China No. 1 woman golfer Feng gears up for National Games with Canadian warm-up

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-8-22 10:13:00

A road-weary Feng Shanshan returns to action on the US LPGA Tour Thursday as the China No. 1 woman golfer looks to turn around her fortunes at the CN Canadian Women's Open, a tournament where she has never finished better than equal 52nd in five previous appearances.

"This is my fourth week (of tournaments) in a row and I've been traveling from Britain to Japan for two weeks and then here on Monday, so still have a little jetlag, a little tired," the world No. 7 said Wednesday at Edmonton's Royal Mayfair Golf Club.

"But I think my game's okay. To be honest, I've never played well in any Canadian Opens so I have no pressure at all. I'm ready to set my new record for Canadian Open."

After finishing equal 10th at the NEC Karuizawa 72 tournament in Japan last weekend, and third at the Meiji Chocolate Cup the week previous, the big-hitting Guangdong native said accuracy will be paramount on the tight par-70, 6,403-yard Royal Mayfair layout.

"The fairways are a little narrow," said Feng, who finished equal 55th at the national championship in Vancouver last year. "The rough, it really depends if you get a good lie or not. If you get a bad lie then it might be pretty tough. The good thing is the greens are pretty soft, so that's helps."

Immediately following the tournament, Feng will return to China where she will be the key member of the Guangdong golf team competing at the 12th National Games in Liaoning.

"It's important for me to play well in the lead up to the Games and I'm treating it like it's another huge event on my schedule."

Among those in the field for the 2-million-US dollar Edmonton tournament are 22 of the top 25 players in the Rolex World Rankings, and all 12 members of the victorious European team that won the Solheim Cup last weekend in Colorado.

Also in the field is New Zealand teenager Lydia Ko who dominated against a pro field in Vancouver last year, winning the championship by three strokes over current world No. 1 Inbee Park.

American Stacy Lewis, the current world No. 2, experienced up close just how good the now 16-year-old Ko is when the two were paired together in the final round of last year's Canadian Open.

After making the turn at 34 at the Vancouver Golf Club, the South Korea-born Ko, the world's top amateur, reeled off four consecutive birdies starting at the 10th hole to leave the pro field in her wake with a final round 67.

"The back nine that she (Ko) played that day was unbelievable. Whether you're 15 or whether you're 30, it was unbelievable," said Lewis, winner of the Ricoh Women's British Open in Scotland earlier this month.

"It just shows the talent that's there. She still needs time to mature and to play week in and week out, but it shows she can have those great weeks and she can win out here."

Another youngster who will get plenty of attention this week is Charley Hull. The 17-year-old England native helped the Europeans retain the Solheim Cup last week as the youngest player ever to appear in the biennial tournament.

"Yeah, it was amazing because you're always dreaming of being able to play, and getting to the Solheim, especially with it being my first year on tour, it was just a dream come true. I absolutely loved every moment of it," said Hull who is playing this week on a sponsor's invite.

"The LPGA Tour is where everyone wants to be. The crowds are bigger, and everything is bigger and better. It's where the best players in the world are," said the teenager. "It's always been a dream of mine to be on the LPGA and get on it as soon as I can. So it's great that they're letting me come to the second stage, just really looking forward to it. Playing all these different golf courses over here, it's rather nice."

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