The 48th playing of Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship is set for August 22-28, 2022 in Ottawa.  

Golf Canada, in partnership with title sponsor Canadian Pacific (CP), is pleased to announce that tickets for the 2022 CP Women’s Open are now available.  

The 2022 edition of the CP Women’s Open will be held August 22-28, marking the championship’s fifth visit to the nation’s capital, as well as the fourth playing at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, which previously hosted in 1994, 2008 and 2017.  

As the only Canadian stop across 34 official LPGA Tour events, the week-long tournament will draw the world’s best players including 10-time LPGA Tour winner and CP Ambassador Brooke Henderson. Born and raised in nearby Smiths Falls, Ont. Henderson will be backed by the hometown crowd as an honorary member of Ottawa Hunt. 

Title sponsor Canadian Pacific will once again be making a charitable donation to the host community through its CP Has Heart campaign. In the first six years of CP’s title sponsorship of the event, more than $10.7 million has been raised in support of children’s heart health across Canada. 

The week-long national championship features something for everyone including the ultimate food experience at the Recipe Unlimited Fare Way, premium partner activations, photo-ops, and more!  

First conducted in 1973, Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship has allowed the brightest stars of the LPGA Tour to shine on Canadian soil and has inspired the nation’s next generation of female golfers. 

Purchase 2022 CP Women’s Open tickets

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Join us to witness world-class LPGA Tour golf, activities for all ages, local food and patio experiences and more. Get your tickets today and be a part of one of Golf Canada’s signature events.  

* Youth 13-17 years of age receive a 15% discount, while juniors aged 12-and-under gain FREE grounds admission all week long. Some conditions apply. Cannot be combined with additional offers. 

Golf’s governing bodies have made available a Model Local Rule (MLR) to further limit the use of Green-Reading Materials. 

MLR G-11 enables a committee to limit players to using only the yardage book that it has approved for use in the competition. 

This local rule is intended only for the highest levels of competitive golf and, even then, only for competitions where it is realistic for the committee to undertake an approval process for yardage books. It will be available starting January 1, 2022.

The local rule gives a committee the ability to establish an officially approved yardage book for a competition so that the diagrams of putting greens show only minimal detail (such as significant slopes, tiers or false edges that indicate sections of greens). In addition, the local rule limits the handwritten notes that players and caddies are allowed to add to the approved yardage book. 

The purpose behind the local rule is to ensure that players and caddies use only their eyes and feel to help them read the line of play on the putting green. 

The USGA and The R&A developed MLR G-11 in response to feedback from several professional tours.

The MLR, along with question-and-answer guidance, can be found here.

As the local rule should only be adopted at the highest levels of competitive golf, all other golfers will continue to be able to use green-reading tools so long as they meet the requirements established in 2019.

For more information on the current rule, click here.

When you hear someone say “golf saved my life,” you pay attention.

From the age of 9 until he turned 14, Sam Gerry had a passion for the game. Suddenly, severe depression hit, to the point where he considered suicide. Then he was fortunate enough to be invited on a surprise trip with his grandfather to the Masters. The experience caused a gradual reawakening of his love for the game and, far more importantly, life.

“I could escape to the golf course and the only thing I was focused on was the game. Because I played regularly, it definitely built up to create a longer-term effect on my recovery. That combination of the game itself and spending time with my friends or my dad or my grandfather—that really helps me get through it. You really could say golf saved my life and that’s not an exaggeration.”

Sam’s story is one of many. There is even a book titled How Golf Saved My Life and, although it deals mainly with golfers with physical disabilities, it demonstrates how the game has indisputable benefits for our overall wellbeing.

Mental health benefits of playing golf

Jenny Roe is an environmental psychologist at the University of Virginia who explores how our interactions with the world shape our health, wellbeing and behaviours. She has been involved in several studies looking at the mental health benefits associated with playing golf.

She elaborated in a study by the R&A on this topic in 2020: “Contact with nature slows down our stress response and induces calm. There is evidence to show this is happening in our biological system. It is promoting stress resilience, it is improving our mood, it is decreasing our risk of depression and increasing our social wellbeing, particularly on a golf course where you are interacting with other members of that community. So there are a host of mental and social wellbeing benefits.”

Never was this more important than now, when the world is trying to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and its crushing impact on physical and mental health.

