PORTLAND, Ore. – Brooke Henderson has come a long way since her win last year in Portland.

Back then she didn’t even have LPGA Tour status. She was a Monday qualifier for the Portland Classic, urged to try for a spot in the field by her older sister.

She went on to become just the second Monday qualifier to win an LPGA event, and she did it in decisive fashion, winning by eight strokes.

She was just 17 years old.

“It’s definitely been an incredible 18 months, turning pro at 17 and then didn’t have status on the LPGA tour, and was trying to play my way into events and just trying to see what would happen,” Henderson said. “I really took the best advantage of the opportunities I was given and I won here last year, which really changed my whole career.”

The Canadian teenager has since climbed her way up the rankings, reaching No. 2. She’s third on the money list this year. And she’s got a major championship – she won the Women’s PGA Championship two weeks ago by defeating top-ranked Lydia Ko in a playoff.

Ko opted out of playing in Portland.

With her Portland win last year, Henderson became the third-youngest champion in LPGA Tour history at 17 years, 11 months, and six days. She was the first Canadian to win on the tour since Lorie Kane in 2001.

“It was definitely a huge stepping stone for me,” Henderson said. “Right afterward I did try to soak it all in. Then I moved right into the Canadian Open, where it was a huge celebration all over Canada with Canadian fans and that was really cool. It definitely was a huge accomplishment here and I hope that maybe this year I’ll win by nine.”

SKIPPING PORTLAND: Thirty-seven of the top 50 players are skipping the Portland stop. Many players are opting to take this week off ahead of the U.S. Women’s Open next week in California. Normally the Portland tournament is popular among the women, but it was moved up in the schedule this year because the LPGA is taking three weeks off for the Olympics. For the past 11 years the event has been held in August.

RIO BOUND: The field for the Portland Classic includes 20 players from 16 different nations who are set to play in the Rio Olympics this summer. Henderson will represent her native Canada, and Stacy Lewis is set to play for the United States.

But South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace announced Wednesday that she is withdrawing from the Olympics over concern about the Zika virus.

“I hope that everyone can understand that this was a very difficult decision to come to, however my health and my future family’s health must come first,” said Pace, who is ranked 38th in the world.

Several PGA players have pulled out of the Olympics citing concern about the Zika virus (including Australian Jason Day and Ireland’s Shane Lowry this week), but none of their LPGA counterparts had until Pace.

YOUTH IS SERVED: Mariel Galdiano earned a spot in the Portland Classic in the Monday qualifier. The 18-year-old, about to start her freshman year at UCLA, said the fact that Henderson won as a Monday qualifier is not lost on her. In fact, the average age of tour winners this year is just over 21.

“(It) definitely shows how young the game is getting and how close we are as junior golfers, how close our dreams are and how good we can become,” she said.

Galdiano comes from Hawaii where she went to the prestigious Punahou School, which boasts famous alumni including Michelle Wie and President Barack Obama.

THE DETAILS: The Portland Classic is the longest-running non-major on the LPGA Tour, now in its 45th year. The 72-hole event at Columbia Edgewater Country Club starts Thursday and runs through Sunday, with a cut to 70 after the first 36 holes. This year’s purse is $1.3 million, with $195,000 going to the winner.

Course superintendents are golf’s equivalent of hockey goalies.

Almost inevitably, when they’re winning, they get little credit. When they’re losing, they get the bulk of the blame.

It’s a tough and often thankless job.

Now imagine if a goalie was prevented from using his stick, then his pads and, eventually, his mask. With no one willing to dole out the dollars to provide him with alternative protection or means of defence.

Unlike goalies, who protect an area six feet wide, four feet tall and 44 inches deep against six other players, superintendents protect hundreds of acres for the enjoyment of tens of thousands of golfers.

Like that hapless, hypothetical, increasingly defenceless goalie, superintendents are being stripped of traditional methods to maintain the near-pristine turfgrass conditions that modern golfers have come to demand. But they, with the support of turfgrass research foundations across the country, are actively pursuing alternatives.

Not surprisingly, those alternatives come at a cost. And that is where Canada’s golfers come in. (That would be you.)

“We are dedicated to sustainable golf,” says Sean Gunn, President of the Ontario Turfgrass Research Foundation. “Without healthy turf, there are no golf courses. We, more than anyone else, understand that we have to move away from synthetic, chemical solutions to turf diseases.

“We, as an industry, are making great progress, but we need a lot more money to continue that progress.”

