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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 John Vander Wal Jersey . -- John Fox will coach the Denver Broncos from the sideline and not the booth upon his return Sunday five weeks after heart surgery. Trenidad Hubbard Jersey . Scrivens stopped 48 shots and captain Andrew Ference scored in overtime as the Oilers pulled off a 4-3 upset of the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/ . FLIP SAUNDERS (Timberwolves): Im not the least bit surprised that he appointed himself as head coach after his search concluded. Jairo Diaz Jersey . Bilbaos first victory in four rounds lifted it four points clear of Real Sociedad and kept it in command of Spains last Champions League berth for next season. In contrast, Betis was left 11 points from safety after a dismal performance that at times bordered on self-destruction amid some questionable refereeing decisions. Vinny Castilla Jersey . Hamilton signed offensive linemen Mike Filer, Joel Reinders, Landon Rice and Carson Rockhill.Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Nick Holden scored the go-ahead goal at 11:03 of the third period, and the Colorado Avalanche went on to post a 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night. Holden fired a point shot that deflected in off the stick of Panthers forward Scottie Upshall with one second left on a power play. Jarome Iginla added an empty-netter with 27 seconds remaining. The goal was the 573rd of Iginlas career, moving him into a tie with Mike Bossy for 20th all-time in NHL history. Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves for the Avalanche, who picked up their first win on a five-game road trip that began with one-goal losses to Washington and Carolina. It was an important one for our confidence. I thought our guys did a good job, said Colorado coach Patrick Roy. We were okay in the first, but I thought we played better in the second and third. Roberto Luongo stopped 25-of-28 shots for Florida, which opened a five-game homestand following a 4-2-0 road trip. I thought we worked hard, and we played good. I thought we were as good a team as they were, if not a little bit better, said Panthers coach Gerard Gallant. Disappointed to see that power-play goal happen latte in the game.dddddddddddd There was a lot of pressure by the Panthers to begin the game, but a breakdown in their own zone resulted in a goal for the Avalanche. Defenseman Tyson Barrie skated in freely from the right point with the puck and ripped a shot past Luongo at the 2:11 mark of the first period. Rookie defenseman Aaron Ekblad tied it three minutes later at the end of a 5- on-3 power play. The No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft snapped a shot from the high slot through traffic and behind Varlamov at 5:15. Floridas power play had been struggling of late, going 0-for-13 in the past five games. The Avalanche grabbed a 2-1 lead when Gabriel Landeskog made a strong move out from behind the net with the puck and slipped it under Luongos right pad at 13:02 of the second period. Colorados second lead lasted only 23 seconds. Aleksander Barkov went to the front of the net and tapped in Brad Boyes feed from the right wing for the tying goal. Game Notes Luongo played in his 837th career game, tying Jacques Plante for 11th all-time among NHL goaltenders ... Colorado rookie forward Borna Rendulic left the game with a foot injury and didnt return. ' ' '