BROMONT, Que. – The second day of the 2016 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship saw Team Ontario capture the R. Bruce Forbes Trophy after reclaiming their province’s 2015 team title with a 15-under 273 showing. Team Alberta’s Jordan Irwin carded a 65 through persistent winds at Golf Château-Bromont to sit alone atop the leaderboard.

Matthew Sim (Oakville) led the Ontario contingent – including Ryan Kings (Kitchener) and Charles Fitzsimmons (London) – with a 5-under 67 performance.

“It’s my first time on Team Ontario and it’s just been so much fun. It’s nice to bring this title back,” said Sim, a University of Waterloo alumnus. “Playing with a team is different because there’s a little more pressure behind it that you definitely feel, but it’s just like university golf.”

The 29-year-old recorded a single bogey through his six-birdie day to sit T2 at 8-under in the individual standings alongside 18-hole co-leader Jacob Peterson of Montréal.

Kings carded a bogey-free 68 to claim a share of fourth at 7-under alongside Philip Arci (Vaughan, Ont.) and two-time Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur champion Garrett Rank (Elmira, Ont.). The 39-year-old Kings enjoyed the novelty of representing his home province alongside the people against whom he typically competes.

“I’ve never played on a golf team before so it’s nice to form some camaraderie with the guys. I loved representing Ontario and I hope I can do it again next year.”

First-round co-leader Jordan Irwin (Banff) shot 65 to lead Team Alberta to a runner-up result. Irwin and teammates Paul Briske (Calgary) and Gerry MacDonald (Chestermere) finished five strokes behind the leaders with a combined 10-under 278.

Irwin recovered quickly from a bogey on his first hole with a trio of birdies through Nos. 3 to 8 and an eagle on the par-5 9th. A 3-under back nine vaulted the 2016 Alberta Mid-Amateur champion into a four-stroke advantage in the overall standings at 12-under 132.

“I didn’t hit the ball as well as I would have liked, but my putter was solid and my misses were pretty good,” said the 31-year-old. “I didn’t think about the cut all day, which is rare. I’m just going to keep trying to play well, work hard at every shot and enjoy it.”

Three-time Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur champion Dave Bunker of Woodbridge, Ont., and Darren Shaw of Stoney Creek, Ont., lead the 40-and-over Mid-Master division at 6-under 138. Bunker claimed the Mid-Master title in 2015 at Abercrombie Country Club in New Glasgow, N.S.

The 2016 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur champion will receive an exemption into the 2017 RBC Canadian Open hosted by Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., from July 24 to 30.

A total of 70 players finished 149-or-better to advance to the final two rounds of the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship. The third round will see the first groups tee off from holes 1 and 10 at 7:30 a.m.

Additional information from the tournament can be found here.

CALGARY – Brooke Henderson is the face of Canadian golf. Lydia Ko is a big hit, too – and every bit as comfortable.

“I feel when I come to Canada, it feels a lot like New Zealand, feels a lot like home,” Ko said Wednesday, a day before the start of play in the CP Women’s Open. “Just even how they say ‘eh’ at the end of sentences. A lot of people back at home say ‘eh,’ too. … Everyone has just been super welcoming, and I think that’s the thing about it. ”

The 18-year-old Henderson had a large crowd for her pro-am round at Priddis Greens.

“Having Canadians and people from all over the world kind of celebrate this national championship is really cool,” Henderson said. “Even this morning, I teed off at 8 in a pro-am, and there were people following me right from the start. My gallery kind of grew throughout the day, and as I finished, that was probably the longest autograph session that I’ve ever had.”

The top-ranked Ko has won the event three of the last four years, the first two as an amateur. The New Zealander won in 2012 at Vancouver Golf Club at 15 years, 4 months to become the LPGA Tour’s youngest winner and fifth amateur champion. She successfully defended her title in 2013, winning by five strokes in Edmonton. Last year back at Vancouver as a pro, she beat Stacy Lewis in a playoff.

The 19-year-old Ko has four LPGA Tour victories this season, winning the ANA Inspiration in April for her second major title.

