Brooke Henderson has started the LPGA Tour season on a wave, one she hopes to ride into the first major of the season.

The 26-year-old golfer from Smiths Falls, Ont., has four top 10 finishes in the first seven tournaments of the year, finishing no worse than a tie for 27th. That’s the kind of momentum she needs heading into this week’s Chevron Championship.

“I’m always trying to get those top 10s and be in contention on the weekend,” said Henderson on Wednesday. “So it’s been fun to be in that position a couple of times already this year.”

The Chevron Championship moved to The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, for the first time last year and Henderson found the course challenging, tying for 23rd after shooting an even-par overall. Lilia Vu won it in a playoff against fellow American Angel Yin after both shot 10 under.

Henderson said that she and her sister Brittany Sepanik, who is also her caddy, made a point of getting to The Club at Carlton Woods earlier this year to better prepare for the first of five women’s golf majors.

“Just getting a little better feel for it, knowing where to miss and where the good spots are to try to make birdie,” said Henderson, who noted that the greens are firmer this year. “I think that’s really key and just understanding the course a little bit better. I think that’ll be helpful on the weekend.”

Although Henderson finished 2023 in 15th in the LPGA Tour’s Race to CME Globe standings, she said she wasn’t happy with the year overall. But a tie for sixth at the Maybank Championship on Oct. 26, and taking second with partner Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., at the Grant Thornton Invitational on Dec. 8, helped her shake off that slow start.

She opened the 2024 season with a third-place finish at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on Jan. 18, tied for ninth at the Honda LPGA Thailand on Feb. 22, and tied for third at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.

Most recently, Henderson tied for ninth at the T-Mobile Match Play on April 3 for her fourth top 10 of the year, one more than she had in all of 2023.

“I think the game has been trending in the right direction for a few months now and it’s right there,” she said. “I just need a few things to go the right way and then I think hopefully, I’ll be back in the winner’s circle sometime soon.”

Henderson has won two other majors before: the Women’s PGA Championship in 2016 and the Evian Championship in 2022. Her best finish at the Chevron was a tie for second in 2020, when it was called the ANA Inspiration and played at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Rookie Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont., is also in the field, making her first appearance at a major. The 22-year-old said she’s excited for the chance to play against the best-of-the-best.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Grewal. “I feel like one of my bucket list goals has always been playing a major and now to start that path off is really exciting. 

“Hopefully, this will be the first of many.”

PGA TOUR

Scottie Scheffler made six birdies over his last 11 holes to cement his status as the No. 1 player in the world with a four stroke win at the Masters. It’s his second Masters title in the last three years and he becomes the 18th player to win the tournament multiple times. Scheffler found himself in a three-way tie for the lead after a bogey on No. 6 before those challengers faltered one by one. Ludvig Aberg of Sweden, looking to become just the third player in Masters history to win the tournament in his first attempt, lost ground when he made double bogey at No. 11 after his approach found the pond. He would be the only one to battle back and try and keep it close before settling for a runner-up finish. Colin Morikawa, who started the day just one shot off the lead, had two double bogeys in a three hole stretch at the turn to fall out of the hunt. He finished in a tie for third with Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa, whose title hopes ended on the par-3 12th with a double bogey. Scheffler is the fourth-youngest player to have won two green jackets and is clearly the best player in golf at the moment, having won three of his last four starts. …Defending champion Jon Rahm was never a factor finishing tied for 45th, 20 shots behind Scheffler. …Tiger Woods, who extended his streak of consecutive cuts made at the Masters to 24, carded a final round 77 and finished at 16-over 304, the highest 72-hole score of his career. His third round 10-over 82 was his highest score in 99 rounds at the Masters. …Corey Conners finished outside the top 10 for only the second time in his last five weekend appearances at Augusta.  …Adam Hadwin was one of only 20 players to break par in the final round Sunday

POS		SCORES	TOTAL
T38	Corey Conners	70-76-76-73	+7
T53	Adam Hadwin	75-73-82-70	+12
MC	Mike Weir	74-77
MC	Nick Taylor	77-81

NEXT EVENT: RBC Heritage (Apr. 18)

CANADIANS ENTERED: Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Svensson, Nick Taylor 

Pro-am rounds can be a fun opportunity for serious golf fans to meet their favourite players and for the golfers to get some extra practice in ahead of that week’s tournament.