The impact of COVID-19 on mental health

A more recent R&A study, “Post COVID Opportunity,” found that 36 per cent of respondents said they experienced some negative impact on their mental health as a result of the pandemic. Of these, 83 per cent identified that playing golf had a positive impact on their mental health. Thirty-one per cent said they had increased feelings of loneliness and isolation as a result of the pandemic. Of these, 79 per cent said playing golf had a positive impact.

Those feelings are not limited to any one demographic.

In May, during Mental Health Week, a survey by the Canadian Mental Health Association and the University of British Columbia found that 77 per cent of adult respondents reported feeling negative emotions as a result of the pandemic.

In a letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, during the province’s lockdown of outdoor activities, the Canadian Pediatric Association said: “We cannot overstate the extent of the mental health crisis facing our children and youth. Seventy per cent of Ontario school-aged children reported deterioration in their mental health. Social isolation is by far the biggest predictor of poor mental health for children.”

Is playing golf a panacea for all that ails us, mentally and physically? Of course not but there are undeniable benefits.

Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood is a psychologist who has worked with many athletes, including the Team Canada men’s golf squad. She is also the chair of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association.

“The pandemic turned our lives upside-down. We lost a lot: a sense of control, of normalcy, routine, contact with family and friends, work colleagues. Golf gives us some of that back. We are in control for a change. We get away from the bad news, social media. We get outside, we reconnect with others in a social setting, in nature.

“Another wonderful thing is that golf is a perfect setting for players of any age to golf together, whether that’s mom and dad and the kids and maybe even grandma and grandpa or with someone you meet for the first time on the first tee. It is a game that brings us all together and that is vital for good mental health.”

People need golf now more than ever

In a Toronto Sun column titled “People need golf now more than ever,” golf writer Jon McCarthy talks about sneaking in a quick round before Ford shut things down once again in late April.

“One of the beauties of golf is that it’s full of breezy conversation. There’s lots to talk about but rarely is a serious topic broached. I’ll come home from a round with friends and my wife will ask what we talked about. The honest answer is, well, nothing. And it’s wonderful.

“To partake in this, a golfer doesn’t have to belong to a club or have a regular foursome. Once you get to a course, there will be people to talk to, people to share the day with, even if you show up alone. The golf course is a place where strangers can become friends for a day.

“Now more than ever, people need that.”

Brittany Marchand started hitting golf balls on the Practice Tee at Brampton GC 22 years ago under the watchful eye of her grandpa Reg Lawrence. Who would have known at the time that this young girl, who loved to figure skate, would have the drive and determination to make the Team Ontario and Team Canada golf squads, earn a golf scholarship to an American university and then play professional golf for six years?

At the age of 29, Brittany is ready for new challenges in life, but golf will always be in her veins. Here’s a glimpse into the life of a little girl who dreamed of playing on the LPGA Tour and made it happen. Here’s to a life well-played with lots more to come!

***

Golf can be a cruel game, but something keeps you coming back.

After three consecutive missed cuts in July and August on the Symetra Tour, Brittany Marchand, the most successful professional golfer to come out of Brampton GC in 100 years, made the decision in her head that it was time for a career change.

It is a mind game, isn’t it?

With no pressure and the “weight of the world” off her shoulders, the 29-year-old made two cuts in September pocketing $1,098 and $1,524.

Then came the last two tournaments of her professional career and she closed it out in style. At the Carolina Golf Classic presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Brittany equalled her career best score in a pro event at 17-under (69-69-66-67) to finish T3 and earn $14,102. Then in the Symetra Tour Championship she shot a career low 63, 9-under, in the second round on the way to finishing T30 and earning $1,985. Would almost make one think twice about retirement!

“After only making two cuts in 2019 on the LPGA Tour and having only a half season on the Symetra Tours in 2020 due to COVID-19, I really wanted to give it one more shot,” says Brittany, who played on the Symetra Tour in 2016 and 2017, played on the LPGA Tour in 2018 and 2019 and then planned to play a full season on the Symetra Tour in 2020 after losing her status on the LPGA Tour.