Lydia Ko's pre-tournament interview at the #CPWO.https://t.co/wCLUf0QMsW

— CP Womens Open (@cpwomensopen) August 25, 2016

“Lydia is truly amazing,” Henderson said. “She’s an inspiration to me and I think everybody that knows her.”

Henderson beat Ko in a playoff in June in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship for her first major title, and successfully defended her Cambia Portland Classic title in early July.

“She’s not afraid to be out in front,” veteran Canadian player Lorie Kane said. “I truly respect the way she plays in that she’s accepting of what happens and she moves past it. I’ve had enough time to play with her to see she’s got all kinds of game. She swings a very big driver a very long way and I’m extremely proud of her.”

Ko was second last week in the Rio Olympics, five strokes behind winner Inbee Park.

“It’s definitely a quick turnaround, but this is one of our best tournaments on our tour schedule, so even the girls that were in Rio I think we’re all excited to be here,” Ko said. “Last week, the course was a little bit like sand belt with a little bit of British flair. This is a bit more traditional. … It’s firm and fast. Last week, we were wearing shorts. This week, we’re wearing sweaters.”

Henderson tied for seventh in Rio.

“Rio was kind of just a sixth major on the LPGA Tour,” Henderson said. “Of course, there was lots of other things going on. … It was cool, but the end of the day it was just four rounds of golf, regular stroke play individual that we do every single week, playing against the same players we play against every week.”

Brooke Henderson's pre-tournament interview at the #CPWO.https://t.co/3EUb6STfff

— CP Womens Open (@cpwomensopen) August 25, 2016

Ko and Henderson are on opposite sides of the draw. Ko will open play Thursday morning on the 10th tee with Jessica Korda and Sei Young Kim, and Henderson will start on No. 1 in the afternoon with Gerina Piller and Amy Yang.

Kane, at 51, is making her record-tying 26th straight appearance in the event. The four-time LPGA Tour winner is being inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.

“I’m proud of myself. I’ve accomplished some things that I never thought would have been possible,” Kane said. “To think in 20 years what I have achieved – the four wins? It took me a long time to win the first one and then the next three came pretty quickly after that.”

Kane will match the tournament record for consecutive starts set by Hollis Stacy.

Suzann Pettersen won the 2009 tournament at Priddis Greens.

The tour will remain in Canada next week for the Manulife LPGA Classic in Cambridge, Ont., with Pettersen the defending champion.

Nestled against the Credit River, within shouting distance of Lake Ontario and a mere 17 minutes (without traffic, of course) from downtown Toronto, lays one of the country’s most iconic and celebrated layouts.

And when Mississaugua Golf and Country Club hosts the World Junior Girls Championship in late-September, all eyes will once again be on the Percy Barrett/George Cumming/Donald Ross/Stanley Thompson design.

How about that for a Murder’s Row of golf-course designers?

“If you look at our history, our club has always had a big amateur tournament every four or five years. We’re constantly looking to host something from an amateur perspective, and for the World Junior Girls, it was a no-brainer,” says Mississaugua’s Head Teaching Professional Nick Starchuk. “It’s pretty special from a member perspective.”

Mississaugua has hosted the Canadian Open six times, and the first two champions were Walter Hagen (1931) and Sam Snead (1938), while names like Jones, Hogan, Player, Palmer, and Nicklaus have all traversed the historic links. In it’s centennial year (2006), the club hosted the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship won by Richard Scott (his third).

The club has quite the golfing pedigree when it comes to great champions, and that’s not lost on those anxious to put the club once again on the world stage.

“It’s a old, traditional club. There’s a lot of tradition here,” says Starchuk. “Entering the grounds, you recognize this is a place that has been improving for the last 100 years. You know it’s going to be special.”

The course, a par 71, measuring 7,100 yards from the back tees (but more likely to play just under 6,000 yards for the World Junior Girls) features classic Stanley Thompson green sites meant to challenge and invigorate those who tee it up.

“The course is not going to give a flat lie, it’s not going to give a straight putt on the greens, and they’re going to have to deal with the Credit River,” explains Starchuck of the course’s many subtle challenges. “It’s a tighter course than this competition is used to.”

