SAN MARTIN, Calif. — She’s just 18 years old, but Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., will be teeing it up in her fourth U.S. Women’s Open this week at CordeValle Resort.

She’s had some success: she was low amateur in 2014 at Pinehurst and rode a hot weekend to a tie for fifth last year at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pa.

Now, as the second-ranked player in the world and coming off her third career win last weekend at the Cambia Portland Classic, where she successfully defended her title, Henderson will be one of the favourites this week.

She will be looking for her second major championship to go with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship she won last month at Sahalee Country Club near Seattle.

“I’ve played really well in U.S. Women’s Open’s, and I played really well in major championships, because you really got to take a little bit of a different strategy,” Henderson said. “You really need to stay patient, which is something that I’ve worked on over the last few years. I’m really excited for this week. 

“I think this course sets up really well for my game. You’ve just got to hit it in the right spots and know where to miss it and then just make lots of birdies. I think the back nine plays a lot tougher than the front nine. I think that’s where a lot of things might change, especially on Sunday afternoon. I really love the par-5s around here. I can get close to them or reach a lot of them in two, which is something that I like to think is an advantage over most of the field that I have.”

Henderson tees off at 5:03 p.m EDT time Thursday in the first round with the tournament’s power group with world No. 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand and No. 4 Lexi Thompson of the USA (world No. 3 Inbee Park is injured).

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – The CN Future Links Western Championship continued under sunny skies at Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club. The second round saw Kehler Koss distance herself from her Junior Girls competitors, while Chandler McDowell broke through to take a one-stroke lead in the Junior Boys division.

The 17-year-old Koss continues to lead the Junior Girls division after extending her advantage to five strokes with a 1-over 73 performance. The Calgary native collected four birdies on the day, including a pair back-to-back on her final two holes to sit 2-under 142 in the competition.

A second-round 69 propelled Kenna Hughes of Calgary into second place at 3-over 147. The defending champion collected six birdies and went bogey-free through her final 12 holes to move past West Vancouver’s Phoebe Yue who is 5-over. Lauren Koenig of Redcliffe, Alta., sits fourth, while Calgarians Sydney Scraba and Annabelle Ackroyd are tied for fifth.

Chandler McDowell opened the day with four straight birdies to match his first-round 70 and take sole possession of the Junior Boys lead. The Springbrook, Alta., native sits one stroke ahead of the competition.

Thomas Code began the day tied for 11^th, but a six-birdie 69 moved the Dorchester, Ont., native into a tie for second alongside Calgary’s Brendan MacDougall. Fellow Calgarian Alexander Smith, a member of Team Canada’s Development Squad, recorded five birdies on the day to claim a share of fourth alongside Kade Johnson (Yorkton, Sask.), Chris Horton (Calgary) and Jordan Bean (Canmore, Alta.).

The top six players in the Junior Boys Division will earn entry into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s, N.L., from August 1-4. Exemptions will be decided via a hole-by-hole playoff in the case of ties. All competitors within the Top-6, including ties, in the Junior Girls Division will gain exemptions into the Canadian Junior Girls Championship. The tournament will be conducted from August 2-5 at The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S.

The final day of competition will see the Junior Boys tee-off at 7 a.m. before the Junior Girls begin play at 10:10 a.m. Additional information, including pairings and up-to-date scoring is available here.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Brooke Henderson from Smiths Falls, Ont., has partnered with Google to become a brand ambassador for Android Wear. The 18-year-old who captured her first major at June’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is the first LPGA player to partner with a smartwatch platform.

Google’s platform for smartwatches – Android Wear – offers several golf apps to help golfers; they can analyze their swings, keep scores and statistics, and track shots. Android Wear powers smartwatches by brands such as Motorola, Nixon, Michael Kors, TAG Heuer and Huawei.

“Whether I am practicing, working out or staying in touch with my family and friends back home, Android Wear offers me the best technology to be productive and organized while traveling the world,” said Henderson, the No. 2 ranked female golfer in the world. “As my calendar continues to get busier, I feel so privileged to use Android Wear to stay on schedule and make the most of every minute.”

