Some up-and-coming golfers need a place to call home when a major women’s golf tournament comes to the Foothills later this month.
While the top two women golfers in the world, Lydia Ko and Canada’s Brooke Henderson have a place to stay when the CP Open comes to Priddis Greens Golf and Country Aug. 22-28, that isn’t the case for some of the women trying to eke out a career in women’s professional golf.
“What we are short of is billets,” said Bas Wheeler, tournament chairman for the golf course. “Frankly a lot of the players don’t make a lot of money and they are looking for places to stay.
“We got more of those requests than we anticipated.”
Professional golf can be a grind.
Wheeler said he looked up the earnings of one of the players who made a request for a billet and she had earned $2,500 this golf season.
If the number of people who have stepped forward to volunteer for the event so far is any indication, finding extra billets shouldn’t be a problem.
The tournament is approaching the 1,200 number in volunteers.
Also needed are some Matt Dillon and Wyatt Earp types — marshals.
You don’t need to have the rules of golf memorized.
“Training is provided but it’s not like you are a walking-scorer where you need to know all about scoring,” Wheeler said. “Basically you need to be able to tell people to shut-up. It’s the guys you see on TV along the ropes with their hands in the air telling people to be quiet.”
The marshals will be keeping things quiet for some golfers who have caused a roar on the Ladies Professional Golf Association.
Eighteen-year-old Henderson, who won the major PGA Women’s Championship in June and is the no. 2 ranked woman golfer in the world, is entered.
Henderson will be fresh off representing her country at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro when she plays in Priddis. She already has some experience on the course having participated in a corporate event earlier this year.
The no. 1 player in the world, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, is also committed to playing in Priddis. She played practice rounds at Priddis earlier this season to prepare for the tournament.
Things are shaping up nicer than a good lie on the immaculate golf course.
“The infrastructure — the scaffolding and the boxes have started to go into place on the course, it is starting to take shape,” Wheeler said.
“And given the economy we are doing reasonably well on the corporate sales, side. We still have four or five pro-am teams for sale.”
This is the third time the scenic golf course has hosted an LPGA event. Karrie Webb won the Du Maurier Classic in 1999 and Suzann Pettersen won the 2009 CN Women’s Open at Priddis.
Money from the tournament will go to the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. The target is to raise $1.2 million.
For volunteer or ticket information go to www.priddisgreens.com
