(REGINA) – When the CP Women’s Open takes to the links in Regina in August, Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation will be the official beneficiary of the seven day tournament. Through its CP Has Heart campaign, Canadian Pacific (CP) will once again make a substantial donation to the host community by supporting pediatric cardiology at the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, which is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2019.

“CP is very proud to partner with Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital for the 2018 CP Women’s Open,” said Keith Creel, CP President and CEO. “This is a natural partnership as CP is focused on heart health through our community investment program, CP Has Heart, and the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital is focused on helping the youngest hearts across the great province of Saskatchewan – a province that has been integral to our network for more than 130 years.”

Funds raised through the CP Women’s Open will support a dedicated pediatric cardiology space and specialized equipment in the Pediatric Outpatients Clinic at the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. With a nature theme running throughout the hospital, the “Frog Pod” will be specifically used to treat pediatric cardiology patients and will include three echocardiography exam rooms, a pulmonary function technology lab, an exercise challenge room, and a regular exam room. Directly across the hall, included in the pod, is a staff echocardiology reading room.

“On behalf of Saskatchewan children and families, we offer our heartfelt thanks to CP and the CP Women’s Open for helping us further develop the provincial pediatric cardiology program at our new children’s hospital,” said Brynn Boback-Lane, President and CEO of Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation. “It warms our hearts to know the impact this legacy gift will have for young patients, families, and the provincial pediatric cardiac team.”

The Pediatric Outpatients Clinic, which will see children for general pediatrics, cardiology, oncology, speech and language, hearing, and psychiatry, will offer three times more exam rooms than are available today. An anticipated 40,000 young patients will use this area of the hospital every year.

In the four years of CP’s title sponsorship of the CP Women’s Open, $6.5 million has been raised to support children’s heart health in Canada.

“Together with our incredible partners at CP and the LPGA Tour, Golf Canada is proud to bring world-class professional golf to The Wascana Country Club, the city of Regina and the province of Saskatchewan in 2018,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum. “I can’t say enough about the great work that CP does through the CP Has Heart campaign and there is great reason for Saskatchewan residents to be excited about the charitable legacy in support of pediatric cardiac care at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital that will make a difference in people’s lives.”

This is the first time Saskatchewan will play host to a major LPGA Tour event. The CP Women’s Open will run from August 20-26, 2018 at Regina’s Wascana Country Club. Tickets and corporate hosting are available for purchase at www.cpwomensopen.com

Canadian golf leaders, executives, professionals and enthusiasts were in attendance on Thursday, Nov. 2, at the Canadian golf industry expo for the state of the industry town hall conducted by the PGA of Ontario.

Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum was among the leaders who spoke from the featured panel at the Nottawasaga Inn Resort in Alliston, Ont.

The last time World No. 13 Brooke Henderson was in Japan, she was hoisting the individual title trophy at the 2014 Women’s World Amateur Games in Karuizawa. Henderson is making her first start at the TOTO Japan Classic, and a win this week would bring her record to 2-0 when playing in Japan.

“Playing in the World Am a few years ago, was a highlight of my amateur career, and experiencing playing in Japan for the first time was really cool,” Henderson said. “Going into Tokyo and doing a few extra things made it extremely memorable and I’ve been really looking forward to this visit back.”

So excited to be back in Japan! Last trip here was for World Amateur Team Championships 2014! Silver Medal for?? and Low Individual Honours pic.twitter.com/1kqlVf1Dma

— Brooke Henderson (@BrookeHenderson) October 30, 2017

Henderson is in top form heading into the TOTO Japan Classic finishing in the top 10 in three of her last four starts, including her second victory of the 2017 season at the MCKAYSON New Zealand Women’s Open.

“I’d like to get another top 10, of course a win would be amazing, but top 10 is my goal,” Henderson said. “Keep the streak alive a little bit, but just to continue to play well and improve my world ranking and position in the Race to the CME Globe. Hopefully this week will be a boost in that direction.”

Entering this week, Henderson is fourth in the Race to the CME Globe standings, 241 points behind third place So Yeon Ryu. If Henderson holds her position in the top five, she will control her own destiny at the CME Group Tour Championship, meaning if she wins in Naples she will win the $1M CME Globe.

