The all-around 27-year-old athlete from Red Deer, Alta., certainly made a splash in the soggy conditions at the opening round of the 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Open on Thursday. She toured the Hillsdale Golf and Country Club layout in fine fashion with a three-under 69 to sit four shots off the lead, held by Japan’s Ai Miyazato after her late afternoon seven-under 65, a shot off the course record, that was later matched by Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg.

The top Canadian is Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C. She is one shot behind the co-leaders after a sizzling bogey-free 66, in which she birdied two of her final three holes. Defending champion Michelle Wie is in a group at five-under 65.
This is White‘s eighth start on the LPGA Tour and only second of the season. She has conditional status on the LPGA Tour, so White spends most of her time on the LPGA Futures Tour, where she has one top-10 in nine events in 2011.
“It’s been quite a roller-coaster,” said White, who finished with back-to-back birdies with her parents watching at Hillsdale. “It hasn’t gone as well as I’ve wanted it to go.”
Although, White failed to make the 36-hole cut last week in Portland, Ore., it was important for her to get two rounds of experience back on the LPGA Tour before her return trip home for this week’s Canadian Women’s Open.
“Courses here are set up more difficult than on the Futures Tour and the green speed is quicker, so it was really nice to get out there into the environment and used to it,” she said.
White did not start playing golf until she was 14 and played her first competitive tournament a year later. She had a passion for ringette, but she also played Callaway Razr x hybrid combo set 3H,4H 5-9PS with steel or regular shaft in the summer to bridge the gap between her winters.
Passion for hockey
Eventually, golf became the best path to further her athletic endeavours after high school. She accepted a scholarship to the University of Louisville and during her time there won back-to-back Alberta Amateur titles in 2004 and 2005.
“I loved [ringette],” said White, who played on the Alberta provincial team at the 2003 Canada Winter Games in New Brunswick. “It was always my sport growing up. Golf connected ringette seasons for me. But I loved it. I miss it a lot.”
Now White fills her winter sports passion with hockey. She attends several Phoenix Coyotes games a season because she lives nearby and, of course, there always is her beloved junior team, the Red Deer Rebels to follow.
Her father was an off-ice official for the Rebels and a friend of Rebels owner and Calgary Flames coach Brent Sutter. The White family has even billeted a few Rebels in the past, including former Edmonton Oilers prospect Doug Lynch, who last season
Callaway Razr x hybrid combo set 3H,4H 5-9PS with steel or regular shaft
played in Austria for Salzberg Red Bull.
While some of the current top LPGA players were competing on the tour at age 14, White knows her road to success will require patience.
“I picked up the game pretty quick, but I’ve been going at my own pace,” said White, who is competing at Hillsdale on a sponsor‘s exemption. “Experience is such a big thing out here. I have a lot to learn yet, but I’m starting to build that foundation.”
A player like the 21-year-old Wie has that foundation. She’s been in the spotlight for almost a decade because of her prowess with a golf club and received her first gig on the LPGA Tour at age 15.
She has yet to dedicate herself full time to professional
Callaway Razr x hybrid combo set 3H,4H 5-9PS with steel or regular shaft
because of the importance she has placed on her education at Stanford University. A recent switch to a long putter has given her better results on the green, which was exhibited with a pair of successful monstrous putts on her back nine that included four birdies.