Gunn is the superintendent at The Country Club, a 45-hole facility in Woodbridge, Ont. His vision is to elevate the importance of turfgrass research in the minds, and wallets, of golfers.

It’s a tough sell.

Unlike other very worthwhile but more heart-touching golf-related fundraising efforts which feature cute kids, current research efforts by the Canadian Turfgrass Research Foundation and its regional counterparts include causes such as “the effect of snow cover and anti-transparents on the persistence of snow mould fungicides,” “rolling and resistance, a means to reduced fungicide usage on golf course greens, “selection and management of creeping bentgrass for improved resistance to Fusarium Patch under current and future conditions,” etc., etc.

Cute? No. Essential? Yes.

For example, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency recently asked for input on the use of chlorothanlonil, a chemical used to control various agricultural diseases, including the chronic and pernicious “dollar spot” fungus on turfgrass. Gunn thinks the outcome of their evaluation will be the banning of its use on courses.

“Dollar-spot control costs the average 18-hole course about $15,000 every year,” says Gunn. “Dollar spot on a golf course is like the common cold for a human. It’s inevitable. Obviously, if we could discover a natural antidote or preventative, we would prefer to use that from an environmental and budget perspective. But that takes research and research takes money.”

Currently, OTRF research priorities include pesticide alternatives, environmental considerations, nutrient management, drainage improvements, and athletic field management.

Healthy turf, whether on a golf course, soccer field, park or lawn, offers myriad benefits. It reduces runoff, prevents erosion, replenishes oxygen and carbon, and so on. And it makes for that perfect lie in the fairway, a true roll on a quick green … or deep, lush rough.

“Donating to turfgrass research is an investment in the game of golf,” says Gunn. “We have good support from the industry but we need financial donations from the golfing public to continue to grow the game, literally and figuratively.”

To find out more about turfgrass research in Canada, visit www.turfresearchcanada.ca. Or, check out your regional association below.

Ontario Turf Research Foundation
Debbie Conrad
328 Victoria Rd South
Guelph, Ontario N1H 0H2
dconrad@otrf.ca
Website – www.otrf.ca

Western Canada Turfgrass Association
Jerry Rousseau
P.O. Box 698
Hope, BC V0X 2L0
exec.director@wctaturf.com

Alberta Turfgrass Research Foundation
Cory Mossing
4500-50th Street
Olds, Alberta T4H 1R6
cmossing@oldscollege.ca

Quebec Turfgrass Research Foundation
Benoit Huot
294 Rang St-Paul Sud
Sherrington, Quebec J0L 2N0
bhout@ojcompagnie.com

Atlantic Turfgrass Research Foundation
Kevin Wentzell
P.O. Box 2063 Fall River
Nova Scotia, B2T 1K6
Kevin_wentzell@yahoo.ca

In 2015, Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada partnered with the University of Ottawa to develop a Life Skills model for junior programming, designed to place added focus on core values learned through golf, and their relevance to social and peer-to-peer environments.

An important feature of the Life Skills model is the philosophy that youth should be provided with opportunities to develop both intrapersonal and interpersonal life skills through golf. Intrapersonal skills refer to skills that are more internal in nature whereas interpersonal skills refer to skills that are more useful during social interactions. In the model, four intrapersonal skills and four interpersonal skills are included to ensure a balance between these two areas of focus.

The eight Life Skills in the model are focus, sportspersonship, perseverance, goal setting, emotional regulation, honesty, teamwork and respect.

The Life Skills were first integrated into the Golf in Schools teacher-friendly learning resource, and have since been added to Canada’s junior golf program, CN Future Links, through its feature Learn to Play offering.

Lesson plans include relevant life examples, learning outcomes, and specific skill-related drills.

To find a junior opportunity in your area at golfcanada.ca/juniors

AKRON, Ohio – Jason Day pulled out of the Olympics on Tuesday because of the Zika virus, costing golf its No. 1 player as it returns from a century-long absence at the games.

The sport has lost two of its biggest stars in the last week, adding to the perception that the Olympics are not a high priority. Rory McIlroy, a four-time major champion, also said Zika will keep from competing in Rio de Janeiro.

“The sole reason for my decision is my concerns about the possible transmission of the Zika virus and the potential risks that it may present to my wife’s future pregnancies and to future members of our family,” Day said in a statement. “I have always placed my family in front of everything else in my life.”

pic.twitter.com/UNmThs64re

— Jason Day (@JDayGolf) June 28, 2016

Day and his wife, Ellie, had their second child in November, and he has said they want more children.

