Just how busy were golf courses across Canada in 2020?

Early one morning at the beginning of the season, Stephen Jardeleza positioned himself in front of his computer at GreyHawk Golf Club. On his screen was a blank tee sheet for the Ottawa club where he is the Director of Operations.

In a few minutes, the computerized tee-times reservation system would open for members to begin booking tee times for the upcoming Saturday. Up for grabs were 130 tee times across the club’s 36 holes, which, if fully booked, would work out to 520 golfers.

At 7 a.m., the tee sheet came alive. “In 40 seconds, our tee sheet was fully booked,” Jardeleza said. “And this happened every day.”

The 2020 golf season—and the year—will go down in infamy as one of the strangest that most of us will ever experience.

Faced with a mysterious and deadly nemesis, golf provided a beacon of badly needed joy amid fear and frustration. We were smitten. We couldn’t get enough golf.

“It didn’t matter that there was a worldwide pandemic,” said Simon Bevan, General Manager of Riverbend Golf Club in London. “Golf was like a drug. We all wanted to hit the little white ball.”

Now that the season has ended, the golf club industry in Canada is celebrating a record year in which rounds skyrocketed to historic proportions. Thousands of people took up golf—some for the first time, and some came back to the game—and veteran golfers played more than they ever have.

But right out of the be-careful-what-you-wish-for playbook, the industry faced the challenge of how to mollify established golfers frustrated that they could no longer get to the first tee when they wanted.

Back in April, with cities around the world looking like ghost towns, and major league sports and the PGA TOUR shut down, golfers held on to a slender thread of hope that a golf season might be possible.

By early May, golfers in Ontario and Quebec had endured two months of a gruelling lockdown, made worse by a tantalizingly warm spring that screamed golf. Golfers ached for their game. A friend said, “Golfers can distance. I play golf with people. I don’t dance with them.”

After weeks of consultation with the golf industry on safety measures, the Ontario government said courses could open May 16. Quebec set May 20 as its opening day.

Golf clubs had only a few days to finish their preparations in order to keep golfers safe. Staff removed ball washers, water coolers, benches and outfitted flagsticks with doo-hickeys that allowed you to extricate your ball without having to touch the stick.

Held back from their usual start to the season, golfers were ravenous. On May 15—the first day that tee times could be booked—thousands of ClubLink Members went online to reserve their tee times at 7 a.m., causing the system to crash.

Many technology platforms serving the golf industry were overwhelmed. When Golf Ontario opened its online tournament registration on June 24, 17,000 people visited its site in a matter of minutes, causing it to crash for the first time in its history, according to executive director Mike Kelly.

On those first wonderful days of the 2020 golf season, golfers were over the moon to play and golf club personnel were cautiously nervous.

“We were hoping that members wouldn’t contract the virus just from touching things,” said Paul Carrothers, Director of Golf at Royal Ottawa Golf Club.

Thousands of golfers wanted to play the game—not just because they are an extremely obsessive bunch—but also to escape the same four walls at home. Without having to travel for work or commute, working from home also afforded many golfers the freedom to play when they wanted. More or less.

With offices and schools closed, and nearly every other option for having fun shut down, golf became the ‘it’ activity. Spouses, friends and kids who had not tried golf, and those who had given up the game, were playing.

“Almost all of the guys that I played slow-pitch with every Tuesday for 20 years were now playing golf,” said Kevin Thistle, CEO of the PGA of Canada. “The way we play golf, work, watch sports—it’s all changing, and forcing us to adapt.”

From the once-a-year golfer to the 100-rounds-plus player, everyone played more—and wanted more.

“Players who would normally play 30 to 40 rounds played 70 to 80 rounds,” said Adam Tobin, Director of Golf at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge.

Even with most corporate events cancelled at most clubs, tee times became a precious commodity.

By the end of June, Canadians had played more than 1.5 million rounds during the month, an increase of 17 per cent over June 2019. And that’s a monumental feat folks when you consider June is THE busiest and best month to play. For an industry that faced media reports a few years earlier that it was declining, business was booming.

But for avid golfers who routinely play three or more rounds a week and were used to convenient tee times, it was not all sunshine and rainbows.

“There was a lot of frustration,” said Jason Wyatt, Head Professional at Sunningdale Golf & Country Club in London, where demand shot up 52 percent over 2019 with the same number of members. “There were people who wanted an 8 a.m. time but had to settle for hours later.”

Even playing ‘executive’ or nine-hole courses was a challenge. “There were times that we had six groups lined up to play our nine-hole course,” said Dennis Firth, Head Professional at Royal Montreal which experienced a 30 percent increase in rounds over 2019. “It was unprecedented.”

As a golfer, and the fellow in charge of tracking golfers across the country for Golf Canada, Adam Helmer said he could no longer just head out to play. He had to become organized in scheduling his golf.

“A downside of golf being so popular was that not everyone was able to get the tee time they wanted,” said Helmer, senior director of Golf Services for Golf Canada.