But for Canadian golfer Selena Costabile and former NFL players Josh Scobee and Marcus Pollard it was a chance to get into the intricacies of the athlete’s mindset. The trio were grouped together for the pro-am on Tuesday ahead of the Epson Tour’s Atlantic Beach Classic and got into a lengthy discussion as they made their way around the course. 

Costabile, who is from Thornhill, Ont., and Scobee bonded over the similarities between being a golfer and a placekicker.

“Because you really just have one shot to perform,” said Costabile. “He was giving me a lot of insights about how you have to have two different mindsets. One is in practice, and then once you get in to a competition or the tournament, on the course or on the football field, whatever that may be, you have to almost switch to more of a performance mindset.

“Trying to just get the ball between the posts is similar to trying to get the ball in the hole and do that as best as you can while not really thinking about the mechanical side of it.”

Scobee was a kicker on the Jacksonville Jaguars for 11 seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015 and then spending a couple of months with the New Orleans Saints in 2016 before retiring the next year. He connected on 80.1 per cent of his field-goal attempts and 98.2 per cent of his extra-point attempts for a total of 1,046 points.

He said that he developed his “how and where” approach about six years into his career.

“I told her what I’ve always tried to do — and it’s not always easy — but what I tried to do was to separate practice from the games,” said Scobee. “Practice is where you’re trying to figure out how to do it. You’re working on your technique, and little things that you practice to be ready for the game or a tournament or whatever. 

“Then separating that from where to hit it, or where to kick it whenever I was playing. So I told her it’s the how versus the where, how to do it versus where to hit it.”

Pollard was a tight end with the Indianapolis Colts, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons over 14 seasons, catching 40 touchdowns and over 4,280 receiving yards. Although Pollard didn’t have much to add to Scobee and Costabile’s conversation on mechanics, the kicker said he had a lot to say about mindset in general.

“It’s fun to get in front of other athletes that play different sports and go around the table and talk about what we all thought about or how we prepared,” said Scobee, “It all basically comes back to the same things and that’s the beauty of sports.”

Costabile said the conversation came at a good time for her because she has missed two cuts to start the Epson Tour season.

“I’m trying to work on leaving all the work of the off-season in the off-season and trusting that I did the work and now I just have to go out to play,” said Costabile. 

She’ll be joined by Kate Johnston of Ayr, Ont., and Brigitte Thibault of Rosemere, Que., in the field at Atlantic Beach Country Club. 

Thibault, in her first full season on the Epson Tour, made the cut at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic on March 8 and again at the IOA Golf Classic on March 15. She said she was happy with those results because her ball striking has not been up to its usual standard.

“To be honest, the focus hasn’t been on cuts because you’re trying to win it so it’s been more annoying in that sense,” said Thibault. “But I’m still excited because to start the season the top 50 women’s golfers in the world were in Asia so the first three Epson Tour events were probably the strongest fields we’re getting the whole year. 

“To be able to really not feel like you have your game and still fight and put those scores up, I’m extremely proud of that.”

The 25-year-old said that her focus this off-season has been to focus on the natural motion of her swing.

“I’m diving more into my creative side and more into my given talent and working with that instead of trying to fit into a box,” said Thibault. “I’ve been more of a sponge, going into tournaments and seeing what tendencies show up with adrenalin instead of being so technical, because I had really tried to fit into a box with a certain swing and it looked better but then I kind of lost a bit of lag there.”

LPGA TOUR — Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is the top-ranked Canadian heading into this week’s Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. She is fifth on the Race to CME Globe season standings, having finished in the top 10 in three of her first four tournaments of the year. Rookie Savannah Grewal (29th) of Mississauga, Ont., Hamilton’s Alena Sharp, and Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., are also in the field at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

CPKC WOMEN’S OPEN — Golf Canada announced on Wednesday afternoon that Mississauga Golf and Country Club would host the CPKC Women’s Open Aug. 18-24, 2025. It’s the first time the national women’s championship has been in the Greater Toronto Area since 2019 when Magna Golf Club hosted it in Aurora, Ont.

PGA TOUR — Nick Taylor is 11th in the FedEx Cup standings heading into this week’s Valspar Championship. Adam Hadwin, who is also from Abbotsford, B.C., won the Valspar in 2017 and is No. 30 in the points list. Five other Canadians are in the field at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Fla., including Mackenzie Hughes (71st) of Dundas, Ont., Adam Svensson (72nd) of Surrey, B.C., Ben Silverman (88th) of Thornhill, Ont., Taylor Pendrith (93rd) of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Roger Sloan (201st) of Merritt, B.C.

PGA TOUR AMERICAS — The PGA Tour Americas begins its inaugural season on Thursday with the Bupa Championship. The third-tier tour is a combination of the PGA Tour Latinoamerica and PGA Tour Canada, that ended last year. Twelve Canadians will tee it up at PGA Riviera Maya in Tulum, Mexico.

DP WORLD TOUR — Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., is 15th on the Road to Dubai standings, the European-based DP World Tour’s points list. He’s the lone Canadian in the field at this week’s Porsche Singapore Classic at Laguna National Golf Resort Club.

Growing up Ellie Szeryk played a number of sports, but ultimately found her passion on the golf course. Today, with her sights set on playing golf at the highest level, the Canadian National Team member is confident she has the support and resources to reach that goal.

“Golf was something I was always around. My dad played it a lot and Maddie played a lot. So I was just born into,” said Szeryk, whose older sister Maddie Szeryk is currently in her third year on the LPGA Tour.

Szeryk – whose parents Neil and Karen relocated from London, Ont., shortly after being married – also played competitive soccer and basketball growing up.

“My mom played soccer and coached my soccer team. I played both soccer and basketball until the age of 13 but then I started to focus on golf,” said the five foot ten inch high performance athlete.

“I really enjoyed playing in golf tournaments and I remember in one small tournament I was competing against boys and I chipped in for my first eagle ever. My dad was caddying for me and I remember we were both pretty excited about that.”

She adds that some of her fondest memories growing up was through a healthy sibling rivalry with her older sister.

“My dad would go out with us when we were quite young and he would say ‘whoever won this competition could pick what we had for lunch’ and Maddie and I would get so competitive about it. Some of my fondest childhood memories were from playing golf with Maddie,”

She reminisced.

“I got to see Maddie go through high school and university and now playing professionally and seeing her overcome all these challenges.  She’s always been my biggest inspiration,” added the amateur squad member.

Similar to her older sister, she is dedicated to reaching her full potential on the golf course.

“I learned that if you want to get to the next level you have to put in more work than anyone else. Thankfully Maddie and I come from a really hardworking family.  My mentality has always been that I’m going to work as hard as my mom and dad do, but put in that work on the golf course,” she said.

The hard work started to pay off for Szeryk in 2017 when the then 15-year-old won the Ontario Junior Girls’ title and the following year she won the Ontario Women’s Amateur championship.

Szeryk would go on to attend Texas A&M university and in 2022 transferred to Southern Methodist University.

She has struggled a bit with her consistency while playing collegiate golf but managed to win her maiden NCAA tournament last year. In October of 2023, Szeryk won the Jim West Challenge by going 16 under for the tournament, winning by one stroke.

“It was my first win since winning the Ontario Amateur so it was a bit emotional. I cried, my family cried,” said the SMU senior. “It was a good feeling knowing I could handle the pressure and be able to pull it off to win by one stroke.”

Szeryk says the recent win has given her a bit more confidence; and in a sport like golf where a lot of it is played between the ears, that confidence goes a long way.

“People say golf is 75 percent mental but I think it’s even more than that.  It’s something I’ve been working on – just in terms of being aware of my tendencies, acknowledging my fears and learning to let them go. I feel I’m more in control mentally now,” she said.

“Being in the right mental state and having that self-confidence is so important to finding success on the golf course.”

The talented amateur golfer says being part of the National Team Program also gives her confidence that she’s on the right track.

“Being part of the National Team Program has given me the opportunity to play in so many big tournaments that I would not have a chance to play in otherwise.  Golf Canada is really supportive of their athletes and doing everything they can to get to them that next level,” she said.

Szeryk has had the chance to experience what the next level is like as she competed in a few LPGA tournaments already including the 2018 and 2023 CPKC Women’s Open and also the Ascendant LPGA tournament in October of 2023.

“The experience playing in LPGA tournaments.was so cool.  Overall, it was just a massive learning experience,” she said.

“You get to see these players are human and they also hit bad shots but they are just good at cleaning a few things up. It just gave me reassurance that I don’t need to be perfect and gave me a first-hand look at what I want to do next in my golf journey.”

According to Maddie Szeryk, being on Golf Canada’s National Team Program provides it’s athletes with the necessary resources and support to reach their full potential on the golf course.

“During my time with the National Team Program, I got to play in high level events and had a chance to test my game against the best amateurs in the world. I also got to play in a number of LPGA events,” said the third year LPGA pro. “The coaching and support has played a big role in getting me to where I am. Golf Canada has been awesome in support of my journey.”

The younger Szeryk sibling will graduate from SMU this spring and with the support of Golf Canada’s National Team Program, she is eager to follow in her sister’s footsteps and play the sport at the highest level.

“I would love to be able to compete in the Olympics and also play on the LPGA Tour one day but right now I’m just working on the process to get there; and I’m grateful to have Golf Canada supporting me on this journey,” she said.

“I think it’s good to have really big goals because it pushes you to work hard to achieve them.”

There’s a famous saying in golf that the journey to success is not a sprint but rather it’s a marathon. Having first dedicated herself to the sport at the age of eight those words of wisdom resonate with 22-year-old LPGA rookie Savannah Grewal.

Growing up in Mississauga, Ontario, young Savannah was first introduced to the sport by her mother Katarina at the age of six. She recalls her humble beginnings from her first golf lesson.

“I have a video from that lesson where I swung and missed on my first shot,” she said with a laugh. “But I remember it was a lot of fun.”

Grewal was also introduced to soccer, tennis, gymnastics, and ballet but she found her passion in the sport of golf.  So much so that at the age of eight she declared to her parents that her goal was to make it onto the LPGA one day.

Her parents were supportive of those ambitions but emphasized that achieving a goal like that wouldn’t happen overnight and would require a long-term dedication to continuous improvement.

The Canadian National Team Member remembers going to the golf course with her dad, Ashoak, and practising for hours upon hours.

“My goal use to be to hit 500 to a 1000 golf balls a day. So there were just countless hours on the golf course trying to get better,” she recalled.

“I loved the fact that golf wasn’t like any other sport. There are so many different aspects to work on.  You could work on your driving, pitching, your iron game, bunker game, putting, etc.”

Grewal recalls a strong result at a prestigious junior tournament that reaffirmed her belief that she was on the right path to success.

“I remember going to the U.S. Kids World Championship which was a big deal back then and not doing too good the first time and going back the following year and finishing top 15.  I think I was nine or 10 around that time and it was motivation that I was on the right track.”

Former LPGA Tour pro and National Team member Rebecca Lee-Bentham recalls her favourable first impression of Grewal.

“I think I was in my second year on (LPGA) Tour at the time and she must have been around 12 and her coached asked me to play a few holes with her. My first impression was that she and her dad had a similar drive to what my dad and I had growing up.”

That drive and dedication for success on the golf course required Grewal to make some sacrifices.

“The winters are cold in Canada so I used to go to Florida from January to April to train there,” recalled Grewal, who also missed her high school graduation because she was competing in a tournament.

She adds that it was difficult to see her friends on social media doing fun things while she was in a different country working on her game. But Grewal took comfort in having the full support of her family; and having clarity on why she was making that sacrifice.

“I was fortunate to have my grandparents with me and I always knew what my end goal was and knew it was just a stepping stone on that journey,” she said.

Her success as a junior would see her win the Drive, Chip and Putt tournament for the girls 14-15 category in 2017 at Augusta National. The following year in 2018 she won the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior tournament.

Grewal would go on to play collegiate golf for the Clemson Tigers.

“Playing at Clemson has been amazing. It has a family-oriented environment and it was great to win the ACC team championship last year,” she said.

“My teammates are some of my best friends and I have nice memories of hanging out post round as we would always go get dinner and then ice cream after.”

The Mississauga, Ont., native is also grateful to be part of the Canadian National Team Program.

“It’s great because we get the opportunity to compete in some of the biggest tournaments against the best in the world. And it’s always special to represent your country on a big stage.”

A special moment for Grewal and her family came last December when she realized her childhood dream and earned her LPGA Tour card after finishing in a tie for 10^th spot at the LPGA Q-Series.

The five foot four inch Grewal was playing her A game which saw her utilize her strong ball striking along with a consistent iron game; and that allowed her to hit a lot of greens.

“Overall, I felt I was really steady.  I hit some good shots, made some putts when I needed and didn’t get into any real trouble,” she noted.

While the six rounds of the LPGA Q-Series last December were very much like a marathon of sorts, Grewal paced herself perfectly and spoke about her emotions as she was about to cross the finish line in a tie for 10^th spot.

“I tried not to think about it, but walking onto 18 after hitting the green, I knew this was it I was going to get my LPGA Tour card and it kind of felt surreal,” she recalled.

“I blacked out a bit, it didn’t feel like I was living in reality.  It felt all the hard work put in was paying off.”

Grewal says achieving her childhood dream was that much sweeter knowing she is able to share that success with those closest to her.

“My grandma called me afterwards and cried. It was a special day and proud achievement for our entire family,” she said.

“My grandparents on my dad’s side immigrated to Canada from India and worked very hard to give their kids the best opportunities. Hearing their stories inspired me to work just as hard as a way to give respect back and be someone that they would be proud of,” Grewal added.

Having followed Grewal’s journey since their original meeting many years ago, Lee-Bentham is optimistic about the LPGA Tour rookie’s future.

“I’ve seen Savannah do some amazing things during her collegiate career and I’m excited for her new journey on the LPGA Tour,” Lee-Bentham said.

“Golf Canada has put a lot of effort over the years to help players like myself and the new generation of golfers. It just goes to show that success isn’t made overnight and it takes a whole team for one player to make it,” she added.

“Savannah has her whole family and country supporting her and I believe she is capable of greater things to come.”

Besides setting her sights on getting into the winner’s circle on the LPGA, the 22-year-old has ambitions of representing Canada one day at the Olympics.

One interesting fact is her brother, Jordan, plays table tennis for the Canadian National Table Tennis team, so her dream would be to both compete for Canada at the same Olympics. He was also her caddy recently at the Blue Bay tournament in China where she finished in a tie for fourth place.

The LPGA rookie knows the journey in this next chapter will require that same discipline and focus to pace herself to achieve long term success.

“Now is a whole new chapter in my career,” said Grewal.

“This rookie season, I just want to work hard and be as competitive as I can.  I want to stay steady, never get ahead of myself, just compete; and hopefully, I will be in contention.”

Jared Du Toit was planning the next phase of his golfing career last summer, casting a wide net by entering qualifying for the Korn Ferry Tour, the DP World Tour, and anything else he could think of. 

But a friend from his days playing at Arizona State University nudged him toward the Asian Tour.

Fast forward to now and Du Toit, from Kimberley, B.C., sits seventh on the Asian Tour’s order of merit after earning a top-10 finish in his first-ever tournament on the men’s golf circuit.

“I was talking to him a little bit in the summer and he just said ‘you’re crazy if you’re not giving Asia a try. The competition is solid, the events are great, and the money is pretty good,'” said Du Toit. “That sparked some interest so I gave it a try, not thinking much of it. 

“But (the DP World Tour and Korn Ferry Tour) didn’t work out so I went to Asia, got status that way. Now we’re here and enjoying it, enjoying it a lot so far.”

The 28-year-old Du Toit tied for seventh at 17 under on Sunday at the IRS Prima Malaysian Open at The Mines Resort & Golf Club, six shots back of winner David Puig of Spain. 

Du Toit was in a position to miss the cut halfway through his second round but rallied to shoot a 64 and see the weekend. He then fired a 62 in the third round to rocket up the leaderboard before a 71 settled him into seventh.

“Going from basically the cutline to three or four inside the number and in the thick of it a little bit I felt like I was on the house money bit and just had a great round three, which got me right into it,” said Du Toit. “Unfortunately, I didn’t play my best on the last round, but all things considered going from the cutline to contention to finishing top 10 was a solid start to the year and I’m excited to get going over here.”

His next target is to earn his way into some of the co-sanctioned events like next week’s New Zealand Open or one of men’s golf’s majors, like the British Open.

“I was pretty close last week being in contention in Malaysia. There was three spots for the Open,” said