Augusta James (left) looks on as Brooke Henderson, (middle), and Brittany Marchand of Canada, high-five at the 18th hole on (Oshitate Course) during the first round at the 2014 Espirito Santo Trophy at Karuizawa 72 Golf East in Karuizawa, Japan on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014. (Copyright USGA/Steven Gibbons)

It was a repatriation of sorts when I received an unexpected phone call from 11-time PGA Tour winner Andy Bean.

“Meggan, have I got something for you,” he said, as we got to the reason for his call. “Would you (the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame & Museum) like the very first Vokey wedge ever used on the PGA Tour?”

My heart leapt. Not only was I getting a call from a noted PGA Tour winner but he was offering to donate an incredible artifact that has since rewritten the way manufacturers and professionals craft wedges. Currently, Vokey Design products are used by players all over the world — including major champions Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott and Justin Thomas — and at every level of the game.

“Yes!” I emphatically replied. “Did you win any tournaments with it?”

“Unfortunately,” Bean continued, “I did not win any tournaments with that wedge. But it certainly was not the wedge’s fault! And you can quote me on that.”

Bean then proceeded to tell me the amazing story of how he essentially stole the club from legendary designer and Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Bob Vokey and continued using it until the wedge was too worn down to play with.

When he was moving towards the design of wedges for Titleist, it was a new endeavour not only for Bob Vokey but for Titleist as well. The company had been aiming to make a push in the wedge market.  Vokey had primarily been focused on designing woods but he was always fascinated by the intricacies of wedges and their vast needs by amateurs and professionals.

Tinkering in his workshop, he would eventually produce a prototype that he was comfortable enough to try out on the range. In 1997, Vokey was attending an event in which Bean was playing and approached him on the range. As Bean recalls, Vokey was humble in his approach and asked if he could spend five minutes swinging his prototype. Bean obliged and after swinging the Vokey wedge, he said that he loved the club and he was going to play with it for the weekend.

Vokey was shocked, as much by the player’s reaction as the reality that he had only made that club as a single prototype. It was never meant to be used in a tournament.

“If you are as good a clubmaker as I know you are, you can make another one,” Bean responded.  “I’m playing with this one for the week.”

The prototype wedge arrived by mail two weeks after the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Vokey and Judy Darling Evans at Glen Abbey GC, which took place during the 2017 RBC Canadian Open.

A note was attached:

Dear Meggan and RCGA (Golf Canada)

With the greatest of pleasure, I send the first Titleist, Vokey wedge, especially after Canadian Golf has inducted him into the Hall of Fame.

Bob Vokey has been a great part of golf and it has been an honour knowing him and using his equipment.

Best wishes,

Andy Bean

I sent Andy a note letting him know that I received the club and thanked him very much for the incredible donation to the museum’s collection of artifacts.  “Did you want a tax receipt?” I asked.

“No, that’s okay,” Bean replied. “I only ask that if for any reason you ever get rid of the club, that it is donated to the World Golf Hall of Fame.”

I laughed at the thought, and affirmed my intentions.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Andy. It’s now home.”

This article was originally published in the Fall Issue of Golf Canada Magazine. Click here to view the full magazine.

DALLAS, Texas – Team Canada Amateur Squad member Maddie Szeryk continued her torrid pace on Tuesday, tying for fifth at the SMU Trinity Forest Invitational en route to collecting her fifth straight NCAA top-10 finish.

Szeryk, a 21-year-old senior, finished the 54-hole event at 6 over par (72-72-78) to lead the Texas A&M Aggies to a T4 finish at the Trinity Forest Golf Club. The London, Ont., resident will break with the Aggies until the spring semester kicks up again in 2018. Szeryk will look to pick up where she left off by defending her title at the Florida State Match-Up from Feb. 9-11.

In her junior season with the Aggies, Szeryk captured WGCA First Team All-America and First Team All-SEC honours while ranking fourth in the nation with a school-record 71.24 stroke average.

Click here for full scoring.

The Canadian Seniors Golf Association (CSGA) generously donated $34,775 to the Golf Canada Foundation this year to help with grow the game initiatives and scholarships. In 2017, the funds helped create a matching program for the Golf in Schools Adopt a School Week, which translated to 26 new schools across Canada delivering the program.