On the golf course, Henderson will wear the Moto 360 Sport, which is built for training and sports. The Moto 360 Sport includes a built-in heart rate monitor, GPS, hybrid display that makes it easy to read outdoors, and a silicone band. In social and formal settings, she will wear the elegant Huawei Jewel, a premium fashionable smartwatch encrusted with 68 1.5mm Swarovski Zirconia.

Henderson, a Golf Canada National Team alum, won the 2015 Cambia Portland Classic as a 17-year-old to earn LPGA membership. In June, she became the youngest-ever winner of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, a major championship on the LPGA Tour. Last week, she won her third LPGA event by defending her title in Portland. In August, she will represent Canada when golf makes its long-awaited return to the Olympic Games.

Having fun with our new @AndroidWear watches – perfect to stay on top of things during #USWomensOpen! #newsponsor pic.twitter.com/BVlH8ngn86

— Brooke Henderson (@BrookeHenderson) July 5, 2016

Hugo Bernard had a quick turn around following his July 2 win at the Dogwood Invitational at the Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga. One day removed from his victory, the native of Mont St-Hilaire, Que., arrived at the Ottawa Hunt Golf Club to compete in the 67th edition of the Lord Alexander of Tunis Championship – the first stage of Golf Québec’s Triple Crown. The Team Canada National Team member put on quite the show to capture the prestigious event.

The 21-year-old tallied five birdies en route to a 3-under 68 to sit at the head of the pack alongside Ottawa’s Robert Mustard. Bernard followed his strong opening round by recording six of his seven second-round birdies on the back nine for a 5-under day to emerge with a two-stroke victory and an 8-under 134 final score.

Last year’s champion, former Team Canada Development Squad member Étienne Papineau of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., finished runner-up at 6-under. Ryan Sevigny of Stittsville, Ont., was third at 142, while Étienne Brault (Mercier, Que.), Joey Savoie (Montréal) and Cullen Chung (Westmount, Que.) finished with shares of fourth with matching 143s.

Bernard, Papineau, Sevigny, Brault, Savoie and Chung will compete at the Royal Québec Golf Club in Boischatel, Que., from July 8-9 at The Duke of Kent Championship.

Golf Québec’s Triple Crown is comprised of the Alexander of Tunis, the Duke of Kent and the Québec Amateur Championship. The Top-3 golfers on the Triple Crown Order of Merit will form the provincial team that will represent Québec at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship to be contested at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club in Gatineau, Que., and Eagle Creek Golf Club in Dunrobin, Ont., from August 8-11.

Ask Diane Barabé and she’ll tell you she’s not the biggest people person. She’s reserved, more than happy to do her thing and speak when spoken to. But on the golf course, the longtime volunteer rules official busts out of her shell. A proud member of the “Rulies” fraternity, Barabé is sociable and confident when in her element.

It stems back to when she first got involved in the game in the mid-1990s. The Granby, Que., native was voted onto the Board of Directors at her local Club de golf Miner — the first woman ever to be elected — and was thrust into a role demanding constant conversation right off the bat.

“I remember they put me in charge of disciplinary action,” recalls Barabé. “I said, ‘Great, I’ll have nothing to do’ but it was quite the opposite. I think I learned how to approach people and how to interact with different people. I like to be involved. If I’m going to be involved in something I don’t just want to sit back. You’re a volunteer because you’re a bit selfish, you like it.”

Barabé talks joyfully when describing how rewarding her volunteer experiences have been. Through stops at the Canadian Ladies Golf Association to Golf Québec to Golf Canada, she’s spent more than 20 years giving her time to golf and making countless friends along the way. Her commitment and service were honoured in 2014 when she was awarded Golf Canada’s Volunteer of the Year.

