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LONDON, Ont. - Winter was not kind to the London Hunt and Country Club, and Stacey Lewis heard stories about the poor condition the course was in. But when the No. 1-ranked golfer on the LPGA Tour arrived for this weeks Canadian Pacific Womens Open, she didnt notice the effects of the snow and cold weather. "The fairways are probably some of the best fairways weve had to hit off all year," Lewis said. "You really cant tell." Sixteen of 18 greens were unplayable, and course superintendent Jayson Griffiths said four or five were "over 90 per cent injured," including the 18th hole. Of the four acres of greens, three of them were gone. Players who walked the course in recent weeks could tell there had been damage, and they raved about the improvement. "Coming into this week I was pleasantly surprised of how well (the greens) were rolling," Canadian amateur Brooke Henderson said Wednesday. "I cant imagine the amount of work they must have put in to get this course in such immaculate condition." Griffiths said it took "countless hours." Those were spent preparing, seeding, watering, maintaining and waiting. The result was something he is proud of going into this tournament, which features nine of the top 10 players in the world. "Its just a humbling experience, it really is, and its just a lot of hard work," Griffiths said Tuesday. "I dont think there was a weekend where both Brent McDougall and Deb (Dale), my assistant, left this golf course. We were watering from morning till night if need be. It was 24/7, 14 weeks to get here. It was just a lot of extraordinary efforts." Griffiths began to realize in November how bad a winter this could be, and over time he saw the "worst-case scenario" develop. With the ground frozen "well below four feet" and no irrigation system as a result, he and his staff had a three-day window in April to get the greens back up to par. A crew of about 18 people seeded, germinated, watered the greens through 10,000-square-foot covers and waited. For a while, the course had just two greens to play on and 16 temporary ones, and members only got to play all of them beginning June 27. "We keep calling it the fifth season: patience," Griffiths said "We know that foot traffic on new seedlings, it just would not work. We would not be where we had if we had traffic." By the time players saw the course this week, it was tournament-calibre again. Thats essential with a field that features Lewis, LPGA Championship winner Inbee Park, two-time defending champion Lydia Ko and Suzann Pettersen, the top four players in the world. Tournament director Brent McLaughlin of Golf Canada said the field is "second to none," as usual. "We obviously want the best," he said on a conference call last week. "We are so lucky to have a long laundry list of such great players." Among the top-10 womens golfers, only 2010 champion Michelle Wie is not here. Wie withdrew last week because of a hand injury. Wies absence makes it a bit easier of a tournament on the other top players, but Ko — who won this event the past two years, in Edmonton and Vancouver — would like to beat the best. "We would never say that, Oh its good that shes out," Ko said on a conference call. "Its really unfortunate that she has a fracture. Shes such an awesome player, and it wouldve been great to have Michelle there." Eight former champions will tee off Thursday: Ko, LPGA Championship runner-up Brittany Lincicome, Pettersen, Katherine Hull-Kirk, Cristie Kerr, Meena Lee, Karrie Webb and Laura Davies. Kerr won this tournament in 2006, the last time it was at London Hunt and Country Club. How the course plays out the rest of the week, Griffiths said, will depend on how much it rains. Storms moved through the area Wednesday, and there were more in the forecast for Friday. Ko, a 17-year-old from New Zealand who seems to bring her best golf to Canada, said no matter the weather its important to play the courses giant greens as if theyre in sections. "If the pin is on the left side you kind of want to think that the green is only that left half," she said Wednesday. "But its going to be tough especially when you miss a couple shots, because even around the greens its not like there is fairway and then rough. Its just rough straight on." Its a difficult course because of that, but Canadian Jennifer Kirby expects a low-scoring tournament. "The rough is thick, but its not too, too bad," Kirby said. "I think that the scores will be pretty low, but the greens are massive, so I guess it all depends on where they put the pins." --- Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Nike Tn Requin Pas Cher . Directly ahead was open field, the end zone and the Seattle Seahawks place in the NFC championship game. Destockage Air Max Pas Cher . -- Ryan Gropp scored in overtime as the Seattle Thunderbirds shut out the Spokane Chiefs 1-0 in Western Hockey League play Tuesday. http://www.airmaxpaschersite.fr/.J. Hardy finally got in on the fun Saturday, against a likely opponent. Site Air Max Pas Cher Fiable . The best round belonged to Pat Perez. Tiger Woods didnt come close to claiming either Thursday in the Farmers Insurance Open, where the seven-time champion failed to break par in the opening round for first time in his career. Basket Air Max 90 Pas Cher . The 10-horse field of 3-year-old pacers will leave the starting gate at approximately 10:14pm et. Co-owned and trained by David Menary, Hes Watching will be driven by Tim Tetrick and is the 5-1 fourth selection in the field.NAPLES, Fla. -- Kirk Triplett jokes that fellow golfers say they think Bernhard Langer is human. "But I dont know," Triplett said. "I dont know." What Triplett does know is that he matched the defending ACE Group Classic champion for the lead at 10-under 134 after the second round Saturday. Triplett shot a 5-under 67 in windy conditions on TwinEagles Talon Course. Langer, also the 2011 winner and 2012 runner-up, followed his opening 64 with a 70. He won the season-opening event in Hawaii last month for his 19th Champions Tour title. "Hes the ultimate of our Champions Tour sport, right?" Triplett asked. "Hes out there, hes preparing, hes working, hes playing the same way that he played, hes treating this tournament playing like it was the Masters, right and not all guys do that. "A lot of guys do, but not everybody can pull themselves into that mindset week after week." This week, its Tripletts shot. Hes on an impressive streak, going 64 holes without a bogey. "Ive hit some nice shots, Ive hit some poor shots and gotten away with them, so thats going to put you usually pretty close," Triplett said. When Langer was told about Tripletts streak, he said, "Good for him. Triplett has two Champions Tour victories after winning three times on the PGA Tour. "Hes a very good ball-striker and great putter," Langer said. "I was paired with him at Pebble Beach when he won I think last year, so hes certainly a very good player and seasoned competitor.dddddddddddd" Langer birdied No. 17, then hit a 4-iron 200 yards from Bermuda rough over water to 12 feet to save par on 18. Last year, Langer built up a big lead after two rounds, then held off a couple of charges to win. This time, he looks as if hes in for a much tougher challenge. Duffy Waldorf and Olin Browne were 9 under. Waldorf, coming off a playoff loss to Michael Allen last week in Boca Raton in the Allianz Championship, shot 68. Browne had a 71. "A lot of times on the Champions Tour its like this, the scores can be bunched up," Langer said. "Its difficult to separate yourself in two rounds or three rounds and most tournaments are won by one shot or maybe two. "Every shot counts at the end of the week." Colin Montgomerie, playing in his 12th Champions Tour event, was 7 under along with Bob Tway. Montgomerie had a 67, and Tway shot 72. Montgomerie hasnt won an official PGA Tour-sanctioned event on American soil. "I won the World Match Play in Arizona," he said in mock protest. "They paid me a million dollars for winning, I suppose. I got a trophy. I beat Ernie Els in the semifinal, Davis Love in the final. "So I have won. Not a regular PGA Tour event, hows that, so Ill give you that. But Ive been bloody close on a number of occasions." ' ' '