The 28-year-old Australian is the fifth golfer and one of the most prominent athletes to specifically cite Zika for not going to Rio. The others are McIlroy, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace and Marc Leishman, whose wife’s immune system has not fully recovered after she nearly died last year of toxic shock syndrome.

American cyclist Tejay van Garderen is among a handful of athletes outside of golf who also cited Zika as the reason behind not going to Rio. Basketball star Stephen Curry didn’t specifically cite Zika but noted that “other factors” played a role in his decision to skip the games.

Brazil has been the hardest hit of the approximately 60 countries that have reported an outbreak of Zika, the mosquito-borne virus linked to severe birth defects and possible neurological problems in adults.

Day first expressed concern a month ago at the Memorial and said he had been consulting doctors so he could make a smart choice.

“Medical experts have confirmed that while perhaps slight, a decision to compete in Rio absolutely comes with health risks to me and to my family,” Day said. “While it has always been a major goal to compete in the Olympics on behalf of my country, playing golf cannot take precedent over the safety of our family. I will not place them at risk. … I hope all golf and Olympics fans respect and understand my position.”

Australia has three players in the top 50 in the world, and all of them have withdrawn – Day, Adam Scott (No. 8) and Leishman (No. 39). Next in line would be Scott Hend (No. 75) and Marcus Fraser (No. 81).

Day had been among the strongest proponents of competing in the Olympics, as had McIlroy and other young stars. But as the July 11 deadline nears for qualifying for Rio, some top golfers have been wavering.

Among the stars who plan to play or have not decided are Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, along with Canadians Graham DeLaet, David Hearn, Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp.

The sport has not been part of the Games since 1904 in St. Louis, where Canada’s George S. Lyon captured gold.

St. Augustine, FLORIDA – With the growing excitement for golf’s return to the Olympics this summer, the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum opened its “Road to Rio” Olympic exhibition. Amy Alcott, World Golf Hall of Fame Member and architectural design consultant on the Olympic golf course in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, cut the ceremonial ribbon to signify the opening of the new Hall of Fame exhibition.

“I think we created a special golf course that the city of Rio will be proud of long after we’re gone,” said Amy Alcott. “And as I stand here in the World Golf Hall of Fame’s ‘Road to Rio’ exhibit, I feel much closer to the project. While I wish I would’ve had the opportunity to play in the Olympics for my country, being here is really the next best thing.”

Located upstairs adjacent to the Nancy Lopez exhibit, the “Road to Rio” exhibition takes guests on a historical journey through Olympic golf, beginning in 1900 when golf was first played in the Olympics, to the 1904 Games in St. Louis – the last time golf was included in the Olympic schedule. Fast-forward to 112 years later, golf will make its highly anticipated return to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this August.

The featured artifacts in the “Road to Rio” exhibition are two rare gold and silver medals won by H. Chandler Egan at the 1904 Summer Games. Egan’s medals represent his achievements in the individual and team competitions. Egan, a Chicago native and a member of the Exmoor Country Club, was captain of the Western Golf Association team that won the gold medal at Glen Echo Country Club in St. Louis. Additionally, he won the individual silver medal, finishing runner-up to Canadian George Lyon. The Olympic Golf Trophy won by Lyon is on display at the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and has toured to several events this year, including the PGA Show in Orlando, as well as a handful of PGA and LPGA Tour events.

In addition to seeing the Olympic medals, fans visiting the exhibit can learn more about the Olympic qualifiers, the Olympic uniform changes from 1900 to 2016, and even take a photo atop the Olympic podium holding their country’s flag.

The Olympic men’s competition in Rio is scheduled for August 11-14, with the women’s competition scheduled for August 17-20, both at 72 holes of stroke play.

GULLANE, Scotland – Muirfield intends to stage another vote on whether to admit female members after being stripped of its right to host the British Open.

The Scottish club failed in May to get the two-thirds majority required of its membership to change its policy, drawing disapproval from across golf.

Now the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which owns Muirfield, will seek approval from its membership to hold a fresh postal vote before the end of the year which could lead to the club returning to the British Open rota.

“A substantial majority of our members voted for change and many have voiced their disappointment with the ballot result and with subsequent events,” Henry Fairweather, captain of the HCEG, said on Monday.

“The club committee believes that a clear and decisive vote in favour of admitting women as members is required to enable us to begin the task of restoring the reputation of the club that has been damaged by the earlier ballot outcome.”

