Canada’s Lauren Zaretsky can already cross winning an NCAA tournament off her goals list.

The golfer from Thornhill, Ont., led from wire-to-wire to win the UCF Women’s Challenge on Monday for her first-ever collegiate title. 

The Texas Tech Red Raiders sophomore fired a career-best 8-under 64 in the first round of the three-round event and never looked back to claim the title at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Fla.

“I had high goals,” said Zaretsky, who had to overcome injury issues over the past few months. “After shooting my best score ever and being in contention for winning, I think I just had to keep my foot on the gas and hope to win it in the end.”

Zaretsky was dominant in her first collegiate tournament of 2024, with rounds of 64-71-68 to finish 13 under and win by three strokes.

The 20-year-old said that her strong performance came despite having injured knees.

“I have a torn meniscus in one of my knees and probably both my knees are torn,” said Zaretsky, noting that golf carts were permitted at the UCF Women’s Challenge. “They were kind of bothering me in the first semester, so I’ve been trying to get back to feeling 100 per cent. Now I pretty much feel 100 per cent.”

Now that Zaretsky has a taste for victory at the collegiate level she wants to keep pushing herself to greater heights.

“I’m trying to hopefully to win more college events and the big dream would be to win a national championship,” said Zaretsky. “As a team and as an individual would be the ultimate goal.

“I think that’s the biggest achievement you can have at the NCAA level. Hopefully my team can make it this year, and then I have a chance to do it on both ends.”

She’ll have her first crack at a second title starting Monday when Texas Tech hosts NEXUS Collegiate at Albany Golf Club in New Providence, Bahamas.

PGA TOUR — Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., leads the Canadian contingent into the always raucous WM Phoenix Open this week at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course in Arizona. He’s ranked 30th on the FedEx Cup standings. Nick Taylor (56th) of Abbotsford, Corey Conners (68th) of Listowel, Ont., and Adam Svensson (70) of Surrey, B.C., are also in the field.

KORN FERRY TOUR — Edmonton’s Wil Bateman rocketed up the Korn Ferry Tour’s points list after tying for second at The Panama Championship on Sunday. He’s tied for eighth heading into this week’s Astara Golf Championship at Country Club de Bogota in Colombia. Myles Creighton (38th) of Digby, N.S., Etienne Papineau (40) of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., Sudarshan Yellamaraju (T124th) of Mississauga, Ont., are also in the field.

Calgary – Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) is proud to announce that Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation has been chosen as the primary charity partner for the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open, to be held at the historic Earl Grey Golf Club from July 23 – 28, 2024.

“CPKC is pleased to once again partner with the Alberta Children’s Hospital through the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open,” said Keith Creel, CPKC President and CEO. “By building on our first Women’s Open partnership with Alberta Children’s Hospital in 2016, we will leverage our community investment program, CPKC Has Heart, to help the youngest hearts across Alberta.”

This year’s goal is to raise more than $2.75 million for Alberta Children’s Hospital. Those funds will be dedicated to support researchers at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute who believe there is potential to develop a routine blood test to provide earlier detection of congenital heart defects or other anomalies at birth so parents and caregivers can be prepared before the baby is born.

“Every year in Alberta, there are approximately 550 babies born with a congenital heart defect,” says Saifa Koonar, President and CEO of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. “With this incredible support from the CPKC Women’s Open, our researchers are working to develop a new, non-invasive test to identify these problems sooner, leading to better prenatal care and opportunities for critical life-saving interventions.”

“It has been inspiring to share in the impact of CPKC Has Heart on the lives of countless youth and families in the host communities of the CPKC Women’s Open,” said Laurence Applebaum, CEO of Golf Canada. “Bringing the 50^th playing of our National Women’s Open Championship back to Calgary and now to Earl Grey Golf Club for the first time will be special. I know that golf fans and event enthusiasts will celebrate the CPKC Women’s Open as a week-long festival experience that will leave a meaningful community legacy in support of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.”

The LPGA awarded the CPKC Women’s Open, hosted Aug. 22-27 at Vancouver’s Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club, with Tournament of the Year in 2023 for the second consecutive year. Golf Canada and CPKC also received Gold Driver Awards for Best Sponsor Activation in 2019, 2022 and 2023 as well as Best Community and Charity Engagement in 2017, 2019 and 2022. 

About Canadian Pacific Kansas City

With its global headquarters in Calgary, Alta., Canada, CPKC is the first and only single-line transnational railway linking Canada, the United States and México, with unrivaled access to major ports from Vancouver to Atlantic Canada to the Gulf of México to Lázaro Cárdenas, México. Stretching approximately 20,000 route miles and employing 20,000 railroaders, CPKC provides North American customers unparalleled rail service and network reach to key markets across the continent. CPKC is growing with its customers, offering a suite of freight transportation services, logistics solutions and supply chain expertise. Visit cpkcr.com to learn more about the rail advantages of CPKC.

About CPKC Has Heart

At CPKC, we know that a railroad may serve as the arteries of a nation, but at its heart is community. That’s why, through CPKC Has Heart, we’ve already helped raise more than $35 million to help improve the heart health of adults and children across North America. And along the way, we’re showing heart whenever we can. Find out more on www.cpkcr.com

About Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation

The Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation inspires our community to invest in excellence in child health, research, and family centred care. Through the generosity of donors, the Foundation provides funding for innovative programs, state-of-the-art equipment, advanced medical training and internationally recognized pediatric research. The Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation is a founding partner of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, as well as the primary funder. www.childrenshospital.ab.ca 

Canadians Etienne Papineau and Myles Creighton have already noticed that the fields on the Korn Ferry Tour are deeper than the events they’re used to playing. But they’re hanging in there two tournaments into the second-tier circuit’s season.

Papineau and Creighton are in the Korn Ferry Tour’s top 30 entering The Panama Championship this week, after earning their way onto the circuit from the PGA Tour Latinoamerica and PGA Tour Canada. 

Papineau, who is 25th on the points list, said although there are great players on the third tier of men’s professional golf, it’s apparent that everyone is an excellent player on the Korn Ferry Tour.

“I feel like any player can win at any time, to be honest,” said Papineau from Club de Golf de Panama in Panama City on Wednesday. “Every player is really good. I mean, they’re all here for the same reason: to get their PGA Tour card.”

Creighton won the PGA Tour Latinoamerica’s Inter Rapidisimo Golf Championship in Colombia last season and finished second overall in that circuit’s order of merit to move up to the Korn Ferry Tour. He agreed with Papineau that the Latinoamerica and Canada Tours — now merged into the PGA Tour Americas starting this year — had solid players at the top of their rankings but were more inconsistent down the standings.

“I think if you ran a PGA Tour Americas event on the courses that we played in the last two weeks, I think the winning score would be very similar,” said Creighton. “It’s just maybe to finish 20th or 25th is like a couple shots better, or to make a cut, it’s very marginally different. 

“You grow with it, as well. You don’t tend to notice that the competition is a little tougher, because you’re becoming a better player and you’re adapting to that.”

Papineau, from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., tied for 44th at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic on Jan. 17 to start the year and followed that up with a tie for 14th at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic on Jan. 24.

Creighton, from Digby, N.S., tied for 25th at the Great Exuma Classic and followed that up with a tie for 27th at the Great Abaco Classic. 

Although the way he plays his game remains the same, Papineau said he’s changing his approach off the course.

“I would say in my preparation, I think I’ll be able to be more careful with that,” he said. “It’s a longer season than PGA Tour Canada. We have 25 events during the season. 

“It starts much earlier so I’m going to be playing pretty much all year up until October.”

Both Canadians are on the Korn Ferry Tour with limited status that only guarantees them spots in the first eight events of the year. There will be a reshuffle after the first four tournaments and, if they’re high enough in the standings, they’ll have their membership extended. 

If they’re still in the top 30 at the end of the year they’ll earn cards on the PGA Tour, the top men’s golf circuit in the world.

“It’s so important to get off to a good start right from the beginning,” said Creighton. “You want to play well early and put yourself in a good position early to then build off that. You don’t want to be playing from behind in that sense. 

“It just gives you a little comfort knowing that you’ve made a cut, you’ve accumulate a couple of points, and you’re in a good spot to start the year.”

Papineau and Creighton will be joined at Club de Golf de Panama by Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Mississauga, Ont., Edmonton’s Wil Bateman and Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont. Yellamaraju is tied for 95th on the Korn Ferry Tour rankings, while Gligic and Bateman have yet to play on the second-tier circuit this season.

Oakville, Ont. – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the addition of the Canadian U15 Championship and player development educational summit to its 2024 Amateur Championship schedule. The event will take place August 27-30 at the Elmira Golf Club in Elmira, Ont.

The Canadian U15 Championship, presented by BDO will bring together a field of 78 girls and boys, aged 14 and under from across the country to compete over 36-holes, followed by a player development educational summit.

“We are excited to add the Canadian U15 Championship, presented by BDO and its associated player development educational summit to our amateur tournament schedule this season,” said Golf Canada’s National Head of Talent Identification, Tristan Mullally. “This event is an opportunity for Canada’s top young players to compete for a national championship and also receive important education about the high-performance journey.”

The half-day player development educational summit scheduled for August 30 is required for all participants in the Canadian U15 Championship, presented by BDO. Players, along with their families and coaches, will participate in various interactive clinics to learn about navigating the modern pathway in high-performance golf. Topics will include sport psychology, physical training for young golfers, parenting high-performance athletes, and talent development research. Players will also participate in select Team Canada skills tests and learn about the structure of the national team system.

Elmira Golf Club will play host to the inaugural championship. Founded in 1963, the picturesque 18-hole, par 70 course is situated in a country setting just west of Elmira. The clubhouse, also home to “The Grill on the Green” restaurant, sits perched above the 18^th green and provides panoramic views of the golf course below as it flows through the “Eldale Valley” below. Gently winding through the valley and rolling hills is Larches Creek, offering players interesting shots through the unique mixture of finishing holes. Elmira Golf Club celebrated it’s 60^th anniversary in 2023 and recently underwent renovations that saw the addition of 20 new tee decks along with a complete white sand bunker restoration.

“Elmira Golf Club is thrilled to be hosting the inaugural Canadian U15 Championship. After celebrating our 60^th anniversary this past season at EGC, this special event will certainly create the momentum for the next 60 years in the Club’s history. We are looking forward to welcoming Canada’s best U15’s, their families, and Golf Canada to Elmira this August,” said Jeremy Logel, General Manager and Executive Professional, Elmira Golf Club.

Entry into the Canadian U15 Championship, presented by BDO, can be gained through the following avenues:

1. Top 10 U15-aged players from the 2024 Canadian Junior Boys Championship and Canadian Junior Girls Championship (players must make the cut)

• 2024 Provincial U15 Boys and U15 Girls Champions
• Top 2 U15-aged finishers per gender in the 2024 NextGen Championships
• Host Club exemption(s)                                 
• The remainder of the field will be determined by selection.

The boys and girls individual champions will earn exemptions into their respective 2024 Team Canada NextGen Selection Camp as well as their 2025 Canadian Junior Championship, presented by BDO. The top five finishers in each division will earn spots into two 2025 NextGen Championships.

In addition, the Canadian Junior Financial Assistance Program supported by the Gary Cowan Heritage Fund and the Canadian Seniors Golf Association will extend to this championship. The Canadian Junior Financial Assistance Program provides travel grants to qualifying families to mitigate the costs of participating in Golf Canada national championships. For more information, click here.

The full 2024 Canadian Amateur Championship schedule is expected to be announced next month. Registration for all National Amateur Championships will be open on Wednesday, March 6.

The buzz of the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. returned January 23-26, 2024 to a level not seen in a half-decade with plenty of Canadian connections at the annual kick-off to the golfing year.  

There were a few questions about the longevity of the show, especially in the years following the emergence of COVID-19. But with golf booming like never before, this year featured more than 1,000 exhibitors and attendees from more than 80 countries – the “miles and miles of aisles” returned.  

Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum was thrilled to see such excitement around the game as Canadians emerge from what the organization has called a “Momentous Year” for the sport.  

At the top level, there was the where-were-you-when moment of Nick Taylor’s RBC Canadian Open triumph, but also four wins from Stephen Ames on PGA Tour Champions, and multiple winners across the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, and more – including Alena Sharp winning a bronze medal at the Pan Am Games and the Canadian squad winning the World Junior Girls Championship for the first time.  

“These were the real successes on the golf course,” Applebaum says. “But off the golf course I would say seeing the strength of our clubs, seeing the strength of our membership, and bringing so many partners to the table was incredible.  

“We’re just so happy to be supporting Canadian golf and leveraging off this amazing success into 2024.”  

With more than 10-million scores inputted into the Golf Canada app last year and with the trend of incredible participation numbers in new entrants into the game – including more women, more young people, and more diversity – Applebaum says there is so much to look forward to as we inch closer to spring.  

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With the new year underway there is also lots of new gear available.  

Here’s everything you need to know from some of our partners to make sure you look and play your best in 2024!  

TITLEIST 

The big story for Titleist this year is wrapped in the AVX golf ball, a new roster of Scotty Cameron putters, and an extra-special wedge drop from Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Bob Vokey – the SM10 Vokey wedges.  

The new AVX delivers new technology in the core, the casing layer, the cover, and the dimple pattern to deliver better spin and control for golfers but keep all the distance you love with irons and the driver.  

“We really operate with the spirit of continual improvement,” says Frederick Waddell, the senior manager of golf ball product management at Titleist. “When we think about Pro V1 or Pro V1x – the best players in the world trust those products, you trust your game to those products, so we have to be striving for better materials, better manufacturing processes, fine tuning flight, spin, feel, so then you can play your best.  

“We don’t just offer one golfer we have fitting options and by constantly tinkering with those and looking to improve those, we’re serving players that want to play their best with the best products in the world to shoot lower scores.” 

There are 10 new models of the Scotty Cameron Phantom mallet putters that were completely redesigned with improved feel and sound, plus alignment-infused head shapes.  

“The theme (for 2024) is alignment by design,” says Austie Rollinson, the senior director of putter research and development at Scotty Cameron. “We’ve really worked hard to infuse alignment through the whole shape of these putters to help the golfer align better to the target […] and alignment is key to making more putts.” 

Finally, the new SM10 wedges are all about getting a lower ball flight, a much-improved feel, and giving golfers maximum spin.  

“With SM10 it’s all about ball flight,” says Corey Gerrard, the director of marketing for Vokey Wedges. “You’re going to see a higher (centre of gravity) that’s moved forward in the face that gives you that lower ball flight and plenty of control and maximum spin to stop the ball closer to the hole more often.”  

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FOOTJOY 

FootJoy has once again given Canadian golfers all kinds of reasons to continue to play – no matter what the weather.  

From an outerwear perspective, FootJoy’s new line is all about dialling in a ‘modern classic’ aesthetic while also providing top-level performance in all weather conditions.  

“We do ‘modern classic’ really well and we’re looking to push and innovate on that,” says John Toracinta, the senior marketing specialist at FootJoy. “When you talk about modern classic, everything is getting a little tighter from stripes to prints to patterns and not only on shirts and essentials but also on outerwear and the small details that differentiate it.” 

On the footwear side, the big story for 2024 is the update to the FootJoy ProSL. Available in two models, the ProSL has been a great franchise for FootJoy for a number of years and it’s changed the way spikeless traction works for golfers.  

“In prior years we’ve been doing evolutions – like updating materials – but this year for ProSL we went full revolution,” says Dan Buonomo, product manager at FootJoy. “It’s completely redesigned not only from a look and feel perspective but also the traction story that’s going on underneath.”  

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LEVELWEAR 

Canadians will not only see Levelwear on our top Tour talent once again this year – like Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin, Taylor Pendrith, and Maddie Szeryk – but it will also be available at both the RBC Canadian Open and CPKC Women’s Open merch tents through 2024.  

The great story for this year’s drops from Levelwear is all about colour and fabric across its lines of polo shirts, layering pieces, and more.  

“We’ve got more colour stories than we ever have had before and new technologies in some of our fabrics as well – and lots of new prints,” says Gareth Knocker, the director of apparel at Levelwear. “Prints are definitely still trending, so we have a lot of new, fun prints for Canadian golfers this year too.”  

PUMA 

Puma will be launching its 2024 Maple Leaf Collection in May while the brand, which celebrated its 75th anniversary last year, will be the official outfitter of Team Canada’s golf squad at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.  

“We’re really excited. This is a first for us. We’ve been making a collection for Canada for a little while now, but this is the first time there’s a lot more at stake,” says Chris MacNeill, the senior manager of golf apparel at Puma. “We custom made some products for them – from Canadian-themed graphics to colours and all-new performance fabric [and] we’re excited to bring the performance side plus the fashion side together and outfit Team Canada this year.”   

FORESIGHT 

The new Falcon system from Foresight is a  shrunken version of the incredibly popular GC Hawk, while also new for 2024 is the Quad Max – the PGA TOUR favourite has received a few new tweaks for this year.  

The best is just getting better!  

And in case you were wondering about getting a Foresight machine in your home – you’re not alone. Mitch Grassing, a Canadian launch-monitor expert at Foresight based out of Kitchener-Waterloo, says, in Canada, the in-home units make up about three quarters of their business and is the most popular set up.  

“If you’ve got a space to swing a golf club,” Grassing says, “we can make something happen.”  

Proud partner @ForesightCanada has exciting new developments ahead for 2024. pic.twitter.com/2CuLzdi77E

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 25, 2024

Just nine tournaments into the DP World Tour season, Canada’s Aaron Cockerill is already in the best position of his career.

Cockerill, from Stony Mountain, Man., tied for fourth at the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday, firing a 4-under fourth round to finish at 10 under, just four shots back of Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy. That performance moved Cockerill 33 points up the Race to Dubai rankings to ninth overall.

“There’s still a long way to go but it’s obviously better to start in a good position than be behind the 8-ball,” said Cockerill, who played in his fourth tournament of the season but first of 2024.

Cockerill is the eighth highest-ranked Canadian on the official world golf rankings, sitting 219th overall. Keeping pace with high-profile players like McIlroy and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, who also tied for fourth, at the Dubai Desert Classic was encouraging.

“I only lost to three other guys and a couple of them are really, really highly ranked golfers,” said Cockerill. “I mean, those guys are all within the top 30 in the world, I think so, it’s exciting.”

The 32-year-old Cockerill had some strong performances last season on the European-based DP World Tour, with a tie for fourth at the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Dec. 12, 2022, and a second-place finish at the ISPS HANDA — Championship on April 22, but then he struggled through the summer. 

He said he’s learned from that experience and plans to do things differently in 2024.

“I think a lot of that has to do with my habits away from the golf course,” said Cockerill from his home in Dubai. “When we’re over here at the start of the season I’m kind of secluded, in terms of what my normal day to day would be at home. 

“Here it’s: golf course, practice, gym, work hard. I’m going pretty hard and not really doing a lot in between. Not that I want to be a drill sergeant to myself the whole season, but I also need to know that I need to stay pretty disciplined and keep up with my practice habits.”

Brooke Henderson is eager to get back on the roller-coaster that is an LPGA Tour season.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., will be the only Canadian in the field at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions when the LPGA Tour tees off its 2024 campaign on Thursday. The exclusive tournament has winners from the past two seasons on the top women’s circuit competing, as well as a celebrity tournament.

She qualified for it as a two-time winner in 2022 and as the 2023 Tournament of Champions’ victor, even though the rest of her year didn’t go as she had hoped.

“There’s lots of highs and lots of lows and you just have to continue to ride it out and be patient,” said Henderson at a news conference. “Starting out with a win here last year, definitely a huge high and then I did have some lows throughout the year.”

Henderson missed the cut five times last season after winning the Tournament of Champions on Jan. 22. She didn’t reach another top 10 until the Amundi Evian Championship, where she finished second on July 27.

Her performance improved from there, finishing 12th at the CME Group Tour Championship, the LPGA Tour’s season finale, on Nov. 16. She then ended the year on a high note too, finishing second with partner Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., at the Grant Thornton Invitational, a non-sanctioned event that brings together golfers from the LPGA Tour and the men’s PGA Tour.

“I feel like near the end of the season, I was starting to climb my way back up,” said Henderson, who finished last season 15th on the Race to CME Globe standings and starts the season ranked No. 13 on the Rolex Rankings. “I just started to see a lot of positives near the end of the season so I tried to continue that on through the off-season.

“I’m excited to be playing here this week, playing next week as well (at the LPGA Drive On Championship), couple weeks off and go to Asia, which I always really look forward to playing those events over there.”

Henderson has fresh start in her bag too, having worked in an entirely new set of clubs over the past few months. The 26-year-old replaced her irons in the fall, then switched out her fairway woods, driver, and putter.

She’s particularly excited about her new Qi10 driver, which she first tried during a photo shoot for TaylorMade.

“I had to use it that day for some photos and I used it on the range and I was like, ‘Wow, I love this!’ so it went immediately into my bag,” said Henderson, who noted that its added power was a boon since the LPGA Tour shrunk the maximum length of drivers from 48 inches to 46 two years ago.

“(The new driver) has been such a great change. I’ve gained a little bit of distance and I feel like I’m hitting it a lot straighter, which gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.”

Henderson said that she loves the Tournament of Champions because the smaller, elite 35-player field and celebrity tourney gives it a different feel from the typical LPGA Tour event.

“This is a great way to start out the year,” said Henderson. “It’s an amazing atmosphere, it’s really fun.

There’s concerts three nights of the week, big parties, and it’s just a little bit more chill. it’s great vibes.”

TORONTO — Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has confirmed Keith Pelley, a veteran sports and broadcasting executive, as its new president and CEO.

Pelley, who has been CEO of golf’s European Tour Group since the summer of 2015, starts his new job on April 2.

He previously served as president of Rogers Media, the Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, TSN and the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts.

Pelley succeeds Michael Friisdahl, who left MLSE in February 2022 to take over as executive chairman of Signature Aviation, a British-based multinational aviation services company. Friisdahl had been in charge since December 2015.

Chief financial officer Cynthia Devine served as MLSE’s interim president and CEO during the search for Friisdahl’s successor.

MLSE says Devine plans to retire once Pelley starts with the company but will stay on until June as an adviser to the board to assist with the transition.

MLSE owns the NHL Leafs, NBA Raptors, AHL Marlies, Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC and the Argonauts.

10 January 2024, St Andrews, Scotland – Martin Slumbers, CEO of The R&A and Secretary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, is to step down by the end of 2024 after what will be nine years in the role.
 
Mr. Slumbers, 63, brought his extensive global business experience and a passion for golf to the organisation. He has led The R&A as the global governing body of golf around the world (outside the US and Mexico) and as Secretary of the iconic golf club, which dates from 1754, he has supported its committees in serving its international membership. 
 
He will oversee The 152^nd Open at Royal Troon, the return of the AIG Women’s Open to St Andrews and the 43^rd Curtis Cup match at Sunningdale before relinquishing his role by the end of the year.  
 
Niall Farquharson, Chairman of The R&A said, “In Martin, we have been fortunate to have a CEO who has steered the organisation through a period of growth and enhanced the profile and reputation of our sport to make it more accessible, appealing and inclusive.  Through his stature and influence in the world of golf and sport more widely and in growing the proceeds of The Open to invest back into the game, he has been true to The R&A’s purpose of golf thriving 50 years from now and has shown transformational leadership.  He speaks often of reflecting history in a modern way and that will be his legacy to The R&A and to the Club.”
 
Martin Slumbers said, “It has been a privilege to serve golf at the highest level. It is a role that I have been proud to carry out on behalf of The R&A’s employees, the members of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club and all our global partners. In any career, there is a time to allow the next generation to have its turn. I am grateful to have had the honour, for nearly a decade, to have been the custodian of all that The R&A and the game of golf more broadly represents.“
 
During his tenure, Mr. Slumbers has led a modernisation of The R&A’s activities, which included the merger with the Ladies’ Golf Union and its subsequent integration to enable The R&A to represent golf for men, women, boys and girls at the elite level.   
 
In 2018, as part of his strategic approach to The R&A’s activities, its first Playbook was developed, explaining the purpose of the modern R&A: ‘To make golf open, accessible and inclusive and ensure it is thriving 50 years from now’. This level of clarity has led The R&A to double its financial commitment to golf, with greater emphasis on women and girls; establish a strategic business-driven approach to golf development; and proactively seek to improve the perception of golf as good for you, good for society and good for the environment.
 