“It won’t be long for them, but it’s going to be challenging to hit the right tee shot, hit the right approach, and then make the putt. There are no easy pars out here,” he continues.

The holes that meander through the Valley will particularly be challenging for the girls. Holes four through 15, according to Director of Golf Dennis Firth, are ‘really strong.’

“They’re going to have to keep it in play all week,” states Firth. “Our rough has been very healthy all year despite the lack of rain and water. It’s a golf course that’s out in front of you, but it’s going to take just a complete effort from tee-to-green to score well.”

As far as the membership support goes, Mississaugua has been all-in since 2014 when the conversations first began to potentially host the event after Angus Glen and The Marshes the last two years.

“The momentum builds from the day you announce the event all the way to tournament week,” explains Firth. “(The excitement) continues to grow even though this tournament is relatively new in its lifespan. With Brooke (Henderson) competing just two years ago and seeing the meteoric rise of her and her game, it brings a lot of excitement.”

And not only will the Brooke Henderson Effect be on display in September, but Mississaugua is hoping one of their own makes the field as well.

Chloe Currie, a member at the venerable club, is in the running to be a part of Team Canada, having won some prestigious junior events this year. If she does make the team, Starchuck says it’s likely her private school in Oakville will take a day off to come and watch her making the potential “huge for the club.”

Starchuck says there wasn’t really a junior program at Mississaugua before he arrived five years ago. Now, it’s a thriving entity of the club.

“A big percentage of our juniors compete regionally, and some compete internationally. We have a junior program that is not an after-school thing,” he says. “You’re going to be in a program to play tournaments, and you’re going to win. We have 10 wins this year alone for kids at the club.”

Regardless of if Currie makes the team or not, the club will be a proud host, and, at least according to Starchuck, it can’t wait to get started.

“Being able to see this tournament at Angus Glen, and then at my home course in Ottawa, it’s massive,” he says. “It’s really big, and we’re so excited.”

BROMONT, Que. – Clear skies and mountain winds at Golf Château-Bromont welcomed competitors to the first round of the 2016 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship. At 5-under 67, Montréal’s Jacob Peterson holds a one-stroke lead alongside Jordan Irwin of Banff, Alta.

Peterson took off from the 10th tee with the morning wave and moved into quick possession of the lead with three birdies through holes 12 to 15 and an eagle on the par-5 17th.

“It was a pretty windy morning, but I managed pretty well,” said Peterson. “It honestly helped me at some points. I got some good breaks, I made some good putts and I holed-out from a bunker.”

The 25-year-old Concordia University Stinger, who is competing for the first time at this national championship, birdied No. 2, but settled for a bogey on the par-4 5^th hole. A birdie on his final hole solidified Peterson’s 67.

“I was pretty lucky to get the morning draw today, so hopefully it’s not too windy tomorrow afternoon. 5-under is hard to beat, but there are a lot of golfers out here, so I’ll just try to do the same thing tomorrow.”

The 31-year-old Irwin also began his round on the back nine, collecting a birdie on the 14th hole followed by a trio across holes 16 to 18. A final push with birdies on Nos. 1 and 8 nudged Irwin into his share of the lead.

Three-time Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur champion Dave Bunker of Woodbridge, Ont., put himself in good position to defend his 2015 40-and-over Mid-Master title with a 4-under 68. The 51-year-old sits T3 in the overall competition with Vaughan, Ont., native Philip Arci, Brandon Markiw of Edmonton and Calgary’s Dustin Yeager.

The team representing Ontario – consisting of Charles Fitzsimmons (London), Ryan Kings (Kitchener) and Matthew Sim (Oakville) – lead the inter-provincial team competition which takes place concurrently with the first two rounds of stroke-play. The trio combined for a two-stroke lead at 6-under 138 as they look to defend their province’s 2015 title.

Team Quebec’s Sebastien Levasseur (Nicolet), Alain Dufresne (Deux-Montagnes) and Dwight Reinhart (Renfrew, Ont.) follow closely in second at 4-under 140.

