CNR Canadian National Railway Company

Past champions Brittany Lincicome, Michelle Wie, Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr and Katherine Hull to also compete at Royal Mayfair Golf Club

CN Miracle Match fundraising campaign kicks off in support of the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation

CN reaffirms its commitment to Canadian junior golf across Canada; activities for children and families planned throughout CN Canadian Women's Open Tournament Week

EDMONTON, June 17, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) and Golf Canada are pleased to announce that six past champions have confirmed their intention to challenge for the US$2.0 million purse at the 2013 CN Canadian Women's Open being held August 19-25 at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club.

Headlining the list of past champions is 16-year old defending champion and international amateur golfing sensation Lydia Ko of New Zealand who has accepted an exemption to defend her CN Canadian Women's Open title.

In 2012, Ko surprised the golfing world with her victory at the Vancouver Golf Club as she became the youngest player ever to win an LPGA Tour event. Ko also came into 2013 as the defending US Women's Amateur Champion, and top ranked woman amateur in the world. She has won three professional events including the 2013 New Zealand Women's Open, becoming the first New Zealander to win the event. Despite having played in only 17 professional events, Ko has risen to No.18 on the Rolex Women's Golf World Rankings.

Ko will be joined by a group of former CN Canadian Women's Open champions — world No. 3 Suzann Pettersen, world No. 11 Cristie Kerr, world No. 37 Brittany Lincicome, world No. 77 Michelle Wie and world No. 90 Katherine Hull.

Pettersen is an 11-time winner on the LPGA Tour including the 2009 CN Canadian Women's Open, while Kerr's victory at the 2006 CN Canadian Women's Open is one of 16 career LPGA Tour victories. Lincicome is a 5-time winner on the LPGA Tour including the 2011 CN Canadian Women's Open while Wie, the 2010 CN Canadian Women's Open champion and Hull, the 2008 champion both have a pair of career LPGA Tour victories.

"Lydia Ko has been one of golf's great stories in recent years and we're honoured to welcome her along with recent past champions Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lincicome, Michelle Wie and Katherine Hull back to the CN Canadian Women's Open," said Brent McLaughlin, Tournament Director of the CN Canadian Women's Open. "In addition to being tremendous talents and great ambassadors for the LPGA Tour, our past champions represent an important part of our event's history and I'm sure each of them will be among the crowd favourites during this year's championship."

A field of 156 competitors will vie for the US$2.0 million purse when the CN Canadian Women's Open makes its return to Royal Mayfair for the first time since 2007. Additional competitors including notable LPGA stars and Canadians as well as tournament exemptions will be announced in the coming weeks with the event expected to once again draw one of the strongest fields on the LPGA Tour.

CN MIRACLE MATCH PROGRAM NOW ACCEPTING DONATIONS
The 2013 CN Canadian Women's Open will help to raise money for the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation in Edmonton, the official charitable beneficiary of the CN Miracle Match campaign in 2013.

CN announced today the official launch of the 2013 CN Miracle Match fundraising campaign, and this year's goal of raising at least $1.8 million benefitting the Stollery and its program that provides transportation for children living in Alberta's remote communities to travel to and from the Stollery for treatment. Individuals and corporations looking to support the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation can visit www.cncanadianwomensopen.com to make their donation.

"At CN, we are committed to giving back to the communities in which we operate and we are especially proud of the assistance we are able to provide to pediatric care in Canada thanks to the CN Miracle Match program," said Claude Mongeau, CN President and Chief Executive Officer. "This year's campaign will support the Stollery in providing essential pediatric care to children in the Capital region and throughout Alberta, and we invite the public to make donations that will be matched by CN."

CN Miracle Match is a national charitable initiative designed to rally communities across Canada behind a very worthy cause, supporting children's hospitals. Each year since 2006, CN and Golf Canada have raised funds to support children's hospitals in the CN Canadian Women's Open host cities by matching funds raised through various initiatives that are connected with the championship. In the past seven years, the CN Miracle Match program has raised more than $8.2 million for children's hospitals.

When the final putt drops on Sunday of tournament week, that tally is expected to reach $10 million over the eight years of CN's title sponsorship of the Canadian Women's Open.

CN CONTINUES TO BE A CHAMPION IN JUNIOR GOLF
While 2013 marks the final year of CN's title sponsorship of the Canadian Women's Open, the railway leader is committed to supporting junior golf activities across Canada including its continued title sponsorship of CN Future Links - Canada's National Junior Golf program - through 2016.

In addition, three new initiatives will be launched under the terms of CN's new agreement with Golf Canada: The School Adoption Program and the Field Trip Program in 2013, and the Leader Program starting in 2014.

As part of its increased investment in junior golf, the CN Future Links junior golf program will be on full display during the CN Canadian Women's Open at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club. Children under 17 are permitted free access to the grounds all week long when accompanied by a ticketed adult.

Tuesday, August 20^th will be CN Future Links Junior Day and any adult accompanying a child to the event will gain free admission. As well, Tuesday of tournament week will see the Junior Skill Challenge National Event take place on site at Royal Mayfair with 24 qualifiers from across Canada selected from a leader board of nearly 5,000 participants expected to compete.  The 24 qualifiers will have travel expenses up to $500 subsidized by CN for travel to the event. Junior Skill Challenge activities will also be open to all children attending the CN Canadian Women's Open with daily prizes to be won.

As well, on Wednesday of tournament week, 58 CN Future Links participants from the Edmonton area will take part in CN Future Links Walk with a Pro during the Championship Pro-Am. The juniors will act as the ceremonial caddie for LPGA Tour pros on the 11thhole par 3 at Royal Mayfair and will make the pro's first putt on the hole.

TICKETS - DAILY, WEEKLY AND CLUBHOUSE PACKAGES
Tickets for the 2013 CN Canadian Women's Open are now on sale with advance pricing as follows:

ABOUT THE 2013 CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN
Stars of the LPGA Tour will challenge for the 2013 CN Canadian Women's Open from August 19-25 at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club in Edmonton Tickets can be purchased online, at www.cncanadianwomensopen.com, or by phone, at 1-866-571-5742. For up-to-date information about corporate packages, tickets, volunteer opportunities or corporate hospitality, please visit the website. The CN Canadian Women's Open is proudly sponsored by CN, CVS Controls Ltd.,RBC Wealth Management, TaylorMade adidas Golf, Molson Canadian 67, The Globe and Mail, Shaw, the City of Edmonton, The Glenlivet, AutoCanada, Jacob's Creek and CBC.

ABOUT CN
CN is a true backbone of the economy, transporting approximately C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network spanning Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico. CN - Canadian National Railway Company, along with its operating railway subsidiaries -- serves the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information on CN, visit the company's website at www.cn.ca.

GOLF CANADA - LOVE THE GAME. GROW THE GAME.
Golf Canada is the National Sports Organization and governing body for golf in Canada representing more than 340,000 golfers at nearly 1,500 member clubs across the country. A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada's mission is to grow participation, excellence and passion in the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. By investing in the growth of the sport and introducing more participants of all ages to the game, our goal is to be relevant to and respected by all Canadian golf enthusiasts from coast to coast. For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit www.golfcanada.ca.  

SOURCE CN