“I played OK in 2021, nothing spectacular, but I did have a strong finish. Even if I had won the Carolina Golf Classic, I would not have changed my mind about retiring, but I probably would have thought about it,” Marchand adds. “The 63 was great. I just was in a flow that was fun. I was enjoying myself out there and felt I couldn’t really miss much. No bogeys, so nine birdies. Again, I wasn’t having any second thoughts. I was just happy to end my career on a fun note.”

“I think the announcement surprised some people, but the fire to keep playing was dying inside me. The grind, the travel, the missed cuts, being away from my husband was all adding up,” says Brittany, who married her North Carolina State sweetheart, Jorge, in a COVID courthouse wedding in 2020, after being together for seven-plus years. The two Chemical Engineering graduates from NC State moved to the Charlotte area in April to be close to his parents and are planning a big, family and friends, wedding in 2022.

Brittany’s path to professional golf started at the age of seven when her grandfather, Reg Lawrence, a long-time member at Brampton, brought her to the club for the first time.

“You could say that my grandpa lived, ate and breathed golf and he was a good player,” Marchand says, noting he came from South Africa where he had played cricket and soccer and ran marathons. He learned to play golf in Canada.

“He tried to get all of his grandchildren into golf. He brought us to the range and let us hit balls, but he was pretty serious and wanted us to stay focused, which is tough when you’re so young. My first memories of golf are of not really liking it. I was so into competitive figure skating. He put me into a junior program at Brampton with all boys and I thought, “This isn’t much fun. I want to be with my girlfriends having fun,” says Brittany, who moved from Mississaugua to Orangeville with her family when she was 10.

It was at nearby Shelburne G&CC where she met some girls, made some friends, started playing and then competing as her love for the game grew. Four years later Brittany returned to Brampton to refine her game. She made Team Ontario at the age of 15 and met golf coach Ann Carroll who started to guide, teaching and mentor Brittany.

In 2009 she started to make headway qualifying for the US Girl’s Junior Championship at Trump National GC in Bedminister, NJ. “I didn’t make the cut, but I do remember Donald Trump making a grand entrance flying into the course in his helicopter to meet the competitors. I got my photograph taken with him. Can you imagine that?” she says with a laugh.

“My family and I knew nothing about golf scholarships and how to apply, so I decided to play a couple of tournaments in the US to get some exposure and I must have sent out applications to most of the top-50 schools and universities in the US. I went on some school visits and dropped by some other ones just to check out the campuses. I read somewhere that a Canadian (Matt Hill) won the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Golf Championship in 2009 when he was at NC State, so I looked up the school and went for a visit,” says Marchand, who finished T2 at both the 2010 Ontario and Canadian Girls Championships. Brittany committed to NC State in late 2009 for the fall of 2010 and in 2011, two more Canadians, Augusta James, and Vivian Tsui, joined the squad. She would go on to win the Ontario Women’s Amateur in 2012, finish third in 2014 and T2 in 2015.

“I loved it there,” says Brittany, who won three college tournaments individually and had a T6 at 2012 NCAA Division I Women’s Championship. She attended NC State, playing golf for four years and staying one more year to finish her Chemical Engineering degree and graduate in 2015.

“When I was in high school my teacher suggested I should think about Engineering as a career. I was really good in math and science and physics. International students weren’t allowed to opt of a general degree, so I had to choose a major at NC State. I remember going on the internet and typing in, “highest paid engineering job” and it said, “Chemical Engineering,” so I decided on that,” says Marchand, who was not ready to put her new degree to work just yet.

She went to the LPGA Tour Q-school in the fall of 2015 and missed qualifying for the final stage by just one stroke. It was heartbreaking at the time, but a lesson well learned, she says. The next two years were spent playing, learning, and living on the lower tier Symetra Tour until she broke out in 2017 with a victory at the PHC Classic, which would help propel her onto the LPGA Tour for 2018 and 2019.

“I learned a lot in 2016 and 2017. It was a big adjustment. The travel, being on my own, living out of my car, not having any money, staying with billet families, learning the courses, the daily grind, the pressure of needing to make the cut on Friday and finding a team of people who could support me with my game and my health. It doesn’t just prepare you for golf, but the process prepares you for life and trying to get better every day,” she says.

The highlight of 2017, as well as being career highlight, was making the most of a sponsor’s exemption to play in the Manulife Classic in Cambridge. Marchand shot rounds of 67-70-67 and was T9 heading into the final round, five shots behind Lexi Thompson. It was the first time Marchand made the cut in an LPGA event, and she would go on to card an 81 on the Sunday to finish T46. Inspiring is the word that still comes to mind when she thinks back on the tournament.

