CNNSI: Wednesday August 15, 2001

MARKHAM, Ontario (AP) -- No longer a major championship, Canada's LPGA stop is still a big deal to the tour's top players.

Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak top the field for the first Canadian Women's Open, with nine of the top 10 money-winners set to begin play Thursday on Angus Glen's South Course.

"It might not have 'major' status, but it's a major event," Sorenstam said Wednesday. "That's why I'm here. I know it will be run well and the courses will be good."

Three months after the du Maurier Classic folded because of Canadian restrictions on tobacco promotions, the Bank of Montreal agreed to a five-year sponsorship deal with the Royal Canadian Golf Association. The RCGA, which was not involved in the du Maurier, has a five-year contract with the LPGA to stage the event.

"We knew we were going to lose the tournament, and I did everything but get down on my hands and knees and beg," Canada native Lorie Kane said. "We were definitely afraid we weren't going to have a tournament, and because of the Bank of Montreal, we do."

The du Maurier's demise opened the way for the tour to elevate the Women's British Open to major status.

"It's weird to be here and not have that little bit of added pressure," said Webb, who won the 1999 du Maurier for the first of her five major titles.

Kane is attempting to join Jocelyne Bourassa as the only Canadians to win an LPGA event in Canada. Bourassa won the 1973 La Canadienne, the forerunner to the du Maurier.

"Nothing would make me happier," Kane said.

Kane, from Prince Edward Island, won her first three LPGA titles last year, and held off Sorenstam this season in the Takefuji Classic. She had a share of the third-round lead last year in the final du Maurier, but closed with a 76 to tie for fifth -- four strokes behind winner Meg Mallon -- at Royal Ottawa.

Sorenstam leads the tour with five victories, including four straight in March and April. The Swede became the first woman to shoot a 59 in tournament play, and won the Nabisco Championship the following week for her third major title.

"I'm running a little bit on low," Sorenstam said. "It's been busy. Really, really busy."

Webb is trying to recapture the form that carried her to consecutive major victories in June.

The 26-year-old Australian romped to an eight-stroke win in her U.S. Women's Open title defense, and won the LPGA Championship three weeks later to become the youngest woman to complete the career Grand Slam.

"I don't feel I'm on top of my game as much as I'd like," Webb said. "I'm working on a few things. Hopefully, they'll click and decide they're going to work together on the same day. I had it all going in June, but I've sort of overdone it."

Pak won the British Open two weeks ago, giving her three major titles at age 23. The South Korean has four victories this year, and 12 in four full seasons on the tour.

Divots: Sorenstam, Webb and Pak have combined to win all four majors and 11 of 26 tournaments this year. ... Dottie Pepper, No. 5 on the money list, is skipping the tournament. ... Oprah Winfrey's Oxygen cable channel will broadcast the final two rounds, using Canadian network CTV's feed. ... The 2002 tournament will be played at Summerlea in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec. ... Angus Glen will be the site of the PGA Tour's Canadian Open in 2002 and 2007, with the 2007 event set for the new North Course. ... The winner will receive $180,000 from the $1.2 million purse.