The problem was simple. Demand for tee times appeared limitless, but every course has a finite number of holes and daylight. And to keep golfers from getting too close to one another, most clubs spaced out tee times, which meant fewer golfers on the course.

John Finlayson, Chief Operating Officer of ClubLink, says that—as a general rule of thumb—a private golf club with 18 holes carries about 400 full dues-paying members to sustain its business.

But even in June when the days are longest, there’s only enough room to accommodate about 225 golfers. “If 300 people want to play that course that day, you have a problem,” said Finlayson, whose ClubLink courses saw a 29 percent increase in rounds in 2020 compared with 2019.

Many private clubs responded by restricting the number of guests that members could bring, and restricted access for certain classes of memberships.

“To make room for our full members, we had to restrict our legacy and out-of-town members,” said Ian Leggatt, General Manager of Summit Golf Club in Richmond Hill. “We had to communicate to them that these are unusual times,” said Leggatt, who has since moved to the same position at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto.

Initially, Leggatt and other senior club managers wondered if golfers would “drift from the game” because they couldn’t socialize in the clubhouse restaurant afterwards,

and the on-course experience was altered.

But with fewer golfers on the course, no need to rake bunkers, and single riders on carts, the speed of play improved dramatically.

“The measures were taken for safety, but it provided a better experience,” Finlayson said. “Most golfers expect to play 18 holes in 4 to 4.5 hours, but this year a 4-hour round was considered a bit slow.”

Nonetheless, many golfers were frustrated about access, and many golf clubs stepped up their communication efforts to help their members adapt.

“You couldn’t over-communicate,” Leggatt said. “This whole thing was shifting, and there was no template on how to make it work better.”

It affected everyone, including ClubLink Member and CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association of Canada, Jeff Calderwood.

“I’d jump on the computer five days in advance at 7 a.m. this fall, and there were often no times at Eagle Creek (his Home Club in Ottawa),” he said. “It illustrated the dilemma we had.”

Industry leaders such as Calderwood are thankful golf provided a silver lining during a pandemic, but they are also mindful that the industry is challenged by how it satisfies core golfers while retaining new players.

“I don’t claim to have all the answers. You could restructure and find that, perhaps with a vaccine, demand doesn’t stay so high, and then you’re not sustainable if you got it wrong.”

Mike Kelly of Golf Ontario was among the industry leaders who consulted with the Ontario government to allow clubs to open this season, and he’s grateful golfers turned a possible disaster into a banner year for golf.

As a golf administrator who represents the sport in Ontario, as well as players who want to play and have fun, Kelly says he can’t lose focus on what’s truly important.

“Our job is to provide a safe environment. That’s our No. 1 priority during this pandemic. We can’t screw this up. The game has grown and the industry will evolve, but the priority must be safety.”

Tim O’Connor is a golf and performance coach, writer and author of four books, co-host of the Swing Thoughts podcast, and webinar presenter. He is the 2020 winner of the Lorne Rubenstein Media Award given by Golf Ontario. tim@oconnorgolf.ca

NAPLES, Fla. — Jin Young Ko missed most of the LPGA Tour season and still won the yearlong money title. That’s what a $1.1-million check does.

Ko, the No. 1 player in the world, put an emphatic capper on her truncated year Sunday by shooting a final-round 6-under 66 and winning the CME Group Tour Championship by five strokes over Hannah Green and Sei Young Kim.

With a birdie on the final hole, the LPGA’s final putt of the season, Ko finished at 18 under for her seventh career LPGA win.

Green’s final-round 67 — on her 24th birthday — helped push the Australian into the second-place tie.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., was 1-under for the day, and 10-under for the tournament, to finish eight strokes back of Ko in a tie for seventh.

Henderson finishes the season ranked No. 6 in the world.

“Nice to end the 2020 LPGA season on a high note and a top-7 finish,” the Canadian said in a Twitter post.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot a blistering 8-under 64 on Sunday — the lowest round of the tournament — to finish 1-over for the tournament.

Kim, who took a one-shot lead into the final round, shot 72 and that was good enough for her to clinch Rolex Player of the Year honours.

Ko started the final round one shot back of Kim and opened with a birdie.

The key stretch was Ko’s run of three straight birdies on the 12th through the 14th — her longest such run of the week.

She left a chance for a fourth in a row just left of the cup on 15, then all but wrapped up the win with another birdie on the 16th.

The win wrapped up a wire-to-wire year in the No. 1 spot for Ko, who has held the ranking since July 29, 2019.

She moved to $5,600,824 in career earnings, making her the 71st player in LPGA history to cross the $5 million mark.

Ko played only four LPGA events in 2020 — she competed six times on the Korean LPGA while riding out the coronavirus pandemic at home — but Sunday’s win and a check for $487,286 for finishing second in last week’s U.S. Women’s Open helped push her season earnings to $1,667,925.

That would have been good for fifth-best on tour last season, when each of the 21 leading money-winners all appeared in at least 20 events.

Kim’s realistic hopes of winning ended when she left a 25-foot par putt short on the par-4 15th to fall four off Ko’s lead.

