FLOURTOWN, Pa. – Bernhard Langer won the Constellation Senior Players Championship for the third straight year, holing a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday for a one-stroke victory at windy Philadelphia Cricket Club.

The 58-year-old German star won his seventh senior major title – his fifth in the last 11 majors – to tie Hale Irwin for second place on the career list, a victory behind Jack Nicklaus.

“It was a tough, tough day,” Langer said. “The wind was so gusty and so strong at times, I was wondering if they were going to call the tournament today. The ball was oscillating a lot and there were a few putts, if you hit them at the wrong time, the ball would have just continued to go.”

Three strokes ahead at 2 under entering the round on the difficult Wissahickon Course, Langer closed with a 3-over 73 to finish at 1-over 281 – the highest winning score in the history of the event first played in 1983. Mark O’Meara had the previous record at 7 under in 2010 at TPC Potomac in Maryland.

In contention this year at the Masters, Langer held off Miguel Angel Jimenez and Joe Durant, saving bogey with a 6-footer on the par-4 17th and getting his birdie putt to drop on the par-4 18th after it caught the edge and circled the cup.

“I didn’t make anything until I made about a 6-footer on 17 and a 12-footer on 18, that was about it,” Langer said. “Made nothing all day and had many opportunities. Now, you know, whether that was me or the wind or the greens, who knows, but it was difficult and I don’t think there were many good scores.”

Langer parred 10 of the first 11 holes on the A.W. Tillinghast-designed layout, making a bogey on the par-3 third. He also bogeyed the par-4 12th and was fortunate to escape with the bogey on 17.

“My patience was good, it really was good all day,” Langer said. “I was fortunate that I was never really caught. I think I was always in the lead all day, even though it dwindled to one or two at a time, but I was always in the lead. So even though I made some bogeys here and there, I still kept my nose in front. … I just couldn’t make the putts.”

Langer became the oldest winner in the history of the tournament and earned a spot next year spot in The Players Championship. He won in 2014 at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh and last year at Belmont in Massachusetts.

“It feels great to have achieved the hat trick in this tournament the last three years,” Langer said. “It’s amazing, I still have to pinch myself to realize what happened.

Langer has three victories this year, also winning the Chubb Classic in Florida in February and the major Regions Tradition last month in Alabama.

“When you keep winning, confidence breeds success and success breeds confidence,” Langer said. “When you’re constantly up there, it’s like when Tiger (Woods) was up there almost every time he teed it up, he’s used to that. You get used to the pressure, you get used to being in the hunt and you get used to winning.”

The two-time Masters champion is third on the tour victory list with 28, one behind Lee Trevino. Irwin is the leader with 45.

“Well, he’s Bernhard Langer, you know?” Jimenez said. “He’s a top class player for many, many years. He’s an outstanding player. Still very fit, still strong, still passion with golf.”

Jimenez and Durant each shot 68 for the low rounds of the day.

It’s tough from the very beginning all day long,“ Jimenez said. ”Par is good in this condition, it’s very good. … The golf course is a magnificent golf course. Beautiful. People say it’s always nice and we play with a lot of wind here, but the condition of the course is perfect and it’s a great track.“

Durant birdied the 15th and 18th holes.

“What a beautiful golf course,” Durant said. “We’re having a ball playing here, it’s just very hard. The wind hasn’t been down at all the entire week and it’s just been tough, and when it dries out it makes it that much tougher.”

Brandt Jobe was fourth at 3 over after a 71.

“It was swirling so hard,” Jobe said. “I mean, from 105 yards we played a 150-yard shot, so how do you gauge that? But the golf course is playable. We had to have gusts over 40 today. It was brutal, but I think today was the toughest day because it was hard to putt.”

Kelowna, B.C. – Syracuse, New York’s Dan McCarthy took a commanding lead on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit Sunday, cruising to victory at the inaugural GolfBC Championship at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club.

The 30-year old managed a final round 7-under 64, including a hole out from 102 yards on the par-5 12^th, to win by seven over Vancouver, B.C.’s Ryan Williams. McCarthy shot 25-under 259 for the week, setting the new PGA TOUR-era scoring record on the Mackenzie Tour for 72 holes.