In addition to the 2016 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur title, the champion will receive an exemption into the 2017 RBC Canadian Open hosted by Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., from July 24 to 30.

The second round of the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship will see the first wave tee off from holes 1 and 10 at 7:30 a.m., followed by the second wave from Nos. 1 and 10 at 12:30 p.m.

Additional information from the tournament can be found here.

In Lorie Kane’s opinion, anyway, this is one head-to-head match-play duel she can never, ever win.

“I owe golf,’’ she is saying, with utter certainty, “a whole lot more than it owes me. Someone once asked me: ‘What do you love about golf?’ I answered: ‘What it’s afforded me to do.’

Golf helped shape the person I am. I don’t think I’m this Lorie Kane without the game.”

The flip-side argument being that golf in this country wouldn’t be what it is without Lorie Kane, either.

During the CP Women’s Open this week at Priddis Greens, a solid five-iron outside of Calgary, the Charlottetown native will be inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, joining fellow 2016 inductees writer/commentator Bob Weeks and two-time men’s national amateur champion Warren Sye.

So let her protest; to her heart’s content, in fact. Quibble away. This particular tribute has for a while now shaped up as a slam-dunk.

Because it’s not a stretch to argue that for an entire generation of aspiring female golfers aiming of the stars, Lorie Kane has come not only to represent, but to symbolize their game in this country, stem to stern, tip to tip. The way Jocelyne Bourassa or Sandra Post did for preceding eras.

“I feel she’s the continuation of torch passing,’’ says Post, chair of the Hall’s selection committee. “We have a wonderful history of women’s golf in this country. I first think of Ada (Mackenzie), Marlene Streit, then in the late ‘60s we move from amateurs to professional. There was Jocelyn Bourassa, myself, Coe Jones and Lisa Walters. We passed it along nicely. Then we passed it nicely to Lorie.”

“Golf Canada does such a great job of giving amateurs, giving young people, the chance to get better, added Post. “Whether that’s through coaching or advice or travel. They’re really extremely generous. But there are still a lot of rungs you have to climb to get to the top rung.

“Now we have there’s Brooke (Henderson), of course, to continue the tradition.”

“Considering Lorie started so late, the length of time she played on Tour is amazing. I don’t see that happening much anymore, that late bloomer. She’s different in that way. Didn’t have much of an amateur career. It didn’t come easy. She really had to battle. And now she’s heading out on the senior tour. She’s hung in there. It’s not easy to play a long time on the LPGA Tour; it’s not easy to win on the LPGA Tour. And she’s done it all with a smile. So I’d say it’s been a very good, very successful, very kind legacy.”

The credentials are by now familiar, and impeccable: Those 10 professional wins, four arriving on the LPGA Tour, the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as this country’s top female athlete in 2000, the Order of Canada honour six years later.

It’s been quite the journey – from Charlottetown to the grand theatres of the game.

“I’m generally not somebody who spends much time reflecting on where she’s been,’’ reasons Kane. “I try very hard to stay where I am and to think about where I’m going. But when Sandra contacted me to tell me I’d been given the honour of being inducted, and inducted into this year’s group – Bob Weeks is a very good friend, who’s done a lot for golf, and then Warren – I’d be foolish to tell you I didn’t start reflecting on the past and where I’d come from. It’s pretty cool.”

“I sometimes think Hall of Fame as being something at the end. I’m far from the end but things are changing. My relationship with CP has allowed me to do a whole lot more than I ever would’ve done if I’d never met (longtime Canadian Pacific Railway executive) Hunter Harrison. He not only changed my life but women’s golf. Let’s face it, Chairman Brown at DuMaurier, when they pulled in the rules that we couldn’t sponsor anymore, golf was in the tank.”

Kane is spot on in thinking of herself as quintessential Canadian, having learned the game here, developed her skills here, before moving out onto its grandest stage and leaving an imprint.