But the player-of-the-year award was still in her control at that point, and she finished that off.

Mina Harigae (68) finished at 12 under, the fourth-place finish matching the best of her LPGA career.

Lexi Thompson shot a 2-under 70 on Sunday and finished at 11 under, seven shots off the pace and tied with Lydia Ko for fifth.

Thompson, the leader after Thursday’s first round, saw her streak of consecutive seasons with at least one victory end at seven.

“Definitely a good ending to the year and to the week,” said Thompson, the native South Floridian who had about 15 fans following her Sunday even though the tournament was technically closed to ticketholders.

She said she’s looking forward to some normalcy in 2021.

“It was nice to have a few people out there supporting us,” Thompson said. “I think the fans make the game, so hopefully we’ll get back to that in 2021.”

Sunday marked the end to the 18-event LPGA season that was cut almost in half by the pandemic and was shut down for five and half months from mid-February through the end of July.

There are 34 events scheduled for next season, starting with the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, from Jan. 21-24.

NAPLES, Fla. — Sei Young Kim is in position to defend her title in the CME Group Tour Championship, take player of the year honours, win the money title and possibly even move to No. 1 in the world.

Kim took a one-stroke lead over top-ranked Jin Young Ko into the final round of the LPGA Tour season, shooting a 5-under 67 on Saturday in warmer conditions at Tiburon Golf Club to reach 13-under 203. Ko had a 69.

“Really good chance to chase everything,” Kim said. “If I play well tomorrow, good chance.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., shot a 66 in the third round Saturday. She currently sits in a five-way tie for fourth place at 9-under par with Lexi Thompson (71), Charley Hull (66), Minjee Lee (66) and Austin Ernst (69).

Henderson’s rise to the top 10 on Saturday was helped along by an impressive seven birdies in the third round.

“Every hole I feel like there is opportunity for birdie,” said Henderson. “So that makes it really exciting when you step up to every tee.”

Hamilton native Alena Sharp sits in 69th at 9-over par.

For Kim to take the No. 1 spot in the world from Ko, she would have to win Sunday and have Ko finish solo 10th or worse. Ko has held the top spot for 73 weeks in a row.

Georgia Hall was third at 10 under after a 68.

Kim is tied for the tour victory lead with Danielle Kang with two, winning the major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and Pelican Women’s Championship in consecutive starts in October and November. The South Korean star played a 12-hole stretch from the second to the 13th in 6 under, then dropped a stroke on the par-4 18th.

“My vibe was really good because warmer weather, and then I play pairing with Jin Young and Lexi (Thompson). Those are my favourite player, so yeah, it was fun. We wasn’t talking much but it was very comfortable and chill out there.”

Ko had three birdies in a bogey-free round.

“I said yesterday my goal is like just bogey-free round on the weekend, so I made it today,” Ko said. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Kim and Ko are longtime friends.

“Always fun playing with her,” Ko said. “We play together last year and we played — we practiced together at the U.S. Open last week. So we knows each other. But this is competition, so we are close but we have to separate on the course.”

Coming off a second-place tie last week in Houston in the U.S. Women’s Open, Ko has a chance to win the money title in only four events. The $1.1 million winner’s prize, down from $1.5 million last year, is the richest in women’s golf. Ko is 13th with $567,925. Inbee Park is the leader with $1,365,138, and Kim second with $1,207,438.

Race to CME Globe leader Park was tied for 28th at 3 under after her third straight 71. Second-place Kang was tied for 42nd at even par after a 70.

NAPLES, Fla. — Top-ranked Jin Young Ko took the lead into the weekend in the LPGA Tour’s CME Group Tour Championship, putting herself in position to win the season money title in only four events.

Ko shot a 5-under 67 on Friday in chilly and breezy conditions at Tiburon Golf Club to take a one-stroke lead over defending champion Sei Young Kim and 2018 winner Lexi Thompson in the season-ending event.

“Before when I play in KLPGA it was really cold, so I hate cold weather to play golf, but right now I love it,” said Ko, who spent most of the season in South Korea.

The $1.1 million winner’s prize, down from $1.5 million last year, is the richest in women’s golf. Ko is 13th on the money list with $567,925. Inbee Park is the leader with $1,365,138, and Kim second with $1,207,438. Ko also is trying to hold off No. 2 Kim in the world ranking.

“If play good I can do world ranking No. 1 still,” Ko said. “But if not and then she plays good, she can do. Doesn’t matter really.”

Coming off a second-place tie last week in Houston in the U.S. Women’s Open, Ko birdied three of four par-5 holes in a bogey-free round to reach 9 under.

“I want bogey-free round next two days,” Ko said. “I’m looking forward to the weekend.”

Kim had a 69. She has two victories this season.

“Feel very solid in the morning because we got the strong wind,” Kim said. “My shot really solid. … I’m very looking forward this weekend. Really exciting to chase the world ranking No. 1.”

Thompson, the first-round leader after a 65, had two late birdies in a 71.