With the win, McCarthy strengthens his lead atop the Order of Merit to $30,053 over Adam Cornelson, putting him in position to earn exempt status on the Web.com Tour for 2017.

“It hasn’t even fully hit me yet, but I’m sure it will on the way home when I have some time to decompress.” said McCarthy, who also claimed victory two weeks ago at the Freedom 55 Financial Open. “It feels so good. I’ve worked really hard for a really long time, so this is a really nice culmination of it all.”

Starting the day two strokes ahead of Williams thanks to a hole-out eagle from 103 yards on the 18^th hole Saturday, McCarthy built a four stroke lead after 10 holes, then holed out for eagle again on the 12^th to remove any doubt of who the week’s winner would be.

“I think I’ll be laying up to 102 or 103 a few more times this year. That was really fortunate to have two hole outs on the weekend,” said McCarthy.

The victory marks the first time a player has captured two victories in the first three starts of the season since Joel Dahmen won the Freedom 55 Financial Open and Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON in 2014. McCarthy said he plans to keep trying to make as many birdies as possible as he chases a promotion to the Web.com Tour in 2017.

“It sets me well ahead of everyone else, and now they’re chasing. I’m not going to let up and I’m going to keep my foot on the pedal. These guys are really, really good up here, and I’m sure many of the guys will give me a run for my money,” said McCarthy.

One shot behind Williams in solo third was Laurens, South Carolina’s Caleb Sturgeon, while Temecula, California’s John Chin was two shots further behind in solo fourth.

IVANHOE, Ill. – Max Homa won the Rust-Oleum Championship on Sunday for his second Web.com Tour victory, closing with a 5-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over Josh Teater and John Mallinger.

“I feel better and better after each minute,” Homa said. “It feels a little surreal. I don’t think it will sink in until tonight or tomorrow, but I feel very proud.”

The 25-year-old former California player overcame a seven-stroke deficit. He birdied the par-5 14th and 15th holes, bogeyed the par-3 17th and parred the par-4 18th to finish at 13-under 275 at Ivanhoe Club.

Teater, the third-round leader, bogeyed the final hole for a 75 after hitting his second shot over the green. He also narrowly missed a 10-foot birdie putt at 17.

“I wanted to have a chance (at a birdie), but I just didn’t hit the shot I wanted,” Teater said. “It wasn’t great all day, but hung in there.”

Mallinger had a 69. He eagled the 15th and parred the final three.

“I thought I was going to be in a playoff,” said Homa, also the 2014 BMW Charity Pro-Am winner. “Those last three holes are very hard, and I’d be very impressed and he’d be a worthy champion. But I got a little lucky there.”

Homa earned $108,000 to jump from 52nd to ninth on the money list with $147,953, with the top 25 at the end of the regular season earning PGA Tour cards.

“I’m curious to see because my game is far and away the best it’s ever been,” said Homa, the 2013 NCAA champion. “Not just this week, but this season. I put in a lot of work. I think my mental game is getting to the point where it needs to be to contend with the big boys. I’m curious as you to see where it goes. I’m looking forward to the rest of this season to continue to grow and to next year to be able to put what I’m learning to good use.”

Team RBC players, including world no. 1 Jason Day, Matt Kuchar, Graeme McDowell, Ernie Els, Brandt Snedeker, Ryan Palmer and Jim Furyk, as well as Canadians David Hearn, Graham DeLaet, Adam Hadwin, Nick Taylor and Mike Weir are among the players to confirm their appearance at the 2016 RBC Canadian Open taking place July 18-24 at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

Other notables include world no. 6 Dustin Johnson, rising star Bryson DeChambeau and world no. 1 amateur John Rahm.

Click here for the full list of players confirmed for the 2016 RBC Canadian Open.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Golf Canada and RBC are pleased to announce that Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., has been selected to host the 2017 edition of the RBC Canadian Open.

The Jack Nicklaus-designed layout in Oakville, Ont., will host Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship for a record 29^th time. The 2017 event will mark a consecutive run of three years at the venerable Glen Abbey Golf Club which began in 2015 when Jason Day was crowned the RBC Canadian Open champion. The world no. 1 ranked Australian narrowly edged out Bubba Watson along with 54-hole leader David Hearn of Brantford, Ont. who finished alone in third.

