MICHELLE LIU will make history on Thursday when the 12-year-old tees off in the CP Women's Open as the youngest ever player in the tournament.
At the age of precisely 12 years and 279 days, Liu will break the previous record held by defending champion Brooke Henderson, who was 14 when she made her debut at the Canadian Open back in 2012.
But Liu did not need a wildcard to make her way into the draw, after the Vancouver-based youngster earned her place at the competition.
She finished as the best-placed Canadian golfer at the national Women's Amateur back in July, 12th overall and one stroke better off than her nearest rival Brigitte Thibault.
Liu is also already a decorated junior golfer as a two-time major champion.
She triumphed in her age group at both the IMG Junior and the US Kids Golf world championships back in 2017.
Having begun playing the game at the age of six, the 12-year-old is now playing alongside some of her idols and many of them have taken her under their wing.
Christina Kim and M.J. Hur, both three-time winners on the LPG Tour, were her playing partners on Monday as she took on Magna Golf Club in Aurora for the first time.
Liu said: "I think I really got to learn something from them.
“I especially [appreciated] how warm and welcoming they were to me.”
She added: “I feel like I’m getting pretty famous!
“It’s a new experience for me, so I would say that’s definitely pretty cool.
"Crazy is a good word for it."
The Canadian Open has a total prize fund of £1.4million but as an amateur, Liu will not be able to earn any prize money, even if she were to win the tournament.
But she still expects to be a little shaky on the first tee tomorrow for her LPGA debut.
Liu said: "Probably still pretty nervous.
“But I would say it’s just a matter of simplifying it [the game] to each shot instead of thinking too much about who is watching, what’s going on, that sort of stuff.”
Henderson, whose record Liu will break, had a few words of advice for her too.
Henderson said: "I played my first event [the CP Women’s Open] when I was 14 and it was life-changing.
"I learned so many great experiences from it. Met a lot of pros, which was pretty cool. I was pretty star-struck.
"I think maybe if she can get past that and just try to play her game, that would be best.”
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