“It was different conditions today of course with the cooler weather in the morning,” Thompson said. “I would say overall it was a lot breezier throughout the day. … Wasn’t as good as yesterday of course, but overall happy and going to take the positives into the next two days.”

Nelly Korda (66) was three strokes back at 6 under with Cydney Clanton (68), Austin Ernst (69), Georgia Hall (69), Megan Khang (71) and Caroline Masson (71).

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., bounced back from an opening-round of 73 with a 68. A late-game eagle brought her to 3 under, and she is currently tied for 16th. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp fired 73-76 and is 5 over heading into the weekend.

Lydia Ko was 5 under, following a 74 with a bogey-free 65.

“I just wanted to play the best golf I can and not really think about my position and all that,” the New Zealander said. “I think that definitely helped, and I was able to do that pretty well.”

Race to CME Globe leader Park was tied for 20th at 2 under after her second 71. Second-place Danielle Kang, playing alongside Park and Kim, was tied for 47th at 2 over after a 75. Kim. Kang led the points race since back-to-back wins in Ohio until Park took over the lead last week.

Tiburon was the site of the PGA Tour’s QBE Shootout last week. In a normal year, the CME Group Tour Championship is held before Thanksgiving.

NAPLES, Fla. — With brother Curtis back at her side at Tiburon Golf Club, Lexi Thompson shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s CME Group Tour Championship.

Curtis, a Korn Ferry Tour player, also caddied for his sister in 2018 when she won the season-ending event.

“If we’re both home we are always playing golf together and joking around,” Thompson said. “It’s great to have him out here. I really appreciate him helping me out and keeping me loose out there. Whether I play good or bad, he always keeps a smile on my face.”

On Thursday after early morning rain, Thompson birdied five of the first seven holes. She played the next nine holes in even par with a birdie and a bogey, then birdied the final two holes. The 11-time LPGA Tour had her lowest score of the year a week after missing the cut in Houston in the U.S. Women’s Open.

“I was just overall very happy with how I committed to my shots,” Thompson said. “That’s what I’ve really been working on. I’ve been working so hard on my game in general trying to improve on it, and it’s been kind of an up and down roller coaster with an unfortunate week last week.”

Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Denmark was a stroke back after a bogey-free round.

“I was a little shaky on my driver going into the event, and putting as well actually. So now it is always nice to start off with a good round,” Koerstz Madsen said. “I don’t have any expectations. I just want to go out and play and see if I can do good mentally.”

Defending champion Sei Young Kim was at 67 with Caroline Masson and Megan Khang.

Masson holed a 9-iron approach for eagle on the par-4 13th.

“I had a pretty good number for a 9-iron, a little downwind, and kind of hit the shot I wanted,” Masson said. “It pitched on top and just released a little bit. I kind of wasn’t really looking anymore because I thought it was good, but I didn’t realize it would go in.”

Tiburon was the site of the PGA Tour’s QBE Shootout last week. In a normal year, the CME Group Tour Championship is held before Thanksgiving.

“I think pretty similar,” Kim said. “Greens are softer. I think last night we got a little bit of rain, the greens so feel like little softer than yesterday. But, yeah, everything very similar.”

The $1.1 million winner’s prize, down from $1.5 million last year, is still the largest in women’s golf.

Top-ranked Jin Young Ko was at 68 with Minjee Lee, Maria Fassi, Anna Nordqvist, Carlota Ciganda and 2014 champion Cristie Kerr.

After spending most of the year in South Korea, Ko tied for second at the U.S. Women’s Open to qualify for the event. She had a double bogey on the par-4 third, her 12th hole of the day.

Kerr dislocated three ribs in a golf cart accident before the start of Volunteers of America Classic two weeks ago, and fought through pain to tie for 23rd in Houston.

“I feel a little bit better today, but I just thought it was really important to get through last week,” Kerr said. “There were points where I didn’t think that I was going to be able to, but I guess when they say there is a will there is a way.”

Race to CME Globe leader Inbee Park and second-place Danielle Kang each shot 71, playing alongside Kim. Kang led the points race since back-to-back wins in Ohio until Park took over the lead last week.

Brooke Henderson wasn’t sure how many tournaments she’d get into this LPGA season, or if she’d even tee off at all.

At home with her family in Smiths Falls, Ont., while the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the LPGA’s schedule during the spring, Henderson said she wondered about how comfortable she would be returning to the tour.

Now, Henderson will to cap what she calls a successful season at the final stop of 2020 when she tees off Thursday at the CME Group Tour Championship at Naples, Fla.

“In a crazy year, an uncertain year, I feel like my golf game has been at a really good spot and I’d classify my season as a success,” said Henderson

Henderson, 23, said Wednesday on a videoconference. “I didn’t know how much I was going to play or if I was even going to play, if I’d be comfortable out here when I was back home in Canada during the summer.

“I’m just happy that I made the choice to come back out on tour and grateful to the LPGA for all they’ve done to allow this to happen, and relatively safely.”

Henderson missed the first three tournaments of the LPGA’s summer restart before returning Aug. 20 at the Women’s British Open. While she missed the cut at storied Royal Troon Old Course in Scotland, she later put together a run of four straight top-six performances, including a tie for second at the ANA Inspiration major.