The 2016 RBC Canadian Open will run July 18-24 while the 2017 edition will welcome the stars of the PGA Tour next year from July 24-30.

“Together with our partners at RBC, we are proud to announce the return of the RBC Canadian Open to Glen Abbey in 2017,” said Golf Canada CEO Scott Simmons. “Golf fans from Oakville, Halton Region and the Greater Toronto Area have traditionally shown tremendous support for the event. Glen Abbey is one of the world’s premiere stadium courses for fans and spectators and this three-year consecutive run will allow us to build momentum and community excitement both for this year and leading into next year’s 108^th playing of the Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship.”

Designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus, a seven-time runner-up at the event, Glen Abbey will celebrate its 40^th anniversary in 2016.

“RBC is proud to be the title sponsor of this important event for the 9th year,” said Mary DePaoli, chief brand and communications officer, RBC. “Glen Abbey is a world class venue to showcase our National Open Championship, and to have the tournament return again next year creates enthusiasm and anticipation with golf fans and the local community.”

The return to Glen Abbey through 2017 marks the first time since 1998, 1999 and 2000 that the renowned club has hosted three consecutive RBC Canadian Opens. The golf club also hosted back-to-back championships in 2008 and 2009.

The 2016 RBC Canadian Open will once again raise funds in support of the competition’s national charity partner – Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada – along with the Golf Canada Foundation in support of junior golf initiatives.

Golf Canada owned and operated Glen Abbey Golf Club from 1982 until the fall of 1998 when the property was sold to ClubLink. Considered by many to be the home of Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship, ‘The Abbey’ hosted 22 Canadian Opens between 1977 and 2000. The tournament returned in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2013 and 2015 in addition to this year’s event in July. Golf Canada’s head office and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum are located on the grounds of Glen Abbey Golf Club.

Information regarding tickets, free 17-and-under junior passes, volunteer opportunities and corporate hospitality for the 2016 RBC Canadian Open can be found at www.rbccanadianopen.com.

SAMMAMISH, Wash. – Just three holes into her round, Brooke Henderson could tell she needed a spark.

Her fourth career hole-in-one and a new car – to be donated to her caddie sister – did more than enough.

Made good on my promise to Brit…she gets the hole-in-one car!! Thanks for the right yardage, sis @Titleist pic.twitter.com/TY71epKALA

— Brooke Henderson (@BrookeHenderson) June 9, 2016

Buoyed by the early ace and birdies on her final two holes, Henderson took the early lead Thursday in the Women’s PGA Championship, the second of the LPGA Tour’s five major championships.

The 18-year-old Canadian, ranked fourth in the world, had a 4-under 67 on a cool day at Sahalee Country Club. Henderson aced the 13th hole – her fourth hole of the day – hitting a 7-iron from 155 yards to the left side of the green. The shot caught the apron and funneled directly to the cup.

“It really helped out a lot and gave me momentum for the rest of the day,” Henderson said.

Henderson, form Smiths Falls, Ont., was at 3 under after making a birdie at the difficult par-4 18th – her ninth hole of the day – which yielded just five birdies among the early players. But she began to struggle with her driver, hitting the ball left off the tee on three straight holes to start her back nine and dropped two shots.

Henderson rebounded with birdies on three of her final four holes. She capped the run with a short putt on the par-3 ninth to take a two-shot lead.

“Making the turn I was a little shaky,” Henderson said. “Hit a couple of bad drives. But I was able to scramble, get up-and-down a couple of times that really saved my round and then finished really strong.”

Henderson won in Portland last year and has nine top-10 finishes this season.

Christina Kim and I.K. Kim followed at 69, with the afternoon wave still on the course.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko had an even-par 71 in a round that featured 14 pars, two birdies and two bogeys. Both of Ko’s bogeys came after she missed the fairway and had to pitch out from the trees.

Christina Kim was at 2 over after three holes before rallying on her second nine.

“This place has absolutely drained me. I’m very, very thankful I was able to play early today,” said Kim, fourth last week in New Jersey after finishing second the previous week in Michigan.

After seeing above average temperatures earlier in the week that dried out the fairways and greens, players were treated to much cooler conditions on Thursday with rain showers popping up in the afternoon. The cooler, wet conditions are expected to last through the weekend.