He had oversight of the 2019 modernisation of the Rules of Golf, the roll-out of the World Handicap System in 2020 and the Distance Insights process, the outcome of which was announced in December 2023. He has served on the boards of the Official World Golf Ranking, the International Golf Federation and the LET.
 
A paradigm shift in the approach to the commercial affairs of The R&A, primarily at The Open, and the level of expertise in the executive team has enabled The R&A to substantially increase its investment into amateur golf around the world and, with partners, has enabled the AIG Women’s Open to grow into a world class championship.
 
In 2023, Mr. Slumbers delivered a four-year project to create the ground-breaking new golf facility, Golf It!, in Glasgow. This family-centred facility based in the community creates an opportunity for more people to enjoy the unbound joy of golf and for members of the local community to gain work, volunteering and training opportunities. 2023 also saw the launch of the G4D Open for the world’s most talented golfers with disabilities and in 2024 a new Africa Amateur Championship will join elite amateur events in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. These include the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific championship and the Women’s Amateur Latin America championship, both introduced by Mr. Slumbers.
 
An executive search firm has been appointed to assist in the search for his successor.

The rivalry between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes deeply worried about the state of men’s professional golf.

Hughes tweeted about his concerns in early December, hours after world No. 1 Jon Rahm announced that he was leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. Although Rahm’s departure moved Hughes up to No. 50 on the PGA Tour’s rankings and into the circuit’s US$20 million signature events, he still felt that men’s golf was in “a sad place.”

The 33-year-old from Dundas, Ont., expanded on those thoughts this week ahead of The Sentry, the first tournament of the 2024 PGA Tour season, an event he only qualified for because of Rahm’s defection. He said that it feels like 2019 was the peak of men’s golf and the PGA-LIV rivalry has put the focus on money and potentially alienated fans.

“Our economic model was sustainable. The LIV threat came along and all of a sudden we started to double the purses, and we’re asking sponsors to double their investment, and we’re giving them the same product,” said Hughes at a news conference from the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii. “Fans also, I think, are left wondering, ‘Do guys even love playing golf anymore? Or are they all just concerned about money?’

“All these guys going to LIV have made it pretty clear that it’s all about money. I mean, growing the game, but also money. So, to me, that’s disappointing.”

The PGA Tour introduced big money “signature events” last year to entice golfers to stay with the circuit. Hughes said that model is not sustainable because it means tournament sponsors have to double their financial undertaking without the product changing in any significant way.

“It would be silly for me not to play in these events, they are great opportunities, but, I just don’t think it’s right,” said Hughes, who is a member of the PGA Tour’s player advisory council along with Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont. “Again, we have the same product that we had in 2019, yet we want this increased investment, not just increased, but increased in a big way.”

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced on June 6, two days before the RBC Canadian Open teed off, that the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — which owns LIV Golf — had agreed to a merger. The details of that agreement were supposed to be finalized by Sunday, but that deadline came and went with no update except that negotiations had been extended.

“(Fans) don’t know where certain guys are playing and there’s spats between the LIV and the PGA Tour, and it’s not unified in any way, shape, or form,” said Hughes. “There’s negotiations going on that are unclear, they have been dragged on for a long time.”

Hughes said on Tuesday that he felt compelled to speak up because he thinks the whole process could alienate viewers.

“The fan just wants to watch golf,” said Hughes. “I think you watch sports for an escape from other nonsense, but I think golf has brought a lot of nonsense onto its plate, and now you don’t get just golf, you get a lot of other stuff going on. It’s a bit of a circus.”

Hughes and Conners are joined at the Sentry this week by Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., as well as Adam Hadwin and reigning Canadian Open champion Nick Taylor, both of whom are from Abbotsford, B.C.

Taylor, who will be making his third appearance at The Sentry, said he took most of December off to spend Christmas back home in Canada. 

“I’m going to be as prepared as I possibly can be, but I’ve probably played my best at times with low expectations,” said Taylor. “I’m trying to win this week, but knowing it’s the first event of the year there’s going to be a little bit of rust, I’m sure, for a lot of people. 

“I’ve been here since the 29th, I played nine every day, so that’s going to help me kind of ease into the tournament. It’s always a treat to be here, I don’t care how many times you come.”