Including a tie for fourth at the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in January, Henderson has five top-10 finishes in nine tournaments heading into the finale.

“It’s just such an awesome tournament and a great championship, and I would love to finish the 2020 season on a high,” said Henderson, who has won nine tournaments in her LPGA career. “Hopefully I’ll make a lot of birdies, make a lot of putts, and see if I can put myself in contention on Sunday afternoon.

“I’d be happy with a top 10 but obviously hoping for more,” she added.

Henderson has a bit of extra incentive to finish strong after a disappointing performance at last week’s U.S. Women’s Open in Houston.

Henderson struggled to make the cut and finished tied for 44th at 10 over. A cold snap in the Texan metropolis and a rain delay that pushed the end of the final round to Monday made conditions difficult.

“The Monday finish was a little bit rough, changing flights and going straight to the airport after the round,” said Henderson, who said she was wearing five layers Monday to deal with the cold. “That definitely takes a lot out of you, especially with the cold temperatures”.

Now back in her home base of South Florida, Henderson said she is feeling refreshed and ready.

“My results didn’t really show it last week, but I feel good about where I’m at and where my game is,” she said. “I think a couple of things I needed to work on, I worked on them through the weekend last week and the last couple of days here.

“I just finished a Pro-Am and had a lot of fun, so right now I’m feeling great and just really excited for the next four days.”

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The COVID-19 pandemic has infected millions and killed hundreds of thousands around the world. Almost without exception, everyone was affected in some way. Its effects extended beyond the physical toll, causing emotional, psychological and economic impact. We were hard-pressed to find ways to stay positive and active. Many turned to golf as an outlet, even therapy of sorts.

“What an incredibly strange and challenging year,” Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “Golf has been a silver lining, a bright light, call it what you may, in giving people a bit of a break from the pandemic.”

Record rounds were registered across the country consistently throughout the year, played under strict precautionary COVID-19 protocols.

 

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While participation grew across the country, most tournaments and social gatherings at golf clubs were cancelled or postponed, including the RBC Canadian Open and the CP Women’s Open. The Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada cancelled its season. All Golf Canada’s national championships and many provincial association tournaments were shelved.

“We’re going to look back on 2020 and say, ‘amongst all the challenges, amongst a lot of really difficult situations for so many people, golf was a bright light that we built from,’” Applebaum said.

For example, the COVID-19 Golf Relief Fund initiated by Golf Canada and the Canadian Golf Foundation raised more than $400,000. The fund subsidizes non-medical personal protective equipment for golf course employees as well as sanitization, hygiene and protective material expenses. It also subsidizes rounds of golf for front-line workers as well as juniors.

What follows are some of the top golf-related stories from 2020, a very different year. These are just some of the headlines. Details on these stories and many others are available under News on the Golf Canada website.

January

The new World Handicap System came into effect with the goal of making the game more enjoyable by providing a consistent means of measuring performance and progress and to enable golfers of differing abilities to compete or play a casual round with anyone else on a fair and equal basis.

Jared du Toit, a member of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Squad, won the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica Qualifying Tournament Mexico.

#TeamCanada’s @Jareddutoit finishes at 22 under to claim medalist honours at @PGATOURLA Q-School, earning fully exempt status ? pic.twitter.com/UOWNokr13U

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 18, 2020

Grace McCann of Windsor, Ont., a past president of the former Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association, passed away at the age of 85.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada named Brooke Henderson (female professional), Corey Conners (male professional), Garrett Rank (male amateur) and Brigitte Thibault (female amateur) as players of the year for 2019.

February

Charlie Beaulieu of Lorraine, Que., was elected for a second term at Golf Canada’s annual meeting. Liz Hoffman of Thornhill, Ont., and Dale Jackson of Victoria remain as first and second vice-president respectively. Bill MacMillan of Eastern Passage, N.S., received the Bruce Mitchell Volunteer of the Year Award. Volunteer Richard Smith of Regina and golf journalist Ian Hutchison of Newmarket, Ont., received Golf Canada’s Distinguished Service Award.

Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-L’lle-Perrot, Que., a graduate of Team Canada’s National Junior Squad, won the NCAA’s Gold Rush tournament in California.

Nick Taylor shot a final-round 2-under-par 70 to claim a wire-to-wire four-stroke victory in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California. Taylor overcame 40 mph gusts of winds and finished at 19-under to become the first Canadian to win the event.

Golf Canada named the 2020 Young Pro Squads: Hugo Bernard, Jared du Toit, Stuart Macdonald, Taylor Pendrith, Chris Crisologo and Joey Savoie for the men and Jaclyn Lee, Brittany Marchand and Maddie Szeryk for the women.

 

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March

As the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic enveloped not only Canada but the world, governments ordered the shutdown of non-essential businesses, which in most provinces included golf courses.

The Summer Olympics, scheduled to begin in July in Tokyo, are postponed until 2021 due to the pandemic. They will still be called the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, however.