Three-time defending champion Inbee Park was in the featured group in the afternoon. The 27-year-old Park will become eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame at the completion of the round, making her the youngest player in tour history to reach the eligibility threshold and the first since Se Ri Pak in 2007.

Pak withdrew after seven holes Thursday afternoon due to an arm injury.

No one caught Henderson’s ace on camera, but there is footage of the after scene. 

Thx to our Japan TV Partner WOWOW, they captured @BrookeHenderson on the green after her hole-in-one @KPMGWomensPGAhttps://t.co/Y9MKl6mKle

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 9, 2016

ACTON, ONT. — The PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf begins next week at one of the country’s most beautiful golf settings.

Sixty-four of the PGA of Canada’s best players tee it up June 13-16 at Victoria Golf Club in Victoria, B.C., all vying for the association’s most prestigious championship and historic P.D. Ross trophy.

“As head PGA golf professional at Victoria Golf Club, I am extremely excited to showcase our club and our course for this year’s PGA Championship of Canada,” said Lindsay Bernakevitch. “We have a great history here at Victoria Golf Club and the P.D. Ross is one of the most iconic trophy’s in all of golf, so the marriage between the course and the championship is outstanding.”

Founded in 1893, the Victoria Golf Club is the oldest course in Canada on its original site. The seaside links venue boasts craggy shorelines, lush fairways, challenging ocean breezes and undulating greens, which conjure up images of historic links venues in Scotland.

“Victoria Golf Club is a very strategic golf course,” Bernakevitch said. “The course simply can’t be overpowered, watch out for the player who is tactical, understands the angles of approach shots and can putt on tricky greens to be the champion at week’s end.”

Re-launched in 2011, the PGA Championship of Canada was contested strictly as a match play event thru 2014 with players from the four brackets—Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman—looking to advance through the six rounds to capture the historic P.D. Ross trophy. However, this year’s championship at Victoria Golf Club sees the 64 top-ranked players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC playing two rounds of stroke play. The top-16 players from the 36-hole stroke play portion of the event fill out the four match play brackets with the eventual champion winning four match play rounds.

Danny King looks to become the first back-to-back winner of the championship since Knudson won in 1976 and 1977. In 2015, King bested Oliver Tubb 1-up in the final match at Cabot Links in Inverness, N.S.

“To have my name etched on this trophy among the legends of golf is really surreal,” King said after winning last year. “Guys like George Knudson who mentored me when I was growing up and Bob Panasik, a man I absolutely admire, have won the PGA Championship and now I can say I have too.”

In addition to King, past champions of the PGA Championship of Canada include Moe Norman, George Knudson, Dave Levesque, Eric Laporte, Bryn Parry, Al Balding, Bob Panasik, Tim Clark, Lanny Wadkins, Jim Rutledge, Wilf Homenuik, Stan Leonard, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer.

King, Rutledge, Levesque, and Parry are all in the field at Victoria Golf Club.

The player who sits atop the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC at the conclusion of the PGA Championship of Canada earns an exemption into this year’s RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.

Currently, Walsh sits No. 1 on the player rankings with 286 points, ahead of ‘14 PGA Championship of Canada winner Levesque and ‘13 winner Parry of North Vancouver.

In addition to Walsh, Levesque and Parry, eight of the top 10 players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC will be in the field at Victoria.

For the full field and first round tee times, click here.

SUTTON WEST— Conditions were finally better for the remaining field at the Investors Group Ontario Women’s Senior and Mid-Amateur Championships, on June 9, as the final round concluded at The Briars Golf Club in Sutton West.

After the cut, following the second day, 62 players remained for the final round. For the championship, all senior aged players were eligible for both titles, while a field of 13 were exclusively competing for the Mid-Amateur.

Entering the day, Wasaga Beach’s Kristy McLaughlin, held a two-shot lead in the Mid-Amateur. The 30-year-old Mad River Golf Club member had put together a strong tournament finishing with rounds of two-over (74) and one-over (73). She would continue her steady play during the final round and went on to capture the title following a two-over (74) final round.

McLaughlin (74-73-74-221) started well with a birdie on the first hole before back-to-back bogeys on two and three. She got back to even with a birdie on the fourth and finished the front nine one-over due to a bogey on six.  After a pair of bogeys on the back nine, McLaughlin’s lead was down to just one after 15. However a clutch birdie on the 17^th hole helped put it out of reach as she went on to win the championship.

