Whistle Bear Golf Club: Early Summer vs. Late Summer

Early summer is replaced by late summer for one year at the Manulife LPGA Classic.

This week’s event at Whistle Bear Golf Club, 60 miles southwest of Toronto, moves back nearly three months from its early June date in 2015 when Suzann Pettersen beat Brittany Lang by one stroke. The inclusion of golf in the Rio Olympic Games in mid-August caused the LPGA to take three weeks off in August, followed by a Canadian double-header (last week’s Canadian Pacific Women’s Open in Calgary and this week) followed in two weeks by The Evian Championship in France, the final major championship of 2016.

Plans call for the 2017 Manulife LPGA to bounce back to its normal June date. Three of the previous four tournaments have been held in June, with the other the second week in July.

One result of the date change is a different golf course. Cambridge, Ontario, Canada is expecting similar temperature highs in the mid-70s to low-80s Fahrenheit as were experienced last June. However, a warm summer has quickened the golf course. Don’t expect winter-like conditions, which was experienced last Sunday in Calgary at the Women’s Open, with temperatures in the low 50s that caused American Cristie Kerr to don ear muffs.  

“I get to go play basically in my own backyard,” Alena Sharp, who hails from Hamilton, about 45 minutes east of Whistle Bear, said after a career-best fourth last week at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. “My parents will be there. I can’t really put into words how happy I am right now.

“We’ve had a drought in Ontario. It’s going to be firm and fast, so again, just getting used to the greens and how much they pitch on.”

No matter the time of year, the Manulife LPGA Classic has been one of the lowest scoring events on the LPGA, with the winning score being 20-under or less on three occasions. Here’s a look at the history of the tournament: