News

2007 Canadian Open Preview

The Canadian Open is the third oldest national championship in the world. This week, the best players on the PGA Tour arrive at the North Course in Canada for the Canadian Open.

Published

19 years ago

Jul 24, 2007

D Grannan

Fresh off of a great weak at the British Open, the PGA tour returns from across the pond and heads north of the border. For the second time, Canada’s most prestigious event, The 2007 Canadian Open, will be held at the Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ontario. The third leg of the Triple Crown of open championships, The Canadian Open; holds the distinction of being the third oldest national championship in the world, just behind the U.S. Open, and The Open Championship.

There were also two changes to this year’s event, the date and the course. In 2002 the tournament was held on the South course and this year it will be held on the North Course. The second change was moving the date from September to July. This did not seem to bother J.C. Cunningham, general manager at Angus Glen, "We see this date change as a positive opportunity to promote the event as a family experience for golfers of all ages. The event is also an excellent opportunity to entertain clients and colleagues. The weather in July is spectacular and there’s no better way to pass the day with a colleague than watching some really outstanding golf."

Davis Love III’s design firm, Love Design has been overseeing the redesign of the North course in preparation for this year’s event. “I think you’ll find it to be a different course out there,” said Love III “It’s a wide-open, wild traditional, more Scottish links style look. I think the players when they get here, that’s what they are going to say. It’s a bold exciting golf course and it will be fun to play. Love was contracted after Angus Glen sought out his services to ready the course for this years’ event. Hopefully the players will enjoy the refinements to the Jay Morrish designed course as much as Davis does.

This week’s field will be definitely be affected by the close proximity of the event to The Open Championship, but that will not make the event any less exciting. Look out for Mike Weir, fresh off of a strong showing at the Open Championship, Stephen Ames, Vijay Singh, and defending champion Jim Furyk. Also scheduled to appear this week are tour favorites Chris DiMarco, John Daly, Camilo Villegas, Justin Leonard, Shigeki Maruyama and Jesper Parnevik. There are also 19 Canadians in the field including the before mentioned Mike Weir and Stephen Ames, plus Jim Rutledge, Ian Leggatt and 15 other Canadian hopefuls who look to take home their national championship for the first time since 1954, when Pat Fletcher won. The field this year has the attention of the tournament director, Bill Paul, “The field is set and we’re ready to kick off the 2007 Canadian Open, Canadian golf fans will be treated to a showcase at Angus Glen with a number of talented young Canadians set to challenge stars of the PGA Tour for our national Open title.”

This year’s purse is 5 million dollars, with the champion receiving $810,000. There are also 25,000 FedEx Cup points available. The North course plays to a yardage of 7,320 yards and a par of 71. Past champions include, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Greg Norman, Lee Trevino, Nick Price, Tiger Woods, VJ Singh and Jim Furyk. Surprisingly Jack Nicklaus never won this prestigious event, although he was a runner up 7 times. Should be a great event, and if last week was any indication of things to come, look out, there could be yet another exciting finish in store this week up in Canada.

Television Coverage:

Thursday             7/26: 3-6 PM ET      GOLF
Friday                 7/27: 3-6 PM ET      GOLF
Saturday              7/28: 3-6 PM ET      CBS
Sunday                 7/29: 3-6 PM ET      CBS

News

5 Things we Learned: Thursday at the U.S.. Women’s Open

Published

2 hours ago

Jun 5, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Gone are the days when the U.S. Women’s Open was held at Scenic Hills or Churchill Valley. Fine courses that they are (or were, as Churchill Valley went bankrupt a decade ago) there is something to be said for the venue. Not all Women’s Open playings need to take place on Men’s Open venues, but some should. This week in Los Angeles, the Women’s Open visits Riviera Country Club for the first time. Down the road, we will visit Inverness, Oakmont, Interlachen, Oak Hill, Chicago Golf, and Merion. That is quite the murderer’s row (1927 Yankees reference) of golf clubs.

What can we expect from the 2026 tournament? Greatness and uncertainty. Unlike the PGA Tour, which visits Riviera each February, the LPGA does not, so the women will not have nearly the body of work over the George C. Thomas layout. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe they’ll play #10 smarter than the men do. Maybe they’ll figure some things out that their male counterparts can not. For today, we’ll try to find five things to learn, and share them with you.

First, this ain’t your momma’s U.S. Open course

How do we know? Well, so far, only one previous champion currently sits inside the top thirty. That would be Minjee Lee, the 2022 winner at Southern (NC) Pines. Lee made par on her first nine holes, the inward side at Riviera. She dropped birdie putts on the first and ninth holes (ten and eighteen for her day) and tallied another seven pars, for 69. She sits three shots off Jennifer Kupcho’s opening 66. Don’t worry about Kupcho; we’ll get to her. After Lee, defending champion Maja Stark ranks T30 at even par, joined by three other, former winners.

