The LPGA Tour is in Waterloo, Ontario this week for the Manulife LPGA Financial Classic. Brittany Lang won the inaugural event last year in a playoff and will defend her title.

Waterloo, Ontario is the home to Manulife Financial, an international insurance, investment and banking company. This is the second year that Manulife Financial has sponsored this event.

Local charities are always the big winner when the LPGA visits an area. Funds earned from this event go to the St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation of Kitchener, Ontario.

The tournament offers a total purse of $1.3 million and is played on the Grey Silo Golf Course. It is a public play facility that sits along the Grand River, inside the RM Park and is owned by the town of Waterloo. The course opened in 2000 and will play to a par-71 at 6,330 yards. 

Brittany Lang collected her only LPGA Tour win last year at the Manulife Financial Classic. She shot a final round 67 to tie with, Chella Choi, Inbee Park and Kee Kyung Seo, at 16-under par.

Lang had an excellent amateur career and was a member of the Duke University Women’s golf team for two years. She joined the LPGA Tour in 2005, has 37 top-10 finishes and has won $3.8 million in her career.

She struggled earlier this year, but is showing signs of regaining her form. She posted her first top-10 of the season at the U.S. Women’s Open. Lang is currently No. 43 on the Rolex Rankings and No. 40 on the 2013 LPGA Official Money List.

The Manulife Financial Classic will host a very strong field. All of the top names on the LPGA Tour are in the field this week. World No. 1 and U.S. Women’s Open Champion, Inbee Park, will be going for her seventh win of the season.

Stacy Lewis, Suzann Pettersen, Paula Creamer, Na Yeon Choi, So Yeong Ryu, Yani Tseng and Michelle Wie have all committed to play in Canada this week. 

The tournament can be seen on Thursday, July 11, and Friday, July 12, on the Golf Channel 12:30-2:30 PM ET. Golf Channel will also provide live coverage on the weekend at 2:30-5:30 PM ET.