of the 2008 CN Canadian Women’s Open.  The CN Miracle Match is designed to rally communities across Canada to support children’s hospitals.  Each year since 2006, CN has raised funds to support a children’s hospital by matching funds raised through various initiatives that are connected with the CN Canadian Women’s Open.

The CHEO Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to furthering the physical, mental and social well being of children and their families in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec by raising, managing and disbursing funds to the CHEO center.

CN donates $100,000 to the Annika Foundation.  CN announced on Saturday that it has donated $100,000 to the Annika Foundation.  The gift was presented to Annika Sorenstam at a special event held in conjunction with the CN Canadian Women’s Open as a tribute to Sorenstam’s accomplishments both on and off of the golf course.  The LPGA Tour and World Halls of Fame member announced in May that she will step away from competitive golf at the conclusion of the 2008 LPGA Tour season.

As part of her continuing legacy, the Annika Foundation was created in 2007 to provide educational and financial resources that will help children of all backgrounds realize their full potential.  The Foundation creates and partners with programs that teach the importance of living a healthy lifestyle through nutrition and physical fitness, and offer experiences and opportunities that enable aspiring junior golfers to pursue their dreams.

Tournament Week Attendance:
Monday          1,100
Tuesday         2,150
Wednesday    2,600
Thursday        14,000
Friday            15,600
Saturday        16,500
Sunday          17,000
Total Attendance     68,950 (new tournament record)

MEDIA CENTRE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCIPTS
Sunday interview audio and video transcripts of Katherine Hull, Se Ri Pak, Lorie Kane, Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam, Alena Sharp and Michelle Wie are available on line at www.cncanadianwomensopen.com.

NORTH AMERICA’S RAILROAD
CN – Canadian National Railway Company – 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 cities of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St. Louis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For further information please visit www.cn.ca.  

ABOUT THE ROYAL CANADIAN GOLF ASSOCIATION
The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) is the governing body of golf in Canada, representing 377,000 members at 1,600 clubs across the country. Recognized by Sport Canada as the National Sports Organization (NSO) for golf in this country, the RCGA’s mission is to grow participation in and passion for the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. The RCGA conducts programs and services to help shape the future of golf in Canada. High performance athlete development, CN Future Links, Canada’s national junior golf program, turfgrass and environmental research, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum, Rules of Golf and amateur status, handicapping and course rating are only some of the initiatives the association leads for golf in Canada. In addition, the RCGA 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 showcase the best in Canadian golf. 

For further information on what the RCGA is doing to support golf in your community please visit www.rcga.org.   
 
Media Contact:

Dan Pino
Director, Media and Public Relations
Royal Canadian Golf Association
Media Centre: (613) 736-1573
Mobile: (416) 434-5525
dpino@rcga.org