Isabelle Beisiegel Wins Canadian Womens Tour Order of Merit
Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:41:34
The victory was a resounding one for Beisiegel, as she was the only golfer in the 47-player field to play under par for the day. She finished the final round six strokes ahead of her closest rival, Liz Earley, of St. Catharines, Ont., and her two-round score of 140 was seven strokes better than Earley's two-day total.
Beisiegel, a Quebec native who now resides in Norman, Oklahoma, was already assured of an exemption into the Bank of Montreal Canadian Women's Open, the August 12-18 tournament that is the only Canadian stop on the LPGA tour, by virtue of her Women's Tour victory in British Columbia in May. Entering Tuesday's final round, Beisiegel was tied for first on the Order of Merit with Vancouver's Chris Greatrex, who won the second Women's Tour event in Calgary in June.
Exemptions to the Bank of Montreal Canadian Women's Open are awarded to the winner of each Women's Tour event, plus the top golfers in the Order of Merit and the top amateur. Beisiegel and Greatrex qualified via Tour event victories, as did Earley, who chose to decline her exemption as she strives to reach the top 10 on the Futures Tour. As a result, the next five golfers on the Order of Merit earned the remaining exemptions. This group included, in respective order, Laura Witvoet, of Ponoka, Alta., Carrie Vaughan, of Rothesay, N.B., Shelly Stouffer, of Nanoose Bay, B.C., Jennifer Wyatt, of Burnaby, B.C., and Mary Lee Cobick, of Amos, Que.
Vancouver junior Eom Ji Park, 17, carded a 75 today for a two-round total of 156 and a 14th-place tie, enough to boost her ahead of Toronto's Terill Samuel on the order of merit for the amateur exemption.
"This is beyond my expectations, I'm totally thrilled," said Beisiegel, who earned $5,000 for the victory. "I went out there and tried to play my best and it's really a blessing when you're able to win because you have no control over something like that. Just last Saturday, I made the decision that I just want to play golf and have fun while I'm doing it, rather than worry about the pressure. I decided that I want to continue to play aggressively and just accept whatever happens. It may have looked like every shot was easy today, but believe me it was still a mental battle."
In Monday's opening round, Beisiegel collected seven birdies, one shy of matching her personal best. She recorded five birdies on the way to victory on Tuesday, including three straight on holes 10, 11 and 12. The only blemish in her final round were bogeys on No. 8, when she landed in a bunker, and on No. 14, when she three-putted.
The Bank of Montreal Canadian Women's Open, August 12-18 at Summerlea Golf & Country Club near Montreal, will be the second LPGA event of Beisiegel's career. She played in the U.S. Women's Open in 1998 and finished in a tie for 36th place.
"I was so excited to learn that the Women's Open is in Montreal this year," said Beisiegel. "I wasn't going to go to British Columbia for the first Women's Tour event but my husband said you need to go to as many tournaments as you can to increase your chances of getting an exemption into the Women's Open. I want to thank him for that advice."
Conducted by the Canadian Professional Golfers' Association and the Royal Canadian Golf Association, the Bank of Montreal Canadian Women's Tour offers top women golfers an opportunity to compete at the highest level of tournament play and to qualify for the Bank of Montreal Canadian Women's Open."