“I didn’t play college golf. I’m probably one of the most non-traditional athletes imaginable in how I got to where I am. I’ve represented our country on several occasions. I met my coach, Jack McLaughlin, in 1988, when I wasn’t sure what I would be doing. I knew I wanted to play professional sport. I didn’t know it was going to be golf. I’ve had so many wonderful people help me along the way; that believed in me.”

“So now, to be in the Hall, with the great athletes we have on the golf side, is really neat.”

Her 11-under-par, three-stroke victory over American Kristi Albers at the 2000 Michelob Light Classic at the Fox Run Golf Club in Eureka, Missouri, proved to be Lorie Kane’s breakthrough moment.

From there, she’d top the leaderboard at the New Albany Classic, again in 2000 (a season she won nearly $2 million and had nine seconds and 34 Top 10 finishes), then the Mizuno Classic and Takefuji Classic a year later.

No one could’ve possibly foreseen it at the time, naturally, but that fourth and final LPGA triumph – she’d come agonizingly close afterwards, losing in playoffs in each of the next three seasons – would be Canada’s last until Brooke Henderson at the Cambia Portland Classic, a full 14 years later.

“The first one,’’ Kane reflects, “was the important one but I’d be lying to say it’s the one that stands out. I vividly remember the chances that came before, and being so close without winning, deep-down wondering if I was ever going to be able to get … there. You always remember the struggles, right?”

“I love hockey. Absolutely love it. And I remember Mark Messier saying: ‘Winning is an attitude.’ I ran with that for a full week (at the Michelob). I said to myself: ‘I’m responsible for that. I’m responsible for my attitude.’ And it pushed me over the line. That win in St. Louis opened up such great opportunities.”

Sandra Post was, of course, the first Canadian to play on the LPGA Tour. Also the first to win multiple times in a season, and the last before Lorie Kane.

“It all starts with winning,’’ reminds Post. “If you don’t win, you don’t get the chance for the nice stuff. (For Hall consideration) you have to win nationally but you also to win internationally. You go from there. You can say all the other great things about Lorie, and there are so many – but the attention that comes with winning is what puts it all in motion. You can’t do all the great outside things Lorie has done for golf unless you’ve got a pretty good game. And she has that.”

More than the achievements, though, what Kane will be celebrating on induction day are the people who’ve aided one of the great careers in Canadian golf. The late Jack McLaughlin. Hunter Harrison. Bourassa. Danny Sharp, caddy for virtually her entire pro career. The mentors, the colleagues, the champions, and most importantly the friends and family who supporter her along the way.

“Any time you stand up in front of your peers and 1) have to make sure you don’t forget anybody and 2) celebrate this with the people who’ve made an impact in your life,’’ is the frank admission, “well, it can be a little nerve wracking.”

Small smile. “But nothing I can’t handle.”

She’s handled it all so well, from Charlottetown to Glen Abbey, to Oakville, Ont., and the Hall of Fame.

“Nobody,’’ Lorie Kane repeats emphatically, “is bigger than the game. I hope what I’ve brought to it is a smile, hard work, sharing. Coming from our smallest province, I had five golf courses to play on when I was starting. Now there’s 29. Golf is important to Prince Edward Island, the Atlantic provinces and the country as a whole.”

“If my success has in any small way helped that growth, any growth, that’s nothing more than my job, giving back what I took from the game. I’m just so, so thankful to golf.”

Whether the lady is up to admitting so or not, the feeling is entirely mutual.

Connaissez-vous un arbitre dans la Ligue nationale de hockey dont l’objectif est de réussir le tour du chapeau?

Tel est le défi cette semaine de Garrett Rank, un des participants au Championnat canadien mid-amateur masculin disputé au Golf Château-Bromont.

Rank y va pour l’exploit de remporter un troisième titre national de suite chez les 25 ans et plus.

Un Ontarien d’Elmira âgé de 28 ans, Rank compte plusieurs intéressantes histoires dans le sport et aussi dans la vie ou plutôt… la survie.

PROMOTION DANS LA LNH

Commençons par sa très bonne nouvelle du mois dernier. Juste avant de participer à l’Omnium canadien RBC, il apprenait sa promotion comme officiel à temps plein dans la LNH.