McLaughlin summed up her win after the round. “It feels great to win this. I have the Ontario Ladies Match Play Championship under my belt, but never had a win like this. I had a great day, I was striking the ball well, so it feels good.”

“I came into the day focused on playing steady. I just wanted to make pars. If a few birdies fell then great and if I made a bogey I would just make it up. I knew it was getting close at one point, so I knew I had to grind it out. I birdied 17 and that allowed me to get to 18 with a little more confidence,” added McLaughlin.

Finishing in second in the Mid-Amateur and winning the Investors Group Women’s Senior Amateur Championship was Thornhill’s Judith Kyrinis. Kyrinis, 52-years-old and a member of the Thornhill Golf & Country Club, came into the final round sitting third overall and second in the Senior Championship at seven-over.

Kyrinis was able to battle though some tough spots early and managed to get to the turn at just two-over.  She continued to be steady on the back nine and then hit back-to-back birdies on the 14^th and 15^th holes. That ended up being the clincher as she ended the day two-over (74), for a tournament total of nine-over (75-76-74-225).

The win was a long time coming for Kyrinis who talked about what it meant to her. “It feels fantastic, I am a little lost for words. I had a little trouble early with my drives, just not getting my legs going, and had a little bit of nerves. I knew what I was doing wrong, so I just tried to be patient and I got things going on the back nine.”

Kyrinis pointed to her back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15 as a real turning point for her during the round. “It really calmed me down. I made some good shots in there and when you feel like you are swinging well and the putts drop, it’s nice.”

Rounding out the top three in the Mid-Amateur Championship was a tie between Picton’s Casey Ward (Picton Golf & Country Club) and Newmarket’s Christine Ryckman. Ward (78-78-74-230) and Ryckman (80-74-76-230) each finished the tournament at 14-over.

There was a tie for silver in the Senior Championship between St. Thomas’ Mary Ann Hayward (71-78-83-232) and Uxbridge’s Gail Pimm (78-77-77-232). Thanks to their 16-over tournament total, Hayward (St. Thomas Golf & Country Club) and Pimm (Whitevale Golf Club) will join Kyrinis as the representatives for Ontario in the team competition at the Canadian Senior Women’s Championship, Aug. 24-26, at Wolf Creek Golf Resort in Ponoka, Alberta.

In addition to the overall champions, there were two other division champions crowned within the Senior Championship. Capturing the 60 and over division was Brockville’s Theresa deLuis, from the Brockville Country Club. She finished at 19-over (83-79-73-235) for the tournament to win the title. In the 70 and over division, it was Blue Mountain’s Maureen Burns who took the gold medal. Burns, from the Blue Mountain Golf & Country Club finished with a two-round total of 42-over (93-93-186).

District teams also competed during the championships. Winning the Senior Gross Championship was York District at a total of 474. The team consisted of Kyrinis, Marion Reid (Islington Golf Club), Joanne Noble (Weston Golf & Country Club) and Debbie Court (Toronto Golf Club).

The Senior Net Championship was won by London District at a total of 454. The team was made up of Hayward, Sue Postian (Sunningdale Golf Club), Jayne Hedges-McKinnon (Bear Creek Golf & Country Club) and Irini Perivolaris (London Hunt & Country Club).

The team from Scarboro District won both the Mid-Amateur Gross and Net division titles. The team, made up of Kathy Pilkey (Sleepy Hollow Golf Club) and Helen Williams (Station Creek Golf Club), finished with a 331 gross score and 305 net score.

For the third time in the past six years, the U.S. Open will go on without three-time champion Tiger Woods.

Woods said on his website Tuesday that he is not ready for tournament competition and will skip the U.S. Open next week at Oakmont, along with his Quicken Loans National the following week at Congressional.

“While I continue to work hard on getting healthy, I am not physically ready to play in this year’s U.S. Open and the Quicken Loans National,” he said. “I am making progress, but I’m not yet ready for tournament competition.”

Woods first missed the U.S. Open in 2011 when he was recovering from leg injuries. He missed in 2014 at Pinehurst No. 2 while recovering from his first back surgery a week before the Masters that year.

