Brooke HendersonRoy MacGregor/The Globe and Mail
Samantha Richdale will be looking for back-to-back wins at the 2013 CN Canadian Women's Tour stop at Club de golf Cowansville in Cowansville, Que.
This marks the second of three CN Canadian Women's Tour events held annually across the country, featuring amateur and professional players – from Canada and abroad - competing in a two-day 36-hole stroke play competition.
Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., returns to action after capturing the season opening event in Tsawwassen in May. She leads a notable list of LPGA Symetra Tour players in the field including Canadians Kirby Dreher of Fort St. John, B.C., Isabelle Beisiegel of Saint-Hilaire, Que., Danielle Mills of Pointe-Claire, Que., Natalie Gleadall of Stratford, Ont., and Seema Sadekar of Toronto.
Team Canada's National and Development squads will be well represented with Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., returning to defend her title from last season. The 15-year-old became the youngest competitor to win a professional women's event worldwide last year when she bested Lisa Ferrero of Lodi, Calif., by two strokes to capture the title at 14 years, 9 months and 3 days. The Team Canada member recently finished runner-up to Richdale at the first event of the season and looks to also defend her Top Amateur of the Year Award from 2012.
Playing alongside Henderson will be national squad teammates, Jisoo Keel, 17, of Coquitlam, B.C., Augusta James, 20, of Bath, Ont., Brittany Marchand, 20, of Mono, Ont., and Christine Wong, 21, of Richmond, B.C. Development Squad members, Jennifer Ha, 19, of Calgary, Taylor Kim, 18, of Surrey, B.C., Naomi Ko, 15, of Victoria, B.C., Valérie Tanguay, 17, of St-Hyacinthe, Que., and Kathy Lim, 15, of Langley, B.C., are also entered in the field.
The second of five exemptions into the 2013 CN Canadian Women's Open will be on the line as well. Along with the winners of each of the three Tour events earning exemptions, the top two players on the season-ending Order of Merit will also gain entry into Canada's National Championship this August.
The third and final event of the CN Canadian Women's Tour is scheduled for June 17th at Ambassador Golf Club in Windsor, Ont.