Après avoir fait la navette dans Ligue américaine l’hiver dernier, on lui a annoncé qu’il serait assigné un peu plus de 70 matchs l’hiver prochain dans le circuit Bettman.

« Cela adonne que je suis un golfeur décent qui a un très bon travail qui lui permet de jouer beaucoup au golf l’été », déclare-t-il.

Rank parle avec humilité : il appartient à la catégorie d’élite.

Il s’est qualifié pour les rondes finales de l’Omnium, à Glen Abbey à la fin juillet pour terminer 77e, ce qui représente un tour de force pour un amateur auprès des as de la PGA.

Malgré son habilité estival, pas question d’abandonner le sifflet. Membre de l’équipe de golf au Canada aux Jeux panaméricains l’été passé (il avait fini 15e), il est dans les rangs amateurs pour le demeurer.

« J’adore mon emploi. Je suis chanceux d’avoir le temps pour mon golf », affirme-t-il très fier avec raison de cette graduation dans les ligues majeures.

SURVIVANT DU CANCER

Après la jeune phénomène Brooke Henderson en raison de son immense talent, Garrett Rank est probablement le nom qui a le plus défrayé les manchettes au golf canadien en raison de son parcours.

En plus de très nombreux médias au pays, Golf Digest lui a consacré une entrevue.

En 2011, Rank a été diagnostiqué du cancer des testicules.

« La maladie m’a rendu une personne plus patiente et reconnaissante », admet-il avec le recul du temps et la rémission.

Parmi ses autres réussites en août, ajoutons sa qualification au tableau principal du Championnat amateur des États-Unis à Detroit la semaine passée. Il a réussi un top dix (9e à -3) au Championnat canadien amateur masculin à Royal Ottawa remporté par Hugo Bernard.

Après Bromont où le championnat « mid-am » se terminera vendredi, Garrett Rank délaissera la compétition.

Puisqu’il faut bien payer les comptes un moment donné, notre golfeur-chevalier du sifflet doit entreprendre de façon intensive sa préparation en prévision de sa saison de hockey.

Il ne rangera toutefois pas son équipement de golf très loin de ses patins.

« Il est possible que je traîne mes bâtons l’hiver dans les villes au climat plus clément où je serais appelé à travailler », termine-t-il.

Pourquoi pas!

CALGARY – Twenty-one players took to The Hamptons Golf Club in Calgary for Monday’s final qualifying event in hopes of securing one of the four final spots into the 2016 CP Women’s Open.

Briana Mao of Folsom, CA, finished atop the leaderboard with a 3-over par 75 to earn medalist honours.

Mao, who holds conditional LPGA Tour status, battled cool and blustery conditions to top the field.

“It was really difficult conditions today, but I just hit it straight and low and it worked out,” said the LPGA Tour rookie and University of Virginia alumnae. “I knew scores were going to be high because the conditions were so difficult. But, I was patient and hit the ball well. So, I’m pretty happy right now.”

Mao will be playing her first pro event in Canada, but she also competed in the Canadian Women’s Amateur in 2014, where she tied for 30^th.

Briana Mao (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Also earning an exemption was Brigitte Thibault of Rosemère, Que., a 17-year-old amateur who carded a 77 to finish second to qualify for her first LPGA Tour event.

Brigitte Thibault

Christine Song of Oakville, CA and Angel Yin of Arcadia, CA  shot 78 and 79 respectively to claim the final two exemptions into the field.

With the addition of Thibault to the field, a total of 17 Canadians will now compete for Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship at Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club.

Click here for complete results from the 2016 CP Women’s Open Monday Qualifier at The Hamptons Golf Club.

PRIDDIS, Alta. – Canadian golf sensation Brooke Henderson spent well over an hour hammering balls on the driving range at Priddis Greens on Monday as veterans and rookies alike marvelled at her amazing year heading into this week’s CP Women’s Open.

Henderson, just back from the Summer Olympics in Rio, signed a couple of autographs before retiring to the driving range – working out the kinks as rain started to fall and a blustery west wind continued to blow at her back.

Her success and work ethic have not gone unnoticed.