April

Canadian Scott Pritchard, previously vice-president of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada, is promoted to executive director.

May

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, most golf courses across Canada did not open on schedule this spring. Although those in British Columbia were never ordered to close, those in other provinces were shuttered until they were allowed to open when stringent anti-COVID safeguards were in place. New Brunswick courses opened April 24 with the balance of the provinces following suit throughout the month of May.

Golf Canada announced the formation of the Golf Industry Advisory Council, a volunteer group of experienced professionals to support Golf Canada’s Board of Directors and management team. The council will include course owners, operators, general managers, superintendents and professionals as well as executives from the golf equipment, apparel and footwear industry.

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame announced Lorie Kane of Charlottetown was among six athletes and five builders who will receive the Order of Sports award, Canada’s highest sporting honour.

BIG round of applause for @loriekanelpga, who was announced as an inductee into @sportshall class of 2020/21 ????

Congrats to all inductees! ??https://t.co/WDFgBToJg1

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) May 27, 2020

The Prince Edward Island Golf Association named Alison Griffin as its new executive director.

The PGA TOUR announced that it would resume without spectators in June. The Tour had suspended play since The Players Championship was cancelled in March.

June

Despite months of planning, the celebration of the 125^th anniversary of the founding of Golf Canada on June 6, 1895, also fell victim to the pandemic. Nevertheless, the historic occasion was commemorated virtually with pivotal moments in Canadian golf being recalled on social media platforms using the hashtag #GolfCanada125.

Golf Canada announces that St. George’s Golf and Country Club will play host to the 2021 RBC Canadian Open. The 2020 championship, scheduled for St. George’s, was cancelled due to the pandemic.

July

Team Canada’s Brigitte Thibault of Rosemere, Que., won the Women’s Western Amateur in Illinois.

The LPGA Tour announced it would resume July 31 without spectators after having suspended play in February.

August

Golf Canada and Canadian Pacific announced that Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club will play host to the 2022 CP Women’s Open.

 

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The Golf Canada Women in Coaching Program, a partnership between Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada with the goal of putting the sport on the path to further balance between the sexes at a high level, was announced.

The new and free Golf Canada app was launched, allowing golfers nationwide to record and track their scores, trace where they have played and provide detailed game statistics as a game improvement tool.

🚨NEW FEATURE🚨

The Golf Canada app now includes free GPS distances 👀

Download: https://t.co/7WhwEb7Cyc pic.twitter.com/SlG7eEnewQ

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) September 18, 2020

The PGA TOUR announced that the 2024 Presidents Cup will return to The Royal Montreal Golf Club. The event, which pits the top male pros from the U.S. against the best from the rest of the world (except Britain and Europe), was held there in 2007.

Golf Canada and U.S.-based First Tee announced the launch of First Tee-Canada. The partnership will bring First Tee’s youth development emphasis to strengthen Golf Canada’s junior golf activities —previously conducted under the Future Links brand — that reach kids in schools and at golf facilities. The innovative First Tee curriculum will focus on empowering young people to build strength of character through the game of golf.

 

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September

The third annual CP Women’s Leadership Summit, held virtually due to the pandemic, provided inspiring stories and a networking opportunity along with accepting donations for the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation. Hosted by TSN anchor Lindsay Hamilton, speakers included golfers Lorie Kane and Brooke Henderson, Olympians Marnie McBean and Perdita Felicien and other prominent women in leadership positions. “It was a success story for us,” said Mary Beth McKenna, assistant RBC Canadian Open tournament director who has co-led the event since it began.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada announced that Kim Locke of Toronto, founder and president of SCOREGolf, was the 2020 recipient of the Dick Grimm Award. The association’s highest honour is awarded in memory of the late Richard Grimm whose legendary service to the RBC Canadian Open and the Canadian golf industry remains unparalleled.

Laurent Desmarchais of Bromont, Que., a member of Team Canada’s junior squad, went wire-to-wire to win the season-ending Canada Life Series Championship at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.

October

PGA TOUR Champions rookie Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove, Ont., had victory in sight leading by three strokes heading into the final round of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in Virginia but fellow rookie Phil Mickelson denied him the win. It was Weir’s third top-10 finish in eight starts on the tour.

PGA of Canada member Jennifer Greggain of Chilliwack, B.C., was named coach of the National Junior Squads by Golf Canada, working with head coach Robert Ratliffe.

Findlay Young of Prince George, B.C., a former Golf Canada president and honourary life governor, passed away at the age of 92.

November

Twenty-nine athletes, male and female, were named by Golf Canada to represent Team Canada as part of the 2021 national Amateur and Junior Squads. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all athletes from the 2020 squad were able to return in 2021, provided they met team eligibility criteria.

Aaron Cockerill of Stone Mountain, Man., finished T4 at the JoBurg Open in South Africa, his best career finish on the European Tour.

The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019) report, conducted on behalf of the national Allied Golf Associations (We Are Golf), was released. Among its findings were that the Canadian golf industry generated $18.2 billion in economic benefits, employs the equivalent of nearly 249,000 people through direct and spin-off effects and contributed to $10.6 billion in household income.