Muirfield has staged the British Open 16 times dating to 1892, most recently in 2013 when Phil Mickelson won.

The Royal and Ancient, which runs the British Open, said in May that Muirfield was off the list of 10 courses that can host golf’s oldest major championship while female members were not allowed.

“We welcome this development,” the R&A said.

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Local and international amateur golfers gathered at the Brampton Golf Club to compete for three available exemptions into the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, Pa., from August 1-7. Kelsey Murphy of Plymouth, Mich., claimed medallist honours with a 4-under 67 showing.

The 21-year-old sunk five birdies and was bogey-free until her final hole to secure a four-stroke victory.

“I played really consistent throughout the day, and when I did get in trouble, I was able to get myself out of it,” she said. “I really like the golf course. I’ve played it a couple times before so I was really excited to be able to compete here.”

Team Canada National Team member Maddie Szeryk (London, Ont.) and Jessica Ip (Richmond Hill, Ont.) earned the remaining two exemptions with matching 71s.

“It’s awesome that they’re putting this in Canada because we all get a very good opportunity to compete now,” said Szeryk. “It’s always amazing when you get to represent your country, especially at such a big event.”

This tournament marks the first time a Canadian club has played host to a U.S. Amateur Championship qualifier. Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver will host a U.S. Men’s Amateur qualifier on July 18.

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club will host a field of 109 junior golfers from July 4-6 for the 2016 CN Future Links Western Championship. The fifth of six CN Future Links Championships is conducted in partnership with CN to promote and develop the game of golf among the nation’s junior-aged athletes.

The host club of the 54-hole competition was first established in 1913 at the top of Porter Hill, just east of the city. In 1934, the club relocated to its current location, perched atop scenic cliffs overlooking the South Saskatchewan River.

“Golf Canada is thrilled to bring this year’s CN Future Links Western Championship to the city of Medicine Hat and its golfing community. Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club is in fantastic shape and will serve as a great backdrop for this event, while drawing out the best from our competitors,” said Tournament Director Dan Hyatt.

Team Canada Development Squad member Alexander Smith of Calgary and Kade Johnson from Yorkton, Sask., will attempt to improve upon the shares of fourth they claimed at the 2015 edition of this tournament at Goose Hummock Golf Course in Gibbons, Alta. They will be joined by Chris Horton (Calgary), Max Sekulic (Rycroft, Alta.), and Ethan Choi (Pincher Creek, Alta.) who look to best their Top-10 results from one year ago.

The Junior Girls division will welcome back five players from last year’s Top-10. Kenna Hughes will defend her 2015 title alongside fellow Calgarians Kehler Koss (2nd), Sharmaine Rapisura (4th), and Annabelle Ackroyd (T10). Redcliffe, Alta., product Lauren Koenig will play in hopes of building upon her T7 result.

The host city of Medicine Hat will be well-represented with five local players in contention. Matt Bering and Michael Valk will have a chance to win on home soil, while Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club members Ronnie Postnikoff, Ryan Hodgins and Sam Bratvold hope to hold home-course advantage.

The CN Future Links Atlantic Championship – the junior series’ final event of the 2016 season – will be conducted at Countryview Golf Club in Fairview, P.E.I., from July 12-14.

The top six finishers in the Junior Boys division will earn exemptions into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship to be contested August 1-4 at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s, N.L. In the case of ties, exemptions will be decided via hole-by-hole playoff. All players in the Top-6, including ties, in the Junior Girls division will earn entry into this year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship, hosted by The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S., from August 2-5.

Additional information regarding the 2016 CN Future Links Western Championship, including participants, start times and up-to-date results can be found here.

BETHESDA, Md. – Billy Hurley III held the club in his left hand and fist pumped with his right. Not far from his Annapolis home and the Naval Academy he graduated from 12 years ago, he became a champion.

Hurley shot a 2-under 69 on Sunday to win his hometown Quicken Loans National at Congressional for his first PGA Tour victory. He finished at 17 under in Tiger Woods’ annual tournament, three strokes ahead of three-time major champion Vijay Singh.

“Billy played well,” Singh said. “He’s been playing well all week. You can see he’s under control and it’s nice to see him play well and not lose it actually at the end of the tournament.”

Hurley didn’t lose it. He only got better as it went along.

To beat Singh, Ernie Els and 21-year-old Jon Rahm, Hurley showed the poise he developed at the Naval Academy and during his five years of service. Mental toughness and focus he said help with adversity on the course, and that showed through in his 104th PGA Tour start.