“It was a turning point in my career. It really showed me and allowed me to believe that I belonged there. That I could compete with the best women in the game. Despite the final round, it was a real confidence booster and to do it with the support of all those Canadian fans and my family and friends in attendance was extra special,” she says.

While the honorary member at Brampton GC had played in the LPGA Tour Canadian Women’s Open in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 her dream of being a member of the LPGA became reality in 2018. She will never forget teeing it up in her first card-carry tournament in the LOTTE Championship at Ko Olina GC in Kopolei on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. She went 72-72-74-75 to finish T50, at plus-5 and pocket $6,053.

She posted her one and only top-10 on the LPGA Tour at the 2018 Thornberry Creek Classic finishing T-7 with rounds of 64-72-66-69 to finish at 17-under par and earn $40,862 – the largest paycheque of her career.

Another career highlight came in the first round of the 2018 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship when Marchand aced No. 17 to win a KIA Sorento that she still drives today. By season’s end she made 13 cuts in17 events and earned $138,422 to finish 89^th on the money list and keep her card.

2019 wasn’t what she had hoped it would be. In a nutshell, she made two cuts on 17 starts on the LPGA Tour and lost her playing card. She made some off-season changes to try and improve her distance off the tee and she quickly lost confidence in her ability to compete. I had no idea where the ball was going. Missed cuts, mentally shaken, losing money every week “led me down a very dark spiral of not playing well,” she says. “Every Friday after missing a cut I was looking for a job as a chemical engineering and thinking about calling it quits. In the moment it was a very difficult time, but I learned to preserve, to work through the challenges and I’m proud of that.

2020 was another disappointment with COVID and missing practically an entire season. She decided to give it one more go around and that’s what she did in 2021.

Another career highlight included being a member of Golf Canada’s Team Canada for the past seven years, plus a year on the development squad in 2011. She traveled to the World Amateur Championships in Japan, the British Amateur three times and experienced many training camps with Team Canada members. “Those are opportunities and experiences I would never have had on my own and certainly helped me develop into a seasoned professional golfer,” she says.

“I have my Brampton family, my NC State family, my Team Canada family and all of my family and supporters who have been with me for this journey. It has been a fantastic experience that all started with my grandpa’s love for the game. Sadly, he has Alzheimer’s Disease and doesn’t know us anymore, but I’m so thankful for the gift he gave me,” she adds. “I also need to thank the Brampton members who supported throughout my journey. Without their support I would not have been able to stay out on tour for those six years.”

What’s next, we that is what she is trying to figure out. “I’d love to be working in 2022, but I’m not sure if I am going to go the engineering route. I have learned that I am really a people person,” Brittany says, noting that taking an MBA online is a possibility.

She ends the interview with one last memory.

“I’m playing in the Toronto Star Amateur at Weston G&CC. My mom’s at the green watching and my grandpa is beside me on the tee. “I’m thinking eight-iron is too much club. He tells me to hit the eight-iron. So, with a lot of defiance, I took the eight-iron and I hit it heavy. It goes in the hole for an ace. My mother is screaming in delight from the green and my grandfather says, “I told you it was an eight-iron. We walked off the tee together smiling. I’ll never forget that one!

Inspired to support the life skills and development values ingrained in golf, the Gragtmans Family Foundation has announced a major $1M USD donation to the Golf Canada Foundation to directly power the advancement of First Tee – Canada.

The generosity of the Gragtmans Family Foundation as the Founding Donor and Trustee of First Tee – Ontario will fund and facilitate the provincial chapter launch including program development and delivery with multi-faceted activities designed for schools, community centres, and youth facilities.

First Tee – Canada will provide Canadian youth, and especially those in underrepresented groups, access to affordable and meaningful character education programs through golf. Golf Canada intends on launching chapters in every province in Canada by 2022, with the goal of 100,000 annual participants in the program by 2023.