⛳️ Accounts for an estimated $18.2B of Canada’s GDP
⛳️ Directly employed nearly 150,000 full-time positions
⛳️ Contributed $4.8B in household income

More on the 2019 Economic Impact of Golf in Canada
➡️ https://t.co/aTfPBoHUp3 pic.twitter.com/fg7f0Z2LAy

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) November 2, 2020

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., finished in a tie for 10^th at the Masters, which was postponed from its traditional April date due to the pandemic. That finish guaranteed him a spot in the 2021 Masters.

 

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Golf Genius Software, the leading worldwide provider of tournament management solutions, announced that Golf Canada and the provincial golf associations will begin using Golf Genius Tournament Management for their competitions in 2021.

So while what lies ahead for 2021 remains unclear, we can only hope that when we compile next year’s “Year in Review,” life as we know it will have returned to a semblance of normality, on the course and off.

HOUSTON — A Lim Kim made her first U.S. Women’s Open appearance a memorable one Monday, closing with three straight birdies to tie the record for the largest comeback and win the biggest event in women’s golf.

And in the final major of this pandemic-disrupted year in sports, she won wearing a mask.

Starting the final, frigid round at Champions Golf Club five shots behind, the 25-year-old South Korean wore a heavy down jacket between shots and delivered a 4-under 67 for a one-shot victory over Amy Olson and Jin Young Ko.

“Still can’t really soak in that I’m the champion,” she said, minutes after being soaked in champagne on a day with temperatures in the 40s.

Kim became the seventh player to rally from five shots behind in the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open, and the first since Annika Sorenstam at The Broadmoor in 1995.

Olson held her own amid the grief of learning her father-in-law died unexpectedly in North Dakota on Saturday night. She was in tears Sunday morning on the range, before rain pushed the final round to Monday.

Olson, winless in seven years on the LPGA Tour, had a two-shot lead on the back nine after 54-hole leader Hinako Shibuno faltered. But she couldn’t do anything about Kim’s late charge, and Olson fell back when her hybrid on the par-3 16th bounded over the green and into thick, brown rough, leading to bogey.

She birdied the final hole for a 72 after Kim had already secured the title.

“I felt very weak and helpless the last couple days, and probably today on the golf course,” Olson said, fighting back tears. “I really believe the Lord just carried me through. It just makes you realize how much bigger life is than golf. But pleased with my finish overall and my performance.”

Ko, the No. 1 player in the world who only recently returned from South Korea where she rode out the COVID-19 pandemic, also birdied the 18th when it was too late to catch Kim. Ko closed with a 68, one of only six players to break par in the final round where the cold and mud-splattered golf balls added to the difficulty.

Kim finished at 3-under 281 and won $1 million. She added to South Korean dominance of this major, the ninth winner in the last 13 years.

Shibuno was trying to win in her first try at a second major, having won the Women’s British Open last year in her first tournament outside Japan. Her short game only carried her for so long, however, and she fell out of the lead by starting the back nine with consecutive bogeys.

Shibuno birdied the 18th hole for a 74 and finished two behind. Only four players finished under par.

Olson recovered from three straight bogeys early in the round and looked so solid for so long, taking advantage of her length and the high trajectory of her irons. She went 11 straight holes without a bogey, and still has no regrets over the hybrid that sealed her fate.

She had 170 yards to cover the bunker fronting the 16th green, and based on how far her 5-iron flew on the previous hole, she knew that would be enough. Her hybrid was beautiful in flight, but ran over the back of the green and left her little chance of par.

By then, Kim was on her way, attacking flags. Her 5-iron on the 16th settled 4 feet away. She hit 8-iron that rolled out to just under 2 feet on the 17th to tie for the lead, and she closed with a pitching wedge to just inside 10 feet, pumping her first when her third straight birdie dropped.

“I’ve been eyeing the leaderboard throughout the round and I knew how many shots I was back,” she said through a translator. “That’s probably the reason why I tried to hit more aggressive, tried to attack the pins.”

A two-time winner on the Korean LPGA, Kim got into the U.S. Women’s Open off the world ranking when the pandemic kept the USGA from conducting open qualifying. She had slipped to No. 94, the lowest-ranked player to win the Open since the women’s world ranking began in 2006.

She is the second non-LPGA member to win a major this year, joining Sophia Popov at the Women’s British Open. She also is the third South Korean to win a major. Second-ranked Sei Young Kim won the Women’s PGA and Mirim Lee won the ANA Inspiration — also at No. 94 in the world.

Texas senior Kaitlyn Papp birdied the 18th for a 74 to finish at 3-over 287, six shots behind in a tie for ninth, to be the low amateur.

Canadian Brooke Henderson teed off Monday morning for a round of 72, putting her at 10-over 294 for the tournament. The Smiths Falls, Ont., player placed in a tie for 44th. This year marks her eighth appearance at the event.