He has not played since a tie for 10th in the Wyndham Championship in August. Woods had two more surgeries on his back after that, in September and October.

Meanwhile, his absence fueled speculation about when he might return, even though Woods repeatedly has said he does not know. Woods played five holes when he opened his golf course in Houston, and also was seen swinging a club at a junior clinic in South Carolina and at his media day at Congressional – three swings from 100 yards to the 10th green, all of them in the water.

Jack Nicklaus said last week at the Memorial he expects Woods to return.

“I think Tiger would have liked to have played this week,” Nicklaus said. “He’s just not ready.”

Since Woods was exempt from having to qualify because he won the 2008 U.S. Open, his spot will be filled by an alternate from the 12 sectional qualify sites, though it was not clear which one. The USGA compiles an alternate list that is based on how many spots each qualifying site was allocated and the strength of each field in determining the list.

When qualifying ended on Tuesday, and with Woods saying he will not play, 149 of the 156-man field for Oakmont was set.

The USGA set aside six spots for any players who crack the top 60 in the world ranking after this week. One of them will be William McGirt, who now is No. 44 in the world after winning the Memorial. If fewer than five more players get into the top 60, the extra spots also go to the main alternate list.

But if a player who qualified has to withdraw, his spot is taken by the alternate from his qualifying site.

Meanwhile, speculation on when or if Woods returns this year will resume after two weeks. The Greenbrier Classic, which he has played twice in the last four years when not dealing with injuries, is July 7-10. That’s one week before the British Open at Royal Troon.

The PGA Championship is two weeks after Troon, followed by the Travelers Championship, the John Deere Classic and the Wyndham Champion. Woods has never played the Travelers Championship and has not played at John Deere since he was a 20-year-old rookie.

After that, he would not be eligible for any PGA Tour event for the next six weeks during the FedEx Cup and Ryder Cup.

There is a rhythm, a tempo, to the sway of a regal train, particularly one grand enough to have carried Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth and other assorted royalty, dignitaries and celebrities, that the most successful, the most consistent of golfers can appreciate.

“Blue sugar!’’ laughs Lydia Ko, setting eyes on the icing of a mini-cupcake as a small lunch plate of salami, prosciutto and a mini-burger is dropped on the table.

“Where did they get that?”

There’s something comforting, even disarming, in seeing the world’s No. 1 female golfer, winner of 12 LPGA tournaments, including two majors, and over $5.9 million in career prize money, still being able to get charged up over something as you-and-me mundane as a dollop of blue icing.

Just an everyday, ordinary teenager jacked by a sugar overload.

Ko, of course, is anything but ordinary. She is, in actuality, a prodigy, in her field what Mozart was to a fortepiano or Bobby Fischer to a chess board.

The youngest-ever player to win a professional tournament, woman or man [a record since bettered by Canadian sensation Brooke Henderson];

• The youngest-ever Major winner, woman or man;
• The youngest ever to be ranked No. 1;
• The youngest ever to claim the Rolex Award as the LPGA’s player of the year;
• Named one of Time magazine’s Most Influential People for 2014.

Aboard the fabled Royal Canadian Pacific on this day, though, promoting the CP Women’s Open at Priddis Greens Golf Club outside Calgary, August 22^nd to 28^th, she’s not the woman to beat each and every weekend or a role model/idol to a new generation of ball-strikers, but a 19-year-old snapping selfies to post, kibitzing with her mom and sister.

That, too, draws us in.

Ko’s Canadian ties stretch back almost to the beginning. Her family immigrated to New Zealand from Seoul, South Korea when she was six years old. Raised in Albany, N.Z. and now living in North Harbour, the family very nearly relocated to Ontario.

“My sister was studying in Toronto at the time,’’ she’s explaining over the click-clack, click-clack of the Royal Canadian Pacific steaming down the tracks. “Our family was actually planning on moving to Canada but some little issues came up so we ended up going to New Zealand. Maybe that connection of me almost living in Canada might be a little spark that happens (when she plays here).”

“Whenever I come to Canada it feels a lot like New Zealand. Even just driving here this morning, I see these houses and it feels like a neighbourhood in New Zealand. It feels a lot like home. I feel a really huge welcome.”