“There’s so many deserving people in the field, there’s so many rules officials that deserve the same honour and are so knowledgeable and give so much of their time,” she says. “I was just humbled by the honour and to be chosen from across Canada was unspeakable. I can’t explain how I felt.”

Annually committing two to three months of her summer to work tournaments, the Level 4-certified official has presided over every class of competition, including five PGA and LPGA Tour events. But for the retired college administrator, it’s the more active role at junior events that she enjoys most.

“You’re helping them out with the rules and you’re making them better golfers,” explains Barabé, who guesses she’s read the Rules of Golf at least 60 times. “You’re educating them and that’s the part that I like. It’s the helping part that I love the most.”

Barabé’s affinity for students, both in the fairways and the hallways, has been an impressive balancing act. For several years she was away for the first two weeks of the school year in order to volunteer for Golf Québec. Her absence was approved — actually encouraged — for its selflessness and dedication.

Adam Helmer, Golf Canada’s director of rules, competition and amateur status, calls her a “team player” and has witnessed her passion firsthand for the past nine years.

“She’s so involved and always all-in,” describes Helmer. “I don’t think she’s ever missed a rules seminar or working eight to 10 events a year since I’ve known her. She’s always studying, always in the book. She’s got a great rapport with not only Canadian officials but internationally from the events she’s worked. They always have great, positive things to say about her.”

The accolades don’t end there for Barabé. Already a member of Golf Canada’s Rules and Amateur Status Committee, she will become the first female chairperson of that committee in 2017. Attendng the R&A Tournament Administration and Referee School and receiving a mark of distinction on the exam three years ago made her more than qualified for the role and resides as a career highlight.

“I get goosebumps just talking about it still,” she explains of the trip to Scotland. “All the stress of preparing to go there and do the referee school and stepping foot on the Old Course and getting to play it. To me, that was a cherry on the sundae.”

The visit to St. Andrews came as a pleasant surprise though. Golf Canada originally selected her for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in 2012 but Barabé had to decline since she had previously promised to babysit her grandson that same week. Luckily, she admits, another offer came around the following year.

It’s just one of many gifts the avid volunteer, despite all the time and energy she’s given to the game, is grateful for receiving. And the people she’s met throughout the years, and the relationships she’s developed, have been payment enough.

“This has made me a bit more outgoing and helped me communicate with other people. I’ve learned so much through the years and met so many wonderful people and made so many friends. So when I’m out there and doing this I’m just having a good time.”

VOLUNTEERING

CLUB DE GOLF MINER

• Ladies Captain – 1992-95
• Board of Directors Member – 1992-95

CANADIAN LADIES GOLF ASSOCIATION – QUÉBEC BRANCH

• Ladies Captain & Rules – 1992-99
• Rules Committee Member – 1992-99
• Executive Committee – 1992-99
• Board of Directors Member – 1992-99
• Rules Chair – 2002-04

GOLF QUÉBEC

• Rules Committee Member – 2004-15
• Rules Chair – 2007-11

GOLF CANADA

• Rules Committee Member – 2011-PRESENT
• Governor’s Council Member – 2015-PRESENT

CERTIFICATIONS

GOLF CANADA

• LEVEL 4 Certification – 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014
• Tournament Administration & Referee’s School – 2015

R&A

• Tournament Administration & Referee’s School – 2013

USGA

• Workshop – 2014

INSTRUCTOR

LEVEL 4 RULES SEMINARS

• French – 2010-12, 2014-15
• English – 2016

AWARDS

GOLF QUÉBEC

• Volunteer of the Year – 2011

GOLF CANADA

• Volunteer of the Year – 2014

ÉGALE ACTION

• Recognition Award, Gala Femmes d’Influence – 2015

TOURNAMENTS

GOLF QUÉBEC

• Spring Open
• Men’s/Women’s Amateurs
• Junior/Senior Championships

GOLF CANADA

• CN Future Links – 2005-PRESENT
• Canadian Men’s Amateur/ Women’s Amateur – 2005-PRESENT
• Canadian Jr. Boys/Jr. Girls – 2005-PRESENT
• Canadian Senior Men’s/ Senior Women’s – 2005-PRESENT
• Canadian Women’s Tour – 2005-2015
• RBC Canadian Open – 2014-PRESENT
• Pan Am Games – 2015

USGA

• U.S. Women’s Open – 2013-PRESENT

Time well spent This article was originally published in the May 2016 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. To view the full magazine, click the image to the left.

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – Thunder and lightning forced a 44-minute delay to prolong the first round of the 2016 CN Future Links Western Championship at Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club. When the skies parted and the opening day concluded, Team Canada Development Squad member Alexander Smith emerged in a four-way tie atop the Junior Boys leaderboard, while Kehler Koss leads the Junior Girls division following a 3-under 69 showing.

A five-birdie day gave Calgary’s Smith a share of the lead at 2-under 70 alongside Kade Johnson (Yorkton, Sask.), Marc Sweeney (Saskatoon, Sask.), and Chandler McDowell (Springbrook, Alta.). The quartet holds a one-stroke advantage over the field of 81 junior boys.

The crowded leaderboard has Medicine Hat’s Michael Valk tied for fifth at 1-under with Jordan Bean (Canmore, Alta.), Noah Kozack (Regina, Sask.), Kai Iguchi (Banff, Alta.), Max Murchison (Calgary) and Brendan MacDougall (Calgary).

Kehler Koss returns to the CN Future Links Western Championship after capturing runner-up honours in 2015 at Goose Hummock Golf Course in Gibbons, Alta. The Calgarian’s eagle on No. 10 and a trio of birdies gave the 17-year-old a four-stroke lead after opening with a 69.

Holding second-place at 1-over 73 is West Vancouver’s Phoebe Yue. The 16-year-old is followed by a trio of Calgarians with Claire Emery in third at 3-over. Annabelle Ackroyd sits fourth after carding a 77, while defending champion Kenna Hughes is one stroke behind in fifth.

All competitors within the Top-6, including ties, in the Junior Girls Division will gain exemptions into the Canadian Junior Girls Championship. The tournament will be conducted from August 2-5 at The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S. The top six players in the Junior Boys Division will earn entry into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s, N.L., from August 1-4. Exemptions will be decided via a hole-by-hole playoff in the case of ties.

The second day of competition will see the Junior Girls tee-off at 7 a.m. before the Junior Boys begin play at 8:30 a.m. Additional information, including pairings and up-to-date scoring is available here.

Golf is unique in that everyone can play the game together on a fairly level playing field. You are not likely to play on your kids’ soccer teams, but you can play golf with them and not simply watch from the sidelines. This experience sets golf apart from most other sports because it provides such valuable family time in some of the most amazing environments. It promotes a healthy, active lifestyle to which people of any age can relate.

Beginning July 4, everyone will have the perfect opportunity to experience all that golf has to offer through the NGCOA Canada’s Take A Kid To The Course program. Participating courses will offer a free green fee to kids under-16 with the purchase of an adult green fee. Courses across the nation have adopted the program and with key changes this year, the golfing community will have more opportunities to experience the game. New in 2016, golf facilities have the option to offer the promotion past the program’s traditional week and provide extra days and times as they see fit. Keep checking participating courses’ websites for more information. Also new this year are amazing prizes from TaylorMade Canada and Melia Resorts and Hotels. Instead of a single grand prize nationwide, every chapter will see two grand prize winners – meaning people that participate in B.C. will have the chance to win an all-inclusive Cuba vacation package courtesy Melia Resorts and a golf club package courtesy TaylorMade Canada.

With these exciting changes and close to 700 golf courses participating nationwide, it promises to be a busy year. Now in its 14th year with major support from Coca-Cola, Take a Kid to the Course has provided great golf experiences for over 335,000 youth across Canada. The program provides an excellent opportunity to help create and build family habits and to enjoy the sport together.