What Minjee did, is the sort of thing that wins U.S. Open titles. She guided her ship safely past swells, and made a move when the waters calmed. The fewer the bogeys, the more likely Minjee figures in the outcome on Sunday evening in Pacific Palisades. Off the tee, Lee was unmatched. She hit 14 of 14 fairways. Her iron play was a bit loose in comparison. She putted for birdie on 12 of 18 holes, which meant that her recovery short game was on point. Lee was ten yards longer on measured driving holes than the field average, and was below the field average (a good thing) in putting.

Second, the amateurs beat a loud drum

Three of the world’s top amateur golfer posted 70, placing them four off the lead, in a tie for 14th place. Canada’s Aphrodite Deng, Spain’s Paula Francisco Llaño, and Colombia’s Maria José Marin, showed the professional world that their game is strong. Both Deng and Francisco Llaño collected five birdies on the day. Should they match that output on day two, and minimize the foozles, they’ll be the topic of conversation on Saturday morning. Marin, the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion and an NCAA team semifinalist last week, played a game similar to Minjee Lee: few mistakes and few taken risks.

The last amateur to post the low medal score for 72 holes was Jenny Chuasiriporn in 1998. She lost a playoff to Se Ri Pak, who matched her plus-six effort at Blackwolf Run. The last amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open was Catherine Lacoste in 1967. The amateurs are stronger than they’ve ever been, but the professionals have not allowed them to close the gap. A victory by one of the college set would be a cannon shot heard round the world. Could it happen? Absolutely. Is it likely? Not at all.

Third, let’s talk Kupcho

Jennifer Kupcho won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She won three times on tour in 2022, including the Chevron, a major title. She won a fourth event in 2025, but has not established the winning credentials projected on her after 2022’s marvelous coming-out.

Kupcho hails from Colorado, and spent four years in the Carolina Piedmont, at Wake Forest Universtiy. Neither of those locales cries out I’ll be at home at Riviera, but here we are, after a seven-birdie performance. Kupcho posted birdie on each of her first three holes, and added four more (against two bogeys) to assume a one-shot advantage over Korea’s Sei Young Kim.

Kupcho drove the ball decently, approached moderately well, but putted lights out on Thursday. Her 26 putts were tied for best in show on day one. There might just be something about the putting surfaces at Riviera that aligns with Kupcho’s vibe. If that is the case, just get the ball on the green, anywhere, and let the flatstick do the lifting.

Fourth, how young is Sei Young?

Sei (pronounced “So”) Young Kim won a dozen times from 2015 to 2020. She took time off from winning until 2025, shen she captured a thirteenth LPGA title. Like Kupcho, Kim has hardware from one major event, the 2020 Women’s PGA Championship. How to explain the five years away from victory? No idea. When Sei Young was in contention during the prime of her career, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

What to expect over the next three days at Riviera? Anyone’s guess. It might be the 2015-2020 Sei Young, or it could be the 2021-2025 version. Kim began her day with birdies at 10 and 11, then settled into a stretch of pars before her solitary bogey at the 4th (her 13th) hole. Kim regained her composure and reeled in three birdies to close the front nine. Her four-under performance trails Kupcho alone, and there is a real chance that Sei Young will produce a second score in the 60s and take a bit of control of the tournament.

Fifth, we’re giddy for Gaby

Although I cannot place my finger on why, it seems that each year, Gaby Lopez pops up on the U.S. Open leaderboard. She hasn’t figure out how to remain in contention, but here we are, in 2026, and Lopez is once again in the mix. The three-time champion on the LPGA circuit had a stunning first nine holes, turning in minus-five. She reached six deep at her tenth hole, but then gave three shots back coming home. Which Gaby will show up on Friday, and for how long? If back-nine Gaby can somehow channel front-nine Gaby, all outcomes are within reach. If the loose play continues, Lopez’ wiki page will add one more T41 to her majors column.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open

Published

2 days ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX Tour Photographer made the trip from the Memorial Tournament across the country to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera. Check out links to all the photos below!

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

4 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at the Memorial Tournament, with both Alistair Cameron and Tour Photographer Greg Moore on the ground in Dublin, Ohio, where a strong field is assembled to pay homage to the Golden Bear.

In addition to WITB galleries, we’ve already been treated to an in-hand look at Tommy Fleetwood’s new TaylorMade Spider putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums