AURORA, Ont. – Brooke Henderson remembers being rather star-struck when she made her first appearance at the CP Women’s Open.

It’s a feeling that fellow Canadian Michelle Liu is experiencing herself this week at the Magna Golf Club.

Henderson played in the 2012 tournament in Coquitlam, B.C., at age 14, about two years older than Liu is now. She recalled her friendship with fellow Canadian Alena Sharp taking root at that event and also being stunned that four-time LPGA Tour winner Lorie Kane knew who she was.

Henderson called her two-round appearance at the Vancouver Golf Club a life-changing experience filled with memorable moments.

“Just walking around the clubhouse with the best players in the world when you’re 14 years old and trying not to ask for autographs,” she said with a smile. “I think (that) was probably the hardest thing.”

Now Henderson, the defending champion and a nine-time winner on the LPGA Tour, is one of the star players that juniors like Liu are excited to meet.

Liu chatted with Henderson on the driving range Monday and played practice rounds with Christina Kim, M.J. Hur and Daniela Darquea. The Vancouver amateur earned a spot in the field by finishing as the low Canadian at the 2019 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship.

“She seems very nice, a very sweet girl,” Henderson said. “It’s pretty cool that she got an invite to play here.”

Liu will be 12 years nine months and six days old when first-round play begins Thursday, making her the youngest golfer to play in the 47-year history of Canada’s national women’s championship.

“I’d definitely say crazy is a good word for it,” Liu said of the experience so far. “I would say I’ve got to play with some really nice and really good LPGA players. Christina Kim, M.J., and all of them.

“I think I really got to learn something from them and especially how warm and welcoming they are to me.”

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., previously held the record for youngest player at this tournament.

Liu won’t be the youngest to ever play in a national championship on the LPGA Tour. American Lucy Li qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open as an 11-year-old in 2014.

Liu drew raves from Kim after they played the back nine together Monday.

“Can’t wait to watch her golf career, and her stroke is pureeeee!” Kim said in an Instagram post. “Made nearly everything she looked at!”

Liu, who took up the sport at age six, will start Grade 8 in a couple weeks. She turns 13 in November.

After coolly dropping a 12-foot putt on the 15th hole on Tuesday, Liu was greeted by several autograph seekers on her way to the next tee.

“I feel like I’m getting pretty famous,” she said with a laugh. “It’s a new experience for me, so I would say that’s definitely pretty cool.”

Liu is one of five Canadian amateurs on the 156-player entry list. The others are Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-l’Ile-Perrot, Que., Emily Zhu of Richmond Hill, Ont., Brigitte Thibault of Rosemere, Que., and Mary Parsons of Delta, B.C.

Henderson, meanwhile, has been her usual steady self on Tour this season. She has traditionally been quite comfortable in the role of defending champion.

She won her first LPGA Tour event at the Cambia Portland Classic in 2015 and defended the title in ’16. The 21-year-old also won the LOTTE Championship for the second time in a row last April.

Henderson won last year’s CP Women’s Open at Regina’s Wascana Country Club and will be the star attraction this week in her home province.

“I’m going to give it all I have, my best shot,” she said. “I think it’ll be extremely hard to repeat. It’s just facts, I think. Like I said, I’m going to give it my all, see what I can do, and hopefully post a solid round on Thursday and give the fans something to cheer about.”

A strong field is confirmed for the US$2.25-million tournament. Nine of the top 10 players on the LPGA money list are entered, including Jin Young Ko of South Korea, American Lexi Thompson, Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Sung Hyun Park of South Korea.

The par-72, 6,709-yard course has rather wide fairways and large, undulating greens. A total of 96 bunkers will be in play and nine holes have water features.

Warm, dry weather conditions are expected through the week.

Kane is playing the tournament for a record-setting 29th time, moving the Charlottetown native ahead of JoAnne Carner for most all-time appearances at Canada’s women’s golf championship.

Sharp, from Hamilton, is also in the field with Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., Megan Osland of Kelowna, B.C., Valerie Tanguay of Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay and Casey Ward of Picton, Ont.

There are more television options this year with TSN and RDS providing coverage of all four rounds along with the Golf Channel. There was no domestic broadcast or simulcast of the 2018 tournament.

When Henderson led after 54 holes last year, Bell Media and the Golf Channel reached an agreement to allow Canadian viewers to watch the last three hours of the final round live.

Click here for more information on the CP Women’s Open.

Tuesday at the CP Women’s Open saw the LPGA’s top athletes get in practice at Magna Golf Club. Defending champion Brooke Henderson (Smiths Falls, Ont.) and 12-year-old Michelle Liu of Vancouver are two to watch this week at the CP Women’s Open.

Click here for tickets.

Magna Golf Club superintendent Wayne Rath (and canine sidekick) on keeping the course in stellar condition ahead of the 2019 CP Women’s Open in Aurora, Ont.

Click here for tickets.

Hamilton, Ont., native Alena Sharp is ready to play in front of the hometown crowd at the 2019 CP Women’s Open at Magna Golf Club.

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Wayne Rath, longtime Superintendent of Magna Golf Club, knows what it takes to host a championship, and to beautify a course for the lights of TV coverage.

Magna is definitely a crowning achievement, and he and his team have done a fantastic job prepping the grounds for the best players in the world.

But one thing they haven’t been doing is cutting the rough. Nelly Korda and Maria Fassi, LPGA Tour phenoms, have both commented that long stuff around Magna is some of the thickest they’ve had on Tour this year. On a schedule that’s already hosted five Major Championships, that bodes well for the fun of the fans in attendance, and those watching on TSN at home.

Wayne and his team have no plans to cut the rough either. “It’s healthy, thick, probably playing at a half-shot penalty for these girls. But we’re not really going to touch it, we want to focus on the short grass the rest of the week.”

But that won’t stop the players from going low. After all, Magna is hosting one of the best fields outside the Majors on the entire LPGA schedule. “It’s hard to say what they’ll shoot, but if they hit the fairway, and give themselves around 140-yard approaches all week, the greens are big enough and soft enough that they could go low.”

When pushed, Wayne eluded that around 20-under par could be the number, but they have to make sure to stay out of the bunkers. Ninety-six different sand traps covering 28,000 square feet takes up a lot of the team’s maintenance hours, but Wayne is “proud” of how much work his team has put in during the preparation for the event.

When the subject matter changed to focus on the best holes on the course, Wayne has to be diplomatic of course, but his personal favourites as a player, Superintendent and course architecture fan are sixteen and nine, for the challenge they present to the player and the uniqueness of their aesthetic.

Besides that, he thinks that five and fifteen are the best fan viewing experience, as they are both short par-4’s where players can bomb drivers or play positional iron shots, and as a fan from the rope line, you can see all four shots from the same place, and see the way different players and different playing styles dissect the challenge before them. It’s “a real decision-making hole,” says Rath, “it will be interesting to see how the girls choose to play it.”

One more notable spot is the par-5 14th hole, an uphill par which Rath says “is by far the prettiest, up on that hill the view is just gorgeous.”

The course is ready, the fans are excited, and the players are getting dialled in, its championship week from Magna Golf Club and the CP Women’s Open.

Thank you to all the grounds crew and their fearless leader, Wayne Rath, for setting the stage to what will surely be a shining moment in Canadian Golf.

AURORA, Ont. – Kelly Tan’s 7-under-par 65 led the way at the 2019 CP Women’s Open Monday Qualifier at Scarboro Golf and Country Club.

Tan, of Malaysia, was the medalist Monday by five shots. Tan is a full-time member of the Symetra Tour who has played four times on the LPGA Tour in 2019. She also represented Malaysia at the 2016 Rio Olympics. This will be Tan’s fifth appearance at the CP Women’s Open.

Suzuka Yamaguchi of Japan finished in second with a 2-under-par 70. Yamaguchi is 145th on the Race to CME Globe.

Robyn Choi of Australia and Muni He of China finished at 1-under 71 to round out the four golfers earning spots in the 2019 CP Women’s Open via final (Monday) qualifying.

Maddie McCrary of the United States and Julieta Granada of Paraguay, a past winner on the LPGA Tour, were awarded sponsor invitations following qualifying.

Casey Ward (72) of Picton, Ont., finished as the low Canadian and was also awarded a sponsor exemption. Ward is an award-winning PGA of Canada member based out of Credit Valley Golf and Country Club.

With the addition of Ward to the field, there will now be 15 Canadians competing at the 2019 CP Women’s Open, including defending champion Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. and Lorie Kane of Charlottetown, PEI – who is making her record-setting 29th appearance at the CP Women’s Open.

Click here for the full Monday Qualifier leaderboard.

CANADA DAY ALL-STAR  PRO-AM A SUCCESS
Some of Canada’s top golfers teed it up alongside excited amateurs at Canada Day All-Star Pro-Am benefitting the Golf Canada Foundation.

Funds from the Foundation go towards growing golf in Canada, as golfers played 18 holes at Magna Golf Club from the same tees the world’s best golfers will play.

Top Canadian on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada Taylor Pendrith was in the field along with past Canada Life Canadian Player of the Year on the Mackenzie Tour Jared du Toit – both members of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Squad.

Celebrated Canadian amateurs including Emily Zhu – the 2019 Canadian Junior Girls Champion along with Mary Parsons, Brigitte Thibault and Joey Savoie, fresh off winning bronze in the mixed team event at the Pan American Games, teed it up along with LPGA stars Brittany Marchand, Alena Sharp and AC Tanguay.

2019 CP WOMEN’S OPEN TICKETS
One of Canada’s premier annual sporting events, the CP Women’s Open features miles of front row seating for golf fans to experience Canada’s lone stop on the LPGA Tour and cheer on Canadian sensation and CP Ambassador Brooke Henderson as she defends her national title on home soil.

General admission tickets, starting at just $30 for early week access, provide access to the grounds to get an up-close look at the stars of the LPGA Tour. Tournament rounds for Thursday, Friday and Saturday are just $65; a Sunday final-round ticket is $80; and a weeklong, fully transferable badge is $150.

A specially priced youth ticket (13-17 years old) is also available while juniors aged 12-and-under gain FREE grounds admission all week long.

In addition to general admission tickets, a limited number of upgraded spectator viewing experiences are still available. A full list of ticket packages and pricing is available online at www.cpwomensopen.com/tickets.

TSN’s Bob Weeks and Lindsay Hamilton set the stage for the 2019 CP Women’s Open at Magna Golf Club from Aug. 19-25 in Aurora, Ont.

Click here for tickets.

Team Canada members and Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada pros Jared du Toit and Taylor Pendrith share in the excitement heading into this week’s All-Star Pro-Am at the CP Women’s Open at in Aurora, Ont., at Magna Golf Club.

AURORA, Ont. – The final four spots into the 2019 CP Women’s Open field will be determined in Monday’s final qualifying event at Scarboro Golf and Country Club.

A total of 36 competitors will challenge for one of four spots into the field for Canada’s Women’s Open Golf Championship. The Final Qualifier features 18 holes of stroke play with the low four competitors receiving an exemption into the 2019 CP Women’s Open field. If necessary, a hole-by-hole playoff will be conducted immediately following the conclusion of play.

Click here for pairings, start times and results from Final Qualifying on Monday, August 19. Results will be available as players complete their rounds.

Tournament week for the 2019 CP Women’s Open kicks off at Magna Golf Club as the stars of the LPGA Tour return to the Greater Toronto Area for the first time in 17 years.

In addition to practice rounds in the morning, also taking place is the Canada Day All-Star Clinic and Pro-Am benefiting Golf Canada Foundation.

The All-Star Clinic will feature TSN’s Rod Black conducting live interviews with LPGA Tour stars including Cheyenne Woods, Brittany Lang, Katherine Kirk, Alena Sharp, and members of Team Canada’s Young Pro program followed by a shotgun start at 12:30 pm. For a complete list of golfers taking part in the Pro-Am, click here.

Brooke Henderson’s victory in June at the Meijer LPGA Classic will be part of a lasting legacy for the young golfer from Smith Falls, Ont. It was her ninth LPGA Tour victory and gave her the distinction of having the most victories of any Canadian PGA or LPGA golfer in history.

At only 21 years of age, Henderson seems poised to add many more titles to that record setting total.

“I see a lot more victories to come for Brooke, I don’t see her slowing down,” said her fellow CP Has Heart ambassador Lorie Kane at the CP Women’s Open media day in early July.

“She’s got length and she’s got touch when her putters on, and she’s got mental toughness. All those thing make her tough to beat,” added the four time LPGA Tour winner about Henderson.

“She’s definitely in a class all her own; and what I would like to see is that she has a goal to win as many tournaments as she possibly can until the day she decides she doesn’t want to play any more.”

Henderson’s next opportunity to add to her history making total comes at the Magna Golf Club as she looks to defend her 2018 CP Women’s Open crown.

“Going into a tournament that you’ve won before, you have so many amazing memories and it just gives you an extra bit of excitement and motivation going into that week.  Portland was extremely special for me because that was my first LPGA Tour win and to be able to go back and repeat it was really awesome,” said Henderson.

“Coming into this event, I’m just trying to remember all those great memories and trying to think about all the energy the fans had for me last year,” added the former National Team Program member, who became the first Canadian to win on home soil since Jocelyne Bourassa did it in 1973.

While she is an inspiration to many across the country because of her success, Henderson says she drew inspiration from a fellow former National Team Program alum earlier this year.

“Watching Corey Conners win earlier this year was really exciting for me and it kind of put my mind in the correct mindset that I can win too,” noted Henderson.

Conners recorded his first career win on the PGA Tour by claiming the Valero Texas Open in early April.  By winning the tournament, it meant Conners wouldn’t have to worry about competing in Monday qualifiers as it gave him his full PGA Tour card through to the end of 2020-21 season.

“I had a couple of top 10s earlier this year but I wasn’t really doing too much and I watched him win and I was like ‘I think it’s time for me to start doing more of that.’ And it kind of put me into gear,” Henderson continued.

“So I think it’s really cool that we can all cheer on each other and the Canadians on all the tours can just push each other to improve and get better.”

Two weeks after Conners’ life changing victory, Henderson recorded her eighth LPGA victory as she won the Lotte Championship in Kapolei, Hawaii.  The victory allowed Henderson to defend her 2018 victory in Hawaii and put her in a tie with Sandra Post, Mike Weir and George Knudson for most victories by a Canadian professional golfer.

Then of course in mid June, the 21-year-old would break the record by winning the Meijer LPGA Classic at Blythefield Country Club in Grand Rapids.

As she reflects on the big victory, Henderson says she was inspired by the success of the Toronto Raptors.

“It was so exciting watching them play. My family was watching the playoffs and we were cheering them on every single game and it was fun for us to see how well they were doing,” said Henderson.

“They’re just a remarkable team that did something incredible for all of Canada. It was right before my victory that they won the NBA Championship and I just wanted to keep the excitement going. So to get my ninth LPGA win following that was just really special.”

Henderson received a lot of support following her history making victory.  Among those reaching out were Prime Minister Trudeau as he took to Twitter to congratulate the 21-year-old.  She also received a congratulatory text from Wayne Gretzky.

And just last month, Henderson was recognized by ESPN with an ESPY for best female golfer.

“I’ve been so fortunate in this game of golf to have made so many contacts around and made friendships. And I’m grateful for all support I’ve received,” said Henderson.

Looking at the big picture, Henderson understands that the lasting legacy she’s created through her success on the golf course and her increasing popularity has given her a platform to help others – and it’s a big reason why she’s happy to be an ambassador for CP Has Heart.

“I’m so proud and honoured to be a CP ambassador.  And I know CP Has Heart has made a lot of progress in heart health and to be a small part of CP Has Heart and the great work that they do to help people, children, families to feel better and be healthy is truly incredible,” Henderson pointed out.

“I’m fortunate that I can be part of it with Lorie again this year and hopefully we raise a ton of money at the CP Women’s Open and impact a lot more lives.”

This year CP Has Heart has the goal of raising $1.75 million during the CP Women’s Open. The funds raised will go towards renovating a Cardiac Operating Suite at SickKids. In addition, CP also plans to support the tournament host community in 2019 with a donation of $250,000 to Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ont. to support paediatric cardiac care.

In the five years of CP’s title sponsorship of the CP Women’s Open, $8.5 million has been raised to support children’s heart health in Canada.

Having been a CP ambassador during those five years, Kane is very pleased to have Henderson on board.

“We couldn’t have a better partner at CP than Brooke and all the success she’s having on the golf course just helps to bring more attention to the important work done through CP Has Heart,” said Kane about Henderson who joined CP as an ambassador in 2017.

“Brooke is taking on the responsibility of doing what she needs to do and that is being a super special individual playing a game that is encouraging young people to keep playing.”

With 156 of the best golfers in the world vying to be the 2019 CP Women’s Open champion at the Magna Golf Club, Henderson will be facing stiff competition in her quest to defend her title.

Still the 21-year-old says she’s up for the challenge – and expects the passionate Canadian fans in Aurora, Ont. could give her that edge she needs to add to her recording breaking total.

“This year – especially being closer to home for me – I’m expecting great crowds,” said Henderson.

“Hopefully, I can feed of them and use their energy and put myself in a position where on the weekend I can make a charge and hoist that trophy again.”