For more information on participating courses, contests and prizes, visit www.kidsgolffree.ca.

Golf’s return to the Olympics this summer will be the first time the sport has been in the Olympics since 1904, a fact probably known by even the sport’s most casual fans.

The story of golf in the Olympics, however, runs much deeper than that and is riddled with ‘what ifs’.

The 1900 Olympics in France, the second Olympiad of the modern era, included both men’s and women’s golf.

The Games were loosely organized and promoted, albeit with no opening or closing ceremonies, and were held as part of that year’s world’s fair in Paris. Few of the winning athletes received medals with most, instead, getting trophies.

Charles Sands of the U.S. was the men’s golf champion beating Walter Rutherford of Great Britain. Margaret Ives Abbott, an art student from Chicago, won the nine-hole women’s competition. She died in 1955 not ever knowing that she was the first female American gold medallist.

The 1904 edition in St. Louis featured Canadian George S. Lyon winning the individual men’s golf competition but no individual female champion. The women’s competition had been dropped and replaced with a men’s team competition, in which Canada did not compete. The United States was the only country entered and so, not surprisingly, won the gold, silver and bronze.

Lyon sailed to London to try to defend his championship in the 1908 games but arrived to find that arguments over who would actually stage the golf competition and oversee rules had resulted in its last-minute cancellation.

The Games organizers offered to give Lyon the gold medal for showing up but he declined it, saying that he hadn’t earned it.

The 1912 Games were in Stockholm, Sweden but golf was in its infancy in that Nordic country and the sport was not included.

Although there was talk over the years about its return, including the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and the 2008 Games in Beijing, there was no real groundswell for golf until Ty Votaw and Peter Dawson representing the International Golf Federation — along with Padraig Harrington, Michelle Wie, Suzann Pettersen and Matteo Manassero — accompanied Lyon’s Olympic trophy from 1904 into a meeting with the International Olympic Committee in 2009 and convinced them it was time.

The history of Olympic golf This article was originally published in the May 2016 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. To view the full magazine, click the image to the left.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Defending champion Brooke Henderson survived some tense moments on the back nine on the way to a four-stroke victory Sunday at the LPGA Cambia Portland Classic.

The second-ranked Henderson – a native of Smiths Falls, Ont., – shot a 14-under 274 after a final round 71 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club, pulling away from American Stacy Lewis, who was 10-under after a 69.

Henderson became the first back-to-back winner at Portland since Annika Sorenstam won consecutive tournaments in 2002 and 2003. The 18-year-old is the first wire-to-wire winner at Portland since the tournament went to a 72-hole event in 2013.

Henderson is the tour’s second wire-to-wire winner this year, joining Ha Na Jang, who won the Coates Championship in February.

It was Henderson’s third career win, all coming in the Northwest. Aside from her two Portland victories, Henderson won the Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee in Sammamish, Washington, three weeks ago.

Stacy Lewis is winless in 53 starts since taking the North Texas LPGA Shootout in June 2014 for her 11th tour victory. She has 11 runner-up finishes during the drought and 24 overall.

Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, the 2011 and 2013 Portland champion finished third at 9-under after a 72. Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe, tied for the lead with seven holes remaining, was 8-under after making double bogeys on her final two holes to shoot 75. Austin Ernst, who won Portland in 2014, was also 8-under after a 73.

Christina Kim posted the low score of the day with a 66 to finish 7-under, as did Lee-Anne Pace, Lee Lopez and Cheyenne Woods. Pace shot 68, while Woods had a 72 for her first career top 10. Lopez, an LPGA rookie, shot 73.

This Portland performance was much different than her runaway victory in 2015, when Henderson rolled to a tournament-record eight-stroke win with a 21-under 267.

Henderson was forced to grind the final two rounds, often having to save pars following wayward drives.

Sunday turned into a two-player race early on the back nine, when Uribe birdied the par-4, 337-yard 11th to tie Henderson for the lead at 14-under.

