Regina to host 2018 LPGA Tour event

Call it a trifecta.

The CP Women’s Open will be held in Regina next year, the same year the city will also host two other major sporting events – the Brier and the Memorial Cup.

It’s a first for the Queen City, but tournament director Brent McLaughlin is excited to bring the LPGA Tour to the Wascana Country Club, which he called a “great course and a great clubhouse.”

“There was no question,” he said. “When we went through the bid process with this a few years ago and looked at the bid that Regina had put together, it just stood out from all the others, just in the fact of their commitment to getting the LPGA Tour here.”

McLaughlin also said they’re confident Regina will be able to get enough volunteers – and spectators – to make the tournament a smashing hit.

The new venue will be exciting for the golfers, according to McLaughlin, and they’ll be able to build on the enthusiasm of the fans and volunteers.

“The players love it. They embrace it,” he said. “They love going to new communities where it’s fresh and exciting. Everything becomes new them.”

The LPGA Tour will bring the best female golfers to Regina, like CP golf ambassadors Brooke Henderson and Lorie Kane, along with past champions and LPGA stars such as Lydia Ko, Ariya Jutanugarn, So Yeun Ryu, Suzann Pettersen and Michele Wie.

“All the top players will be here, we know that, and the skill factors they bring, their personalities are fantastic,” said Greg Dukart, CEO of the Wascana Country Club. “It’s so good for our community and I think (fans) are going to have a chance to be up close and meet and greet and get autographs and just understand how great these people are.”

If you’re a member of the Wascana Country Club, you can expect a bit of disruption in 2018, as the club prepares for the tournament by altering the course for the elite golfers and spectators.

“You want to be able to follow a group from start to finish and not get cut off,” McLaughlin explained, adding they also have to make amendments like bleachers and corporate areas.

“It’s like building a little city.”

McLaughlin said it’ll take six to seven weeks once they start preparing the course.

“It’s a disruption for members that play on this golf course,” he said. “You come out here and you’re going to have forklifts around and the commitment that everybody needs to give to celebrate this event is truly special.”

The CP Women’s Open will be held at the Wascana Country Club from Aug. 20-26, 2018. Information regarding tickets, volunteering and corporate hospitality is available at www.cpwomensopen.com.

– With files from Warren Woods and Jamie Nye