“I think it’s very inspirational to be honest,” said Victoria’s Naomi Ko, a talented amateur who gained an exemption into the CP Women’s Open. “It kind of gives me a way to give myself a chance and know if they can do it I can give myself a chance and hopefully succeed like they do.”

Ko, like Henderson, is 18 and said Henderson’s play isn’t a surprise to anyone who knows her.

“She’s been playing really well but she’s always been a great player,” Ko said. “She’s always been and I think it was just a matter of time for her to get used to it.

“It’s amazing. It’s making Canada proud.”

Stephanie Meadow, an Irish professional golfer who made her debut at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open, sees a lot of similarities between Henderson and three-time Canadian Open winner Lydia Ko.

“First off they’re both great people,” said Meadow, who represented Britain at the Rio Olympics. “I’ve played a lot with Brooke and a few times with Lydia and I can’t say enough good things about them.

“Golf-wise they’re fantastic players. They’re extremely consistent. Brooke hits it a long way for her size and fights it out. They’re mentally very tough.”

Tournament director Brent McLaughlin said because the CP Women’s Open is a national championship, it’s a major in the eyes of many competitors.

He also couldn’t say enough about the kind of year Henderson is having.

“It truly is a joy to watch someone like that grow up in front of your eyes and be so beyond her years,” he said. “She’s exactly what Canada needed.

“They needed a great hero on the women’s golf side. She is that.”

McLaughlin said Henderson has been embraced by the LPGA Tour much like Canadian Eugenie Bouchard was in the world of tennis.

“All sports need heroes and if you don’t have a young hero in your sport _ it’s tough,” he said. “You need heroes that you root for and Brooke, whether she likes it or not, is that in Canada.

“She means everything to the game.”

The $2.25-million Canadian Open, which begins Tuesday and runs through Sunday, returns to Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club, southwest of Calgary, after a stop there in 2009. The lucrative purse _ which includes $337,500 for the winner _ is expected to lure the game’s stars out of any post-Rio fatigue.

Tour veteran Lorie Kane of Charlottetown will join Henderson in the Canadian contingent after her induction into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Si Woo Kim won the Wyndham Championship by five strokes Sunday for his first PGA Tour title.

The 21-year-old South Korean player closed with a 3-under 67 to finish at 21-under 259 at Sedgefield Country Club, tying the tournament 72-hole record set eight years ago by Carl Pettersson.

Kim matched Pettersson by sinking an uphill 14-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

Kim set a tournament record with a 60 in the second round. He earned 500 FedEx Cup points and $1,008,000 in prize money in the regular-season finale.

Luke Donald was second at 16 under after a 67. Hideki Matsuyama and Brandt Snedeker were 15 under, also each shooting 67.

Kim pretty much locked up the tournament on the par-5 15th.

Donald birdied that hole to pull within three strokes of Kim at 16 under, and Rafa Cabrera Bello – Kim’s playing partner – joined him by chipping in for eagle from a greenside bunker on that hole.

Kim then pushed a 15-foot eagle putt to the right of the hole, but tapped in a 4-footer for the birdie that put him back up by four strokes with three holes left.

With only six players left on the course and the final pairing headed to the 17th tee, play was suspended for 1 hour, 21 minutes as thunderstorms passed through.

That only meant Kim had to wait a little while longer for his victory party.

He vaulted to the top of the leaderboard Friday with his record round – he missed a 50-foot putt on his final hole for 59 – then stayed there Saturday with a 64 that put him up by four strokes entering the final day.

He’d come close to a win once before, losing to Aaron Baddeley in a playoff last month in Alabama in the Barbasol Championship.

It looked as if Kim would cruise in this one after he had four birdies on his front nine, including two in a row on Nos. 8-9 to move to 22 under and put him on pace for the record. When he made the turn, nobody was within six strokes of him.

But things briefly got tense on the back nine: Kim lost a stroke on the 10th after missing a 4-foot par putt in a driving rain, then gave two more back with bogeys on Nos. 13-14 to slip to 19 under.