But Henderson quickly resumed control at the par-5, 546-yard 12th. Uribe hit a poor drive and made bogey, while Henderson dropped a three-foot birdie putt to take a two-shot lead.

The lead melted to one at 13, when Henderson’s tee shot at the 160-yard par-3 went into the bunker and she made bogey. Uribe fell two strokes back at the par-4, 372-yard 15th with a bogey.

The par-4, 397-yard 17th became the tournament’s decisive hole. Henderson and Uribe both drove into a bunker, then blasted their approach shots over the green. But Uribe hit her third shot 50 feet past the hole and made double bogey, while Henderson was able to get up and down to save par, making an eight-foot putt.

Lewis never got closer than three strokes, and might have put some pressure on Henderson but made bogeys at 16 and 18.

Sakura Yokomine (69), Vicky Hurst (71) and Carlota Cignada (73) were eight shots back at 6-under. In-Kyung Kim shot 69 to head a group of five at 5-under.

American Morgan Pressel was 2-under after posting her best round of the week, a 67.

AKRON, Ohio – Dustin Johnson returned from celebrating his U.S. Open victory by taking down the world’s No. 1 player to win another World Golf Championship.

Johnson didn’t miss a beat from Oakmont to Firestone, powering and putting his way to a 4-under 66 on Sunday to win the Bridgestone Invitational for his second straight victory, making him the player to beat heading into the British Open in two weeks.

“This golf course is playing so tough, it’s not like I need to go out and shoot 63,” Johnson said. “You just try to hit it in the fairway and get to get it on the green and try to make some putts. I knew if I shot 4 or 5 under I’d have a chance.”

Jason Day, poised for his first victory in his adopted home state of Ohio, helped make it easy for Johnson.

Day had a one-shot lead when he missed a 4-foot par putt on the 15th hole, and then collapsed with a series of bad shots and bad choices. He tried to play it safe off the tee on the 655-yard 16th hole and hooked a 3-wood into the trees. He blasted through the branches and through the fairway, getting a good break when a young fan picked up his ball, allowing Day to drop it from behind a tree.

Then, he tried to squeeze a shot from 200 yards around the pond. It came up short and rode the collar of the bank into the water, leading to double bogey. Day didn’t hit a green in regulation over the final six holes, closed with a bogey and shot 72 to tie for third.

“Disappointed, but I’ve got to try and focus on what I did great this week, move on, and try and get better for the next one,” Day said.

Scott Piercy was a runner-up to Johnson for the second straight time. He narrowly missed birdie chances, and the birdie putt he made on the 18th gave him a 70 and allowed him to finish alone in second.

Johnson, who finished at 6-under 274, moved to a career-best No. 2 in the world by a fraction over Jordan Spieth.

Spieth closed with a 67 and tied for third with Matt Kuchar (66), Kevin Chappell (67) and Day.

Johnson, who won his third World Golf Championship, did his part. He showed plenty of rust the opening two days, coming off a week in The Bahamas when he celebrated his 32nd birthday and his first major championship. He hit his stride on the weekend with a 66-66 finish.

Johnson was three shots behind when he rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole, and followed with a wedge into 8 feet for birdie on the next hole. Right when Day was getting into big trouble on the 16th, Johnson blasted a 9-iron out of the thick rough on the 17th to 15 feet and rolled in the birdie putt to take command.

Johnson now has 11 career victories in his nine years on the PGA Tour.

“I feel great,” he said. “I feel like my game is where it has been all year. I just haven’t been putting quite as well as I’d like. The last couple of weeks, I just putted a little better.”

He made it sound so simple, even as the back nine became so complicated.

Johnson ran into trouble himself on the 18th hole when he pulled his tee shot into the rough and clipped a branch on his punch shot, dropping into deeper rough. Instead of trying to play over a bunker, he pitched to the far collar of the green and lagged his putt to make sure he made nothing worse than bogey.

Unlike his U.S. Open victory, at least he knew the score.