Read the full story by Jeffrey Reed at LondonOntarioGolf.com

MURRIETA, Calif. – Five Canadians are set to tee-it-up in stage II of Web.com Tour Q-School from Oct. 31 – Nov. 3 at Bear Creek Golf in one of five qualifying events held across the United States.

The Canadian contingent is made up by Jared du Toit (Kimberley, B.C.), Riley Wheeldon (Comox, B.C.), Seann Harlingten (Vancouver), Ryan Yip (Calgary) and Aaron Cockerill (Gunton, Man.)

The tournament is a 72-hole stroke play event with no cut – the number of qualifying positions to advance will be announced during the tournament.

Click here for full scoring.

Play it again, Tiger Woods.

For the second straight year, Woods will return from back surgery at his holiday tournament in the Bahamas the week after Thanksgiving.

Woods has not played since he withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic on Feb. 3 with back spasms. Two months later, he had his fourth back surgery in just over two years.

Woods will be part of the 18-man field at the Hero World Challenge, which starts Nov. 30 at Albany Golf Club. While sponsor exemptions are limited to the top 50 in the world, Woods is exempt as the tournament host.

His latest procedure was a fusion surgery — the previous three were microdiscectomy surgeries — and Woods reported instant relief. He also said just one month ago at the Presidents Cup that he had no idea what his future held.

Doctors gave him clearance to practice without limitations about a week later, and Woods had been posting video on Twitter of a full swing with an iron, a driver and then his signature stinger shot with the driver.

“I am excited to return to competitive golf at the Hero World Challenge,” Woods said in a story on his website. “Albany is the perfect setting and it will be great to join this outstanding field.”

The tournament has no cut.

A year ago, Woods returned after 15 months recovering from two back surgeries. He made 24 birdies, but finished 15th out of 18 players. The tournament is not official on any tour, although it does award world ranking points.

He made his first PGA Tour start at Torrey Pines and missed the cut, and then went to Dubai and didn’t make it past the first round before his back began acting up.

Woods made the announcement just three days after he pleaded guilty to reckless driving in a deal that allows him to avoid jail time if he doesn’t violate terms of his probation.

The deal stems from a Memorial Day arrest on a DUI charge when Woods was found asleep at the wheel of his car, which was still running and parked at an awkward angle about 15 minutes from his home in Florida.

Woods attributed it to a bad combination of prescription medicine.

According to a toxicology report, Woods had the active ingredient for marijuana, two painkillers, the sleep drug Ambien and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in his system.

He completed a drug treatment program in July.

Woods has 79 PGA Tour victories and 14 majors, both second all-time, though he has not won since the Bridgestone Invitational in August 2013 for his record 18th World Golf Championships title.

Canadian PGA TOUR winner Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ont.) and wife Jenna celebrated the birth of their baby boy on Monday, Oct. 30. Kenton Robert Hughes was introduced by Mackenzie via Twitter:

Say hello to Kenton Robert Hughes! Love him so much and can’t stop smiling. Mom was amazing through it all and is doing great #loveyouKenton pic.twitter.com/4xzPLj4enT

— Mackenzie Hughes (@MacHughesGolf) October 30, 2017

2017 continues to be a special year for the Hughes family. After winning the 2017 RSM Classic, Mackenzie played in his first Masters tournament and went on to post nine top-25 finishes in addition to capturing low Canadian honours in the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.

FAR HILLS, N.J. – Mark Newell, of McLean, Va., has been nominated to serve a one-year term as 65th president of the United States Golf Association (USGA) by the USGA Nominating Committee. He would replace Diana Murphy, who is completing her second and final one-year term.

Newell, a five-year member of the USGA Executive Committee, has chaired the Rules of Golf Committee since 2012. During that time, he has co-led the joint USGA/R&A Rules modernization project, which will result in major Rules changes in 2019. He also chaired the USGA Handicap Committee and spent four years as co-chair of the World Handicap Initiative, which developed the proposed USGA/R&A World Handicap System that is scheduled to debut in 2020.

Newell’s nomination comes alongside those of four new nominees to the Executive Committee, including three-time major champion and former World No. 1 player Nick Price, and a new general counsel.

The other new nominees to the 15-member Executive Committee, a volunteer group that serves as the Association’s executive policy-making board, are Paul G. Brown, Kendra Graham and Sharon Ritchey. Richard A. Shortz has been nominated as general counsel.