“The Gragtmans Family Foundation focuses on the positive development and advancement of youth in Canada and abroad,” said Ian Gragtmans, Founder of the Gragtmans Family Foundation. “We are thrilled to be aligned with one of the world’s premiere and proven international youth development organizations. Our mission of providing youth with support to help positively design and advance their lives aligns well with the First Tee values of integrity, respect and perseverance.” A pursuer of growth and knowledge, Mr. Gragtmans credits many who have and continue to act as mentors, and his support of First Tee Canada directly reflects the ongoing responsibility of giving back by helping others.

“The pace of growth behind First Tee – Canada since being announced in Fall 2020 has been incredible, and that’s because of the shared vision of youth champions like the Gragtmans Family Foundation,” said Golf Canada Chief Sport Officer Kevin Blue. “The generosity of the Gragtmans Family Foundation towards this provincial chapter-founding, multi-year gift brings incredible momentum to our national youth development program in Canada’s largest market and will surely set the example and encourage deeper expansion across the Canadian philanthropic community.”

Through its deep network of donors and trustees, Golf Canada Foundation is a critical partner in supporting the launch and advancement of First Tee Canada through its fundraising and philanthropic efforts. Canada’s Provincial Golf Associations will also play a role in the advancement of First Tee Canada as chapters form in markets across Canada.

“We are extremely grateful to Ian Gragtmans and the Gragtmans Family Foundation for their incredible generosity as the catalyst to officially launch the first Ontario chapter of First Tee Canada,” said Golf Canada Foundation CEO Martin Barnard. “The meaningful support of our donors and corporate champions has far exceeded our early expectations and has provided real momentum in our discussion with others who want to get behind this character building program for youth.”

The generosity of the Gragtmans Family Foundation joins a growing number of chapter-founding and program advancement gifts that have been secured in 2021 with additional investments to be announced in the coming weeks.

Since its inception in 1997, First Tee has impacted more than 15 million young people through its character-building programs on golf courses, in schools and at youth-serving locations. The First Tee network has grown to over 150 chapters and more than 1,200 program locations across the United States as well as six international chapters in Australia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, and Canada, delivering programs that help young people build character and develop life skills through the game of golf.

Golf Canada and the Golf Canada Foundation are continuously pursuing more gifts, which will allow more chapters to launch in Canada. For more information on First Tee – Canada, to get involved, or to donate, visit www.firstteecanada.ca

Corrine Allan doesn’t hesitate when asked if she thinks her golf course, now one giant water hazard, can recover from the devastation brought by the flooding in the Sumas Prairie area of Abbotsford.

“Oh gosh, yes,” says Allan, owner and general manager of Fraserglen Golf Course. “I am going to aim for March.There is a lot of water and debris on the course, but once that is cleaned up and the greens are cleaned over time, it will come back just fine.”

Make that lots and lots of water. Allan estimates her clubhouse and restaurant had as much as five feet of water inside them.

“And we have a lot of equipment, as do farmers in the area, that are under water,” she says. “We have our pro shop and a restaurant and another house on the property that are all ruined, basically.”

Fraserglen is one of many Fraser Valley golf courses impacted by last week’s flooding. The par 62 course,located on South Parallel Road near Highway 1, sits on 56 acres. “It’s devastating and I don’t think the shock has fully set in yet,” says Allan. “And nobody has insurance so we’re hoping the government will kick in.”

Flood insurance is not available to homes and businesses in the area because Sumas Prairie sits on a flood plain. Allan has been buoyed by the offers of support she has received. “People have reached out to us like you wouldn’t believe,” Allan says. 

“And the golf industry is amazing. They are willing to help. From as far away as Calgary, we’re hearing,‘what can we send you, what can we do for you?’ It’s just really amazing.”

Allan refuses to feel sorry for herself. “I have my family healthy and we can just work really hard to make everything happen. We’ll just roll up our sleeves and get to work. I think that’s all you can do.”

WASH OUT

Mission Golf Club wasn’t hit by serious flooding, but the atmospheric river that dropped record rainfall on the area has put one hole out of play. A slide occurred on Mission’s par 3 third hole, which also plays as No. 12 from a different tee for those playing 18 holes. Most of a rock wall fronting the green was washed away in the slide and head pro Mark Anderson expects the hole to remain closed until the early spring. “Luckily we have a practice hole (between holes 6 and 7) ,” Anderson said. “So we can turn that into a par 3. That’s a good back-up for us.”