HOUSTON — The latest U.S. Women’s Open on the calendar will last one more day because of relentless rain that drenched Champions Golf Club and forced the USGA to suspend the final round until Monday.

Hinako Shibuno of Japan, who had a one-shot lead as she goes for a second major, never teed off.

The USGA moved up tee times as early as possible Sunday because of the forecast, and the final round was just over an hour old when thunderstorms in the area caused play to be stopped. It never resumed, with about three-quarters of an inch of rain falling before there was no point in trying to restart.

The turf in the December climate doesn’t drain as quickly. Plus, heavy rain soaked the course Friday after the second round. There was standing water across Champions even during spells when the rain subsided.

The U.S. Women’s Open was postponed from early June because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be the first Monday finish for the U.S. Women’s Open since So Yeon Ryu won at The Broadmoor in Colorado in 2011.

Shibuno won the Women’s British Open last year in her major championship debut — and her first tournament outside Japan — and is bidding to become the third woman to win two majors the first time playing them. Se Ri Pak was the most recent in 1998 at the LPGA Championship and U.S. Women’s Open.

She was at 4-under 209, one shot ahead of Amy Olson, the 28-year-old from North Dakota who has not won in her seven years on the LPGA Tour.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is sitting at 9 over after Saturday’s round, but did not get a chance to tee off before play was suspended. She will return to the course on Monday at 9:24 AM (ET).

HOUSTON — Hinako Shibuno passed a big test Saturday in a classic U.S. Women’s Open that put a premium on par, keeping the lead with a 3-over 74 going into a final round at Champions Golf Club that figures to be the toughest of all.

Shibuno led by four shots when she made her lone birdie on the par-5 fifth hole, and then it was a matter of hanging on for dear life on a rain-softened course that made it tough to control shots with splatters of mud on the golf ball.

She bogeyed the final hole from a bunker and her lead was down to one shot over Amy Olson, who nearly holed out from the 17th fairway and shot a 71 that felt much lower.

Saturday was a challenging round for Brooke Henderson. The Smiths Falls, Ont. native hit three bogeys and a double bogey to finish with a 6-over 77 in her third round, and will be going into the final round T61.

Moriya Jutanugarn, playing in the same group as her two-time major champion sister, Ariya, was right in the mix until she bladed a bunker shot to the back of the 17th green and three-putted for a double bogey. She still managed a 72 and was three behind, among only four players who remained under par.

The other was Ji Yeong Kim2 of South Korea, who was on the opposite end of the Cypress Creek course. Kim2 made the cut with one shot to spare and shot a 67 — one of only two rounds under par — that moved her into a tie for third. Kim finished by chipping in for birdie on the par-5 ninth hole.

Shibuno was at 4-under 209 as she bids to become the first player since Se Ri Pak in 1998 to win majors for her first two LPGA Tour victories. Pak did it a few months apart in 1998. Shibuno won the Women’s British Open last year at Woburn, and declined to take up LPGA membership because she didn’t think she was ready.

Now her only way to join the LPGA is to win on Sunday, and it doesn’t figure to be easy. With rain in the forecast, the USGA has moved up starting times as early as possible, with the first group starting at 7:45 a.m.

Eight players were separated by four shots going into the final round, a group that includes Lydia Ko (72) and Texas senior Kaitlyn Papp, who played in the final group with Shibuno and held her own until dropping two shots over the last three holes for a 74. They were at even-par 213, along with 19-year-old Yealimi Noh (72) and Megan Khang (74).

Jin Young Ko, the No. 1 player in the world and a two-time major champion, made 16 pars in her round of 71 and that was enough to at least give her a chance. She was at 1-over 214 with Women’s PGA champion Sei Young Kim (73).

All of them had to contend with a course that played 6,635 yards and felt even longer because of heavy rain Friday after the second round ended.

More than length was mud that gathered on the golf ball in the fairway. That creates problems for Champions because of its enormous greens.

Asked about the mud, Olson laughed and replied, “Which one? There were about 18 of them.”

“At one point I laughed and it was like, `Is it going to be in a divot or a mud ball?’ Because it was one or the other pretty much all day,” she said. “So I’m really hoping that we either do lift, clean and place or it’s so wet tomorrow that the water just pulls the mud off.”

She delivered her best shot on the 17th, hitting an 8-iron — the same club, the same type of shot for her hole-in-one in the opening round — that came inches away from going in. The tap-in birdie and a solid par on the last puts her in the last group as the 28-year-old from North Dakota tries to win for the first time.

Stacy Lewis, who grew up in the Houston area and is a member at Champions, saw her chances end on the back nine. She stayed in the game with an 80-foot birdie putt on No. 9 and a two-putt from even longer range on the next hole.

But she three-putted from 25 feet for bogey on the par-5 13th, and on the next hole, Lewis came up short and into the hazard, and then compounded the mistake with another three-putt for a triple bogey. Standing on the 15th tee, she bowed her head into the crook of her elbow for a minute until it was her time to hit, perhaps knowing her chances were over.

Lewis shot 77 and was eight shots behind in a tie for 25th.