Someone should really make her an honorary Canadian.

As a 15-year-old amateur Ko gobsmacked the golf world at the Vancouver Golf Club, winning the CN Canadian Open by three shots over Inbee Park. She defended that title, again as an amateur, at the Royal Mayfair in Edmonton a year later, then returning to the scene of her B.C. triumph last fall and chalking up a third, besting American Stacy Lewis in a playoff.

No wonder she’s developed a love-in with this land.

“Coming to play in that first Canadian Open, it was two weeks after I won the U.S. Amateur. As an amateur you always dream of winning that tournament.

“So afterwards I was so emotional, so happy. I think it took me a couple days to settle down a little bit. Christina Kim ran up to me and said ‘Hey, congratulations on the win.’ And that’s when I felt,’ Hey how amazing is this sport?’

“For me that week the goal was just to make the cut. I wasn’t expecting anything else. After two days I put myself in good position, after three days I put myself in a really good position. Then the fourth round was one of the best final rounds I’ve had in my career.’’

For someone so young, the expectations people have for her are mighty; the bar she herself has set, dizzying.

“There is pressure and stress, especially the higher you go,’’ she admits. “But if it’s not fun, it’s not worth it. You’ve got to have fun to have a long career. And golf is a sport where you can play for a long time. And there’s so much more than the results and the trophies.”

“To be honest, when I was 15 or 14, I did say ‘Hey, I want to go out on a Friday night and, you know, watch a movie with my friends or have a sleepover.’ Now I’m learning you get these rewards afterwards. After our season finale, I go to Korea. Last year I went on a three-four day trip with my friends. Just us.”

“The younger you are, you’re really in the moment, you want what you want and you want it right then. I still do, but I’m slowly learning that at the end of the season, you can enjoy all these things. Go to concerts, etc., etc. I’m having this experience of a lifetime being here, in Calgary, from a small-town in New Zealand. I’m going all over the world, seeing all these places, meeting all kinds of people.”

That balance, between being a happy teenager and the world’s best at what she does, is a

At 19, most kids are still trying to figure out how to parallel park properly.

“Well, I can’t parallel park, either,’’ Ko admits.

“Being 18 or 19 years old now,’’ says her mom, Tina, “is different than being 18 or 19 when we were, our generation. The (golf) field is getting younger. They develop; grow up, faster and faster, because of technology. Same as when she was 15, I do my job as a mom.”

“She played well in amateurs. She’s used to the attention. But not so many tournaments. I’m trying to get her to skip a tournament. But she says ‘I’m a professional. I can’t take a week off because I’m tired.’

“I don’t know what’s happening inside her but she feels pressure, at almost every tournament. She thinks she has to play well, better, best. I tell her ‘You don’t need to get stressed. Relax.’ But it doesn’t help sometimes.”

Like most kids, Ko loves sports, one of her passions being the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. The night she arrived in Calgary, the Warriors played Game 7 of their semi-final series against Oklahoma.

“On the flight from Minneapolis to here there was no TV. None of those little screens. I was getting excited so I decided to sleep through the last two-and-a-half hour flight. When I got off the plane there was like 14 minutes to go so I was refreshing my Twitter account every single minute.”

“I was getting so nervous. I was trying to refresh, refresh. You’re not allowed to have your phones on around customs but fortunately the game just finished before I got there. What a comeback. For them to be down two and win the next three games. It was a lot of fun just to refresh the Twitter. I think I would’ve gone crazy if I was actually watching it.”

Golf people go crazy watching Lydia Ko. Her poise. Her precision. Her beguiling combination of veteran savvy and teenage exuberance.

Imagine. Already tied with Hall of Famers Meg Mallon and Pat Bradley for most Canadian Open wins in a career. And not yet 20. With the chance to move on top, alone, three weeks into August just outside Calgary.

Lydia Ko may hold a foreign passport and live 13,000 kilometres away, but in a staggeringly short period of time this honorary citizen has written a Canadian sporting history that Pierre Berton would appreciate.

“As I said, playing in Canada is like being home for me,’’ she says. “I feel comfortable here. I feel the support here. Winning this tournament again … it would be … would be …Pretty sweet.”

Every bit as sweet, perhaps, as a dollop of blue icing sugar atop a mini-cupcake.