‘ISLAND GREENS’

Chilliwack courses were also hit hard. Royalwood was completely under water and remained closed as of Nov. 21. Nearby Chilliwack Golf Club hopes to re-open some time this week. “We can actually see our golf course again,” said Chilliwack general manager Bryan Ewart. “I think we’ll be okay. None of our buildings were damaged and we’ll get out of this relatively unscathed, unlike some of our neighbours. 

“For a while there we had four island greens. It would be good for our marketing: TPC (Sawgrass) has nothing on us.” Ewart said the flooding and this past summer’s heat dome have made it a tough year. “These extremes are pretty harsh,” Ewart says. “I have been here 10 years now and have never experienced anything like this. We keep saying we are so ready for this year to be done.”

BACK IN BUSINESS

The lower portion of Belmont Golf Course in Langley had eight to 10 feet of water on it at one point. Troy Peverley, vice president of the West Coast Golf Group, said the course would be open for nine-hole play this week. Swaneset Bay in Pitt Meadows has all 36 of its holes back in play and the WCGG’s other course, Hazelmere in Surrey, has re-opened after being closed for a couple of days. Pitt Meadows Golf Club remained closed as of Nov. 21. It had large pools of standing water and some damage was done to its bridge on the ninth hole.

NAPLES, Fla., Nov. 22, 2021 – After a year of stops, starts and long stretches of global travel, the 2021 LPGA Tour season came to a sensational end at the CME Group Tour Championship, a true celebration of the best female athletes in the game of golf.

With her victory at the CME Group Tour Championship, Jin Young Ko won her second Rolex Player of the Year title, joining 2019. She is the 14th player in Tour history to win the award at least twice and the first player from the Republic of Korea to win more than once. It was the culmination of a season that saw Ko earn five LPGA Tour titles, including the $1.5 million win at the season finale, and eight additional top-10 finishes. Nelly Korda, who took four wins in 2021 along with six additional top-10 finishes and the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, finished second.

“So proud of myself, and, well, I would say Player of the Year, it’s cool,” said Ko, who battled with Korda all year for the Tour’s largest honor. “I would say Player of the Year is best, and it’s really tough to get Player of the Year, especially this year with Nelly.”

Ko’s win at the CME Group Tour Championship also gave her the title of Race to the CME Globe Champion, after she also won the title in 2020. She is the first player to win the season-long race more than once.

Patty Tavatanakit received multiple awards at Thursday night’s Rolex LPGA Awards, accepting Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors and the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award. Tavatanakit earned LPGA Tour status after finishing second on the Symetra Tour’s 2019 Race for the Card, where she won three times and earned Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year honors. The Thai native became a Rolex First-Time Winner at The Chevron Championship, becoming the first Tour rookie to win the major title since Juli Inkster in 1984. In addition to her win, Tavatanakit notched nine top-10 finishes, including a tie for fifth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and a tie for seventh at the AIG Women’s Open.

“I knew that my potential was there. I just needed to figure some stuff out to put it together and finally close it out, which I did when I won our first major at the ANA Inspiration (now The Chevron Championship),” said Tavatanakit. “My entire outlook changed because I had proven to myself that I belong out here and I have what it takes to win on the LPGA Tour, not only that but a major championship.”

Madelene Sagstrom received the Heather Farr Perseverance Award, which honors an LPGA player who, through her hard work, dedication and love of the game of golf, has demonstrated determination, perseverance and spirit in fulfilling her goals as a player. In February, Sagstrom told her #DriveOn story of overcoming childhood sexual abuse and learning that “survivorship is a continuous process.”

“I have received many awards both for my athletic ability and my performance on the golf course. This is the first award I’ve received for being me,” said Sagstrom. “For a long time, I based my self-worth on my results on the golf course. I have worked for a long time to see and honor the other sides of myself. This is why this award means a lot to me. It’s been a lot of hard work and I’m just so happy to stand in front of you guys as the person I am today.

“My goal every morning when I wake up is to be the best version of myself, both as a golfer but most importantly as a human being. Deciding to speak about my sexual abuse story means just that for me. I hope that by sharing my darkness, I can bring some light and hope into somebody else’s life. As we all know, life isn’t always easy. But together as human beings, we can be there for each other. Thank you all for showing me that my story is important and for showing others that they’re not alone.”