With the 53-year-old Singh closing on him, Hurley was at his best. He holed out from 35 yards on the fairway for birdie on the 15th, a shot worthy of celebration and one Woods himself called “impressive, really impressive.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Hurley made a 27-foot putt on the 16th to seal the tournament and wrap up the $1,242,000 first-place prize and a spot in the British Open. He had never finished higher than a tie for fourth in a PGA Tour event.

Hurley celebrated on the 18th green with wife Heather, daughter Madison and sons Will and Jacob. His children held miniature American flags as they watched their father reach a high point in his career.

“I couldn’t think of a better tournament for my first PGA Tour win,” Hurley said. “I’m just thrilled to have gotten it done today.”

Singh closed with a 65. Rahm, the former Arizona State star from Spain, wrapped up his professional debut with a 70 to tie for third with Bill Haas (68) at 13 under. Els was fifth at 12 under after an eventful 72 that included five bogeys and one double.

David Hearn (69) of Brantford, Ont., and Nick Taylor (70) of Abbotsford, B.C., finished in a tie for 12th at 6-under par.

Hurley also had his father on his mind, 10 months after he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He thought of his dad, a police officer, when he saw officers following his group Saturday.

“It’s been a hard year,” Hurley said Sunday. “It’s been a really hard year, so it’s nice to have something go well.”

Hurley maintained his focus in the final round with Woods watching in his trademark Sunday red and with galleries full of fans supporting the local boy who grew up in Leesburg, Virginia, and proudly sports Navy colours including a club head cover of the academy’s goat mascot.

All week, Hurley heard chants of “Maryland” and “21412,” the zip code for the Naval Academy. The honorary starters on the first hole Sunday were Naval officers Georges Labaki and Matthew Cook, who both had met and talked to Hurley about golf and service.

“He served, for one,” Labaki said. “He did his time and he’s also representing the Navy. I’ve had a talk with him, personally, also, a few years ago. He said it’s been an honour to serve, but he wanted to follow his passion, golf.”

ROGERS, Ark. – Top-ranked Lydia Ko won the NW Arkansas Championship on Sunday for her third LPGA Tour victory of the year, closing with a 3-under 68 for a tournament-record 17-under total and a three-stroke victory.

The 19-year-old New Zealander has 13 career LPGA Tour victories, also winning the Kia Classic and major ANA Inspiration in consecutive weeks in Southern California. She broke the previous tournament record by two strokes.

Ko has finished sixth or better in each of her four appearances at Pinnacle Country Club, and she has shot under par in all 12 rounds.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp entered the day two strokes behind Ko, but fell out of contention with a even-par 71. She finished in eighth at 12 under. Maude-Aimee Leblanc, from Sherbrooke, Que., shot a 2-under 69 to finish 5 under.

Morgan Pressel, tied for the lead with Ko at 14 under entering the day, had a 71 to tie for second with Candie Kung (69).

Pressel was the clubhouse leader by two shots Saturday afternoon before Ko shot a back-nine 28 and tied her at 14 under with an eagle on the par-5 18th.

The New Zealander, who became the youngest two-time major winner in LPGA history at the ANA Inspiration, wasted little time in taking control of the tournament after teeing off Sunday.

Playing in the final pairing with Pressel, Ko birdied four of her first five holes – only settling for a par once in the five-hole stretch when narrowly missing a short birdie putt on the par-3 third. After Pressel bogeyed the par-5 second, Ko went from even to three shots clear of the field after only two holes.

And that was just the start of Ko’s final-round coronation on a 6,330-yard course she’s tamed in each of her four tournament appearances. Ko has shot below 70 in 11 of her 12 rounds at Pinnacle, including matching the course record with her 9-under 62 on Saturday.

Ko fell back to 17 under with a bogey on No. 6, but she stayed two shots clear of Pressel with a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-4 eighth. She then reached as low as 19 under with a birdie on the 246-yard par-4 10th, well on her way to topping the previous tournament low of 15 under – set by Seon Hwa Lee in 2008 and matched by Na Yeon Choi a year ago.

Pressel stayed within two shots of Ko for much of the round, reaching 17 under following a birdie on No. 10. However, her round unraveled with a poor tee shot on the par-3 11th – leading to the first of four straight bogeys that took Pressel, who is still in search of her first victory since 2008, out of contention.

Ko, atop the world rankings for the last 35 weeks, earned $300,000. She began the 18th with a four-shot lead before hitting her layup in the water and settling for a bogey.