Ashli Bunch Claims Victory at CN Canadian Women’s Tour in Guelph

LPGA Tour member earns second exemption into CN Canadian Women’s Open

Guelph, Ont. (RCGA) – Ashli Bunch of Morristown, TN shot an impressive final-round 2-under par, 70, today at the Cutten Club in Guelph, Ont., to finish at 76-70-146 (+2) to claim her first career victory on the CN Canadian Women’s Tour.

With the win, the LPGA Tour member earned $10,000 and the second of seven exemptions into the $2.75 million (US) CN Canadian Women’s Open, which will be held August 31-September 6 at Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club in Calgary.

Click here for the full field final scores!

Bunch overcame the day’s unrelenting winds and cold temperatures to card four birdies and 12 pars to sit four strokes ahead of the competition. The deciding factor of today’s round was Bunch’s impressive putting.

“With the strong wind and cold weather today, the course was playing extra tough,” said Bunch. “I knew the scores wouldn’t be too low, so my main focus was getting into good positions by hitting fairways and greens.”

This was Bunch’s second Tour event, having previously placed T3 in the first CN Canadian Women’s Tour stop at Seymour Golf and Country Club in North Vancouver. After earning 600 points with today’s win, Bunch now leads the Order of Merit with 975 points.

Nicole Forshner of Banff, Alta., and Erica Moston of Belmont, CA both earned second place honours with a two-day total of 150 (+6). Three players tied for fourth with a total score of 151 (+7).

The Tour’s low amateur was former National Development Team member Brittany Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., who scored a two-day total of 78-77-155 (+11). Henderson birdied the 18th hole and carded 11 pars to finish T18.

The final stop on the CN Canadian Women’s Tour takes place July 13-15 at the Hillsdale Golf and Country Club in Mirabel, Que. Each stop on the 2009 CN Canadian Women’s Tour will feature a purse of $60,000, including $10,000 for the winner as well as an exemption into the 2009 CN Canadian Women’s Open and coveted Order of Merit points. The player with the most points at the end of the season will earn the Jocelyne Bourassa Player of the Year award.

The top four players on the 2009 Order of Merit who aren’t otherwise exempt, will earn the remaining exemptions into 2009 CN Canadian Women’s Open held at the Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club from August 31-September 6 in Calgary.

Now in its ninth year, the CN Canadian Women’s Tour has established a reputation as one of the premier women’s developmental golf tours in North America. Many of Canada’s top professionals have competed on the Tour including Lorie Kane, Isabelle Beisiegel and Alena Sharp. Each event plays out over 36 holes. With close to 300 participants annually in three championships across the country, the CN Canadian Women’s Tour continues to raise the bar for women’s professional golf nationwide.

More information about the CN Canadian Women’s Tour including a full listing of competitors, post-round results and championship start times are available through the CN Canadian Women’s Tour website at www.cncanadianwomenstour.com or Royal Canadian Golf Association website at www.rcga.org.

CN DELIVERS THE GREAT GAME OF GOLF
CN is proud to support golf in Canada and is pleased to bring the best of women’s professional golf to Canada with its title sponsorship of the CN Canadian Women’s Open and the CN Canadian Women’s Tour. In addition to supporting women’s golf, CN contributes to the development of golf among young people across the country through its sponsorship of the CN Future Links program. CN is pleased to work with the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) to help develop golf as a sport for women and juniors across Canada and to increase the accessibility of golf to recreational and competitive golfers. Visit www.cn.ca.

ABOUT CN CANADIAN WOMEN’S TOUR
Conducted by the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA), the CN Canadian Women's Tour is one of the world’s premier developmental tours, attracting rising Canadian and international female golf professionals as well as top female amateurs. The only women's developmental tour in Canada, the CN Canadian Women's Tour will offer premier championship play at locations across Canada, competitive purses and the opportunity to earn exemptions into the CN Canadian Women's Open, Canada's only LPGA Tour event. LPGA Tour professionals such as Lorie Kane and Alena Sharp competed on the Canadian Women's Tour, and used their experiences as a springboard to future success. For more information about the Canadian Women’s Tour visit www.CNcanadianwomenstour.com.

ABOUT THE ROYAL CANADIAN GOLF ASSOCIATION
The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) is the governing body of golf in Canada, representing 377,000 members at 1,600 clubs across the country. Recognized by Sport Canada as the National Sports Organization (NSO) for golf in this country, the RCGA’s mission is to grow participation in and passion for the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. The RCGA conducts programs and services to help shape the future of golf in Canada. High performance athlete development, Rules of Golf and amateur status, handicapping and course rating, turfgrass and environmental research, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum and CN Future Links, Canada’s national junior golf program, are only some of the initiatives the association leads for golf in Canada. In addition, the RCGA conducts Canada’s most prestigious golf championships. The RBC Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women’s Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while regional junior and national amateur championships showcase the best in Canadian golf.

For further information on what the RCGA is doing to support golf in your community please visit www.rcga.org.