“You had to play a perfect round of golf” to catch Kim, Snedeker said. “If he did what he has been doing all week, he’s really, really tough to catch.”

The dominant subplot each year at the Wyndham – the tour’s regular-season finale – is the push by the bubble players to crack the top 125 in the FedEx Cup standings and qualify for The Barclays next week at Bethpage Black.

While Kim – who came to Greensboro at No. 43 on the points list – didn’t need any help, others certainly did.

Whee Kim, a South Korean player who arrived at No. 125, and No. 124 Matt Jones both slipped out of the playoff field after missing the cut.

Kyle Stanley and Shawn Stefani both finished 12 under – good enough to put them both in The Barclays. Stanley arrived at No. 127 while Stefani started at No. 133.

“I knew I had to come in here and have a good week,” Stefani said. “Just been a whirlwind of emotions this week and I’ve really felt good about my game and really love the direction my game is headed.”

Ottawa – If Brock Mackenzie decides to take up another sport outside of golf, he might consider long-distance running.

The 35-year old from Washington State prevailed in a marathon seven-hole playoff over Spain’s Samuel Del Val and Langley, B.C.’s Adam Cornelson on Sunday to win the National Capital Open to Support Our Troops, securing his third career Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada win.

The win, which came thanks to a final round 3-under 68 and then a birdie on the seventh extra hole, moves Mackenzie to second on the Order of Merit with three events remaining.

“Winning is hard,” said Mackenzie. “It seems like it gets harder and harder on this Tour. The quality of guys goes up and up every year on this Tour so I don’t take it for granted, that’s for sure.”

Beginning the day three shots off the lead, the former University of Washington standout admitted he thought he was out of the tournament when Cornelson reached 17-under with three holes to go. Two closing bogeys for the Canadian, however, coupled with a Mackenzie birdie at the 72nd hole, changed the landscape of the tournament, and when Del Val managed two delicate par saves at the 17th and 18th, all three returned to the 18th tee for extra holes.

“I thought Adam had a stranglehold on it,” said Mackenzie. “Unfortunately he made those two bogeys and then all of a sudden the playoff started and chaos ensued.”

All three players made par on the first two extra holes, but Mackenzie put the pressure on after stuffing a 6-iron from 185 to four feet at the par-3 third hole. And while Del Val was able to keep pace after rolling in a long birdie putt, Cornelson’s dreams of a second victory in 2016 were dashed when he wasn’t able to cash in on a birdie try of his own.

“It was dumping rain and blowing 30 km/h, and everything else goes out the window. I just tried to battle and get it done,” said Cornelson, lamenting his bogey-bogey finish. “I was hitting a lot of good shots. Unfortunately, it didn’t go my way but if you give yourself a chance that’s all you can do.”

When the playoff resumed, Mackenzie kept the pressure on, hitting green after green and forcing Del Val to match. But the Spaniard, a two-time runner-up on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, produced several tremendous up-and-downs for par to stay alive and force the playoff to a seventh chapter.

“I kind of thought I was going to win about three different times in that playoff,” said Mackenzie, admiring Del Val’s never-give-up mentality.

Eventually, Mackenzie’s ace ball striking paid off, giving himself a 12-foot look for birdie at the par-3 third that he poured in for the win seven hours and 44 minutes after he originally teed off in the final round.

“I’ve been in a few playoffs before,” said Del Val, “but definitely not a seven-hole playoff. It was a great battle. He made a great putt on the par-3 and I can’t do anything else but congratulate him.”

For Mackenzie, the win puts him in strong position to finish in The Five and earn a promotion to the Web.com Tour, where he played in 2015. Despite finishing second in Greens in Regulation, Mackenzie admitted to struggling on the greens last season and said he would relish the opportunity to get back to the Web.com Tour.

“I’ve played really good golf for probably the last three or four years,” said Mackenzie, who finished 97th on the Money List to retain conditional status. “Last year on the Web.com Tour I think I was the no. 2 ball striker on Tour, and I just putted poorly. Hopefully the putter is coming around and next year I’ll be up there doing what J.J. Spaun and some of the guys that have graduated up there are doing.”