Established in 1994, the Heather Farr Perseverance Award celebrates the life of Farr, an LPGA Tour player who died on Nov. 20, 1993, following a four-and-a-half-year battle with breast cancer. Previous winners of this award include Heather Farr, Lorie Kane, Nancy Scranton, Brandi Burton, Kris Tschetter, Kim Williams, Beth Daniel, Se Ri Pak, Leta Lindley, Sophie Gustafson, Lisa Ferrero, Stephanie Meadow, Ariya Jutanugarn, Jessica Korda and Suzann Pettersen.

Lydia Ko received the 2021 Founders Award, an honor previously known as the William and Mousie Powell Award and now named in honor of the LPGA Tour’s original 13 Founders. The award is given to an LPGA Member who, in the opinion of her playing peers, best exemplifies the spirit, ideals and values of the LPGA through her behavior and deeds. The award has been given out since 1986, with a list of previous recipients that includes Kathy Whitworth, Nancy Lopez, Pat Bradley, Betsy King, Juli Inkster, Lorena Ochoa, Chella Choi, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb, So Yeon Ryu and Brooke Henderson.

“I’m extremely grateful knowing that this award was voted by my fellow peers on the LPGA,” said Ko. “In my eight years on Tour and playing against the best female golfers, I’ve been so fortunate to have met so many friends, mentors and people I will know for the rest of my life. Even though we are all competing against each other, one of the greatest attributes of our Tour is that we genuinely support one another. We’re here to grow as professionals and people. This allows the Tour to continue to inspire the future generation of young women and inject them with the inspiring vision and spirit of the Founders. The LPGA is much more than an organization, but a family.”

Following Sunday’s completion of play, Ko also earned the Vare Trophy for the season’s lowest scoring average. Ko averaged 69.329 strokes per round in 2021, with Lexi Thompson coming in second at 69.629.

LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, celebrating her first Rolex LPGA Awards after being named to her position earlier this year, selected LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member and long-time LPGA and PGA Tour announcer Judy Rankin as the recipient of the Commissioner’s Award. The award, introduced in 1991, honors a person or organization that has contributed uniquely to the LPGA and its Members, furthered the cause of women’s golf, and possesses character and standards of the highest order. Past recipients include KPMG, Jamie Farr, Rolex, the J.M. Smucker Company and Golf Channel.

“I’ve seen Tiger (Woods) from the beginning to not so long ago. I saw Nancy Lopez up close and personal and then in television. I saw all of Annika Sorenstam’s career. I saw all of Karrie Webb’s career and I could go on and on and on. But I guess I’ve had the best front-row seat ever,” said Rankin, who will step back from full-time announcing in 2022. “The LPGA has been my neighborhood and I love this neighborhood. I’ve been really fortunate to have a second chance after being a player to spend so much time out here and to be friends with young players. It has really been extraordinary for me.”

Deb Vangellow, a LPGA Master Professional and Director of Golf Instruction at Riverbend Country Club in Houston, Texas, joined an elite group of her peers as the recipient of the 2021 Ellen Griffin Rolex Award. Instituted in 1989, the award honors the late Ellen Griffin, the best-known woman golf teacher in U.S. history. The award recognizes an individual, male or female, who has made a major contribution to the teaching of golf and who has demonstrated, through teaching, Griffin’s spirit, love and dedication to the golf student, teaching skills and game of golf.

“Thank you so much to Ellen Griffin. Her incredible teaching spirit while never forgetting that she was always teaching people and to allow the frustrations of golf to be overcome by fun was really instrumental to me, from being a young teacher to this day,” said Vangellow, a former national president for the LPGA Professionals.

The Rolex LPGA Awards also celebrated Rolex-First Time Winners Pajaree Anannarukarn (ISPS Handa World Invitational), Matilda Castren (LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship), Wei-Ling Hsu (Pure Silk Championship), Ryann O’Toole (Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open), Yuka Saso (U.S. Women’s Open) and Tavatanakit (The Chevron Championship).

Earlier in the week, the LPGA Tour celebrated the winners of two season-long competitions. Hannah Green captured the Aon Risk Reward Challenge and earned the $1 million prize. The competition, which measured the performance of LPGA Tour and PGA TOUR golfers on a series of holes across multiple tournaments, tested players’ ability to analyze risk, utilize data-driven insights to identify opportunities and maximize performance in the moments that matter most. Green joined PGA TOUR winner Matthew Wolff in taking the Aon title, with both players receiving equal prize money.