If elected at the USGA’s Annual Meeting on Feb. 3, 2018, in Miami, Fla., the nominees would replace departing Committee members Murphy, Sheila Johnson, George Still and Thomas Hough. Robert Weber will also retire as general counsel.

“Once again, the USGA is the beneficiary of having an incredibly talented group of nominees,” said Jim Hyler, chair of the Nominating Committee and former USGA president. “These individuals have the best interests of the game in mind, and we look forward to them continuing the great work accomplished by the previous Committee.”

The Executive Committee candidates have a wealth of experience in industries that include golf, corporate business, finance and banking. Each nominee has already made selfless contributions to the sport at the local, amateur, collegiate and professional levels.

Get To Know USGA President-Elect Mark Newell, who would serve as the 65th president in the Association’s history. pic.twitter.com/RIpLLsh8lb

— USGA (@USGA) October 30, 2017

“We are extremely grateful for all the hard work of our outgoing Executive Committee members and general counsel, who have selflessly volunteered their time and expertise to the benefit of our mission for the past several years,” said Mike Davis, USGA CEO. “That includes a special thank you to Diana for her leadership, dedication and support over the past two years, which will have a lasting impact.

“The new nominee group truly embodies the mission of the USGA, by helping to make the game more accessible, playable, and enjoyable for everyone. Their expertise, insight, and knowledge will help grow the game in ways that will be beneficial for every golfer.”

Notable experience and achievements of the nominees are as follows:

Nick Price, of Hobe Sound, Fla., is a three-time major champion, World Golf Hall of Fame member and one of the best players of his era. A native of Zimbabwe, Price won 18 times on the PGA Tour, earned two PGA Tour Player of the Year Awards (1993, 1994), and spent 43 weeks as the No. 1 player in the world. He was the 2005 recipient of the Bob Jones Award, the USGA’s highest honor. Price competed five times for the International Team in the Presidents Cup and has served as captain three times, including 2017. In addition to his career on the course, Price has immersed himself in golf course design, with a portfolio of courses all over the world.

Kendra Graham, of Winter Park, Fla., worked for the USGA in Rules and Competitions from 1987 to 2003 and has devoted a lifetime of service to the game of golf. Graham was one of the first women to work as a Rules official at the Masters in 1994, and she was the first American woman to officiate at The Open Championship in 1995. She has worked as a Rules official for more than 20 major championships. A graduate of Wake Forest University, where she played on the golf team, Graham won several junior events and has competed in three USGA championships. A breast cancer survivor, Graham is an avid fundraiser for charitable efforts, including the American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen For The Cure, and the Avon Breast Cancer Foundation.

Sharon Ritchey, of Asheville, N.C., has spent her career in the financial sector, most recently serving as senior executive director and chief customer officer for AXA US, one of the largest and most recognized insurance brands in the world. Prior to AXA, Ritchey worked at The Hartford Financial Services, where she helped support the sports marketing program, including the sponsorship of the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship. Ritchey furthered her commitment to the game by supporting the creation of the women’s golf program at the University of North Carolina Asheville. A graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, she currently serves on the board of the LPGA Foundation.

Paul G. Brown, of Brookeville, Md., has nearly four decades of experience in the banking industry, most recently serving as executive vice president of City First Bank, the only bank in the nation’s capital that provides financial services to under-served communities in the region. Brown has served as an official at 35 USGA championships – including seven U.S. Opens – and is a member of the Junior Amateur Championship Committee. Brown earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Bucknell University.

Richard A. Shortz, of Los Angeles, Calif., has practiced law for more than 40 years, supporting major corporations and leading initiatives in the field of corporate governance. A junior club champion at age 15, Shortz has had a passion for golf throughout his life. At The Los Angeles Country Club, he has served in various roles, including chair of the club’s U.S. Open Committee. Shortz, a graduate of Indiana University and Harvard Law School, served in the United States Army as a second lieutenant.

Two current members of the Executive Committee have been nominated to serve as officers. They are Mark Reinemann as secretary and Thomas Barkin as treasurer. Other current members nominated to continue their service are: J. Michael Bailey, Stephen Beebe, J. Stuart Francis, Robert Kain, Martha Lang, Gregory Morrison, Clifford Shahbaz and William Siart.

For more information on the USGA, visit www.usga.org.