Celeste Dao shows why she’s one of Canada’s top women’s golf prospects

“I turned the page,” Dao said. “I was ready to make birdies after.”

Dao bogeyed the seventh hole and had three birdies on the back nine for a solid 1-under-par 71.

“Being patient — that’s my big thing to play well,” she said. “I knew on the back nine there were par fives and par fours waiting for me.”

Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka shared the first-round lead at 8-under 64. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., was the low Canadian at 66.

Victoria amateur Naomi Ko (68) was four shots off the lead and Maude-Aimee LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que., opened with a 70. Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., joined Dao at 71 while amateur Ellie Szeryk of London, Ont., was at even-par 72.

Elizabeth Tong of Thornhill, Ont., had a 73 while Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., and Augusta James of Bath, Ont., were at 74.

Megan Osland of Kelowna, B.C., and Calgary’s Jennifer Ha came in at 75, Vancouver amateur Tiffany Kong shot a 76 and Anna Young of Saskatoon was at 78. Saskatoon native Bobbi Brandon and Charlottetown’s Lorie Kane were at 83.

Jocelyne Bourassa was the last Canadian to win this tournament, taking the 1973 title in Montreal.

Dao, from Notre-Dame-de-l’Ile-Perrot, Que., is considered one of Canada’s top young prospects. She won her first international title at the 2018 Mexican Junior Girls Championship and also qualified to play in the U.S. Women’s Open.

Dao uses a slow backswing and comes down on the ball with a seemingly effortless motion. Her crisp ball striking and impressive short game were on display Thursday and she’ll be a good bet to make the cut if she keeps it up in the second round.

“All the skills are there,” said Golf Canada junior squad women’s coach Matt Wilson. “She just needs to keep chipping away at it. The more experience and exposure that she can get against the best competition possible, the better it is for Celeste.”

Dao said she also whiffed on a shot in the fescue at last week’s Girls British Open Amateur in Northern Ireland.

This time, the ball settled under a large pine tree. She was forced to use a five-wood because her irons weren’t long enough to connect due to the overhanging branches.

After the miss, her third shot found the long grass and fourth shot landed in the sand. Dao managed a nice save and hit the short putt.

She drank some water and quickly focused on the second hole, forgetting all about her opening struggles. Wilson said Dao knows she’s fully capable of recovering and putting a rough hole aside.

“It’s not common among teenagers especially when they would likely mostly panic in that situation,” he said. “But again, she’s a very resilient kid and just hyper-competitive.”

Play continues through Sunday at the US$2.25-million event.

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Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Celeste Dao shows why she’s one of Canada’s top women’s golf prospects

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