Additionally, Jin Young Ko won the LEADERS Top-10 competition for the second time, earning $100,000. She earned 12 top-10 finishes in 18 starts this season entering the CME Group Tour Championship, including four wins and two additional top-three results.

Golf Canada and Maestro Dobel® Tequila announced today a multi-year partnership that will see Maestro Dobel featured as the Official Tequila of the RBC Canadian Open.

Maestro Dobel will become Golf Canada’s first-ever exclusive tequila partner for the RBC Canadian Open. As part of the integrated partnership—which begins in 2022 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club and runs through 2024— Maestro Dobel will be poured at RBC Canadian Open hospitality and concession locations with sampling opportunities and fan engagement activations planned around Canada’s lone stop on the PGA TOUR.

“We are thrilled to welcome Maestro Dobel as Golf Canada’s first-ever Official Tequila Partner for the RBC Canadian Open,” said John Sibley, chief commercial officer of Golf Canada. “Maestro Dobel’s mastery blend and craftsmanship in their award-winning tequila will deliver a premium product for spectators and hospitality guests to enjoy at the RBC Canadian Open.”

Founded by 11^th generation tequila maker Juan Dobel, Maestro Dobel is known for consistently pushing the category forward, blending tradition and innovation to craft its award-winning tequilas. Since March 2021, Maestro Dobel has served as the official Tequila of the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour, activating at select tournaments across the United States.

“We are excited to embark on this new journey with Golf Canada and the RBC Canadian Open,” said Peter Hottmann, General Manager at Proximo Spirits Canada. “The RBC Canadian Open has become a premier event on the PGA TOUR and we are proud to be aligning our award-wining tequilas with excellence in Canadian golf.”

The 2022 RBC Canadian Open will be held June 6-12 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto with nearby Islington Golf Club hosting the championship’s practice facility. Click here to purchase tickets.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Mackenzie Hughes secured a second place finish after firing 19-under at the RSM Classic. The Hamilton, Ont. native won the tournament in 2016 and finished just three strokes back of Talor Gooch.

“It feels like a long time ago now, that first win here,” said Hughes of his previous victory. “I had a lot of those same feelings coming down the stretch that I did then today. So it was really fun to be in the mix, that’s what you practice for and play for – to have a chance on Sunday, and [I] gave my best shot.”

The strong performance will likely keep him inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of the year.

“I came into this week 50th in the world, so top-50 year-end was a big goal of mine – get in the majors and some of those WGC events,” said Hughes. “Accomplished that goal. Came up a bit short of winning, but planning my schedule the rest of the year will be a lot easier just knowing I can bank on those big tournaments.”

Five other Canadians made the cut: Corey Conners (T22), Taylor Pendrith (T26), Michael Gligic (T29), Adam Hadwin (T51) and Roger Sloan (T61).

The next PGA Tour event is set to commence January 6, 2022 in Hawaii.

Click here for the full leaderboard.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – In his third round at the RSM Classic, Mackenzie Hughes hit 8 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation, finishing at 11 under for the tournament.

Hughes finished his day tied for 5th at 11 under; Talor Gooch is in 1st at 16 under; Seamus Power and Sebastián Muñoz are tied for 2nd at 13 under; and Tom Hoge is in 4th at 12 under.

At the 415-yard par-4 second, Hughes got on in 2 and missed his par putt from 5 feet, finishing with a 3-putt bogey. This moved Hughes to 1 over for the round.

After hitting his tee shot into the native area, Hughes hit his next to the left side of the fairway. He hit his fifth shot to the green and had a one-putt for a bogey on the par-5 seventh. This moved Hughes to 1 over for the round.

On the 223-yard par-3 12th, Hughes hit the green off the tee but missed a birdie attempt from 7-feet taking a par. This left Hughes to 2 over for the round.

On the 565-yard par-5 15th hole, Hughes reached the green in 3 and sunk a 4-foot putt for birdie. This moved Hughes to 1 over for the round.

Corey Conners shot 2-over 72 to finish his day T20 while Taylor Pendrith and Michael Gligic both moved up the leaderboard to sit T26 heading into the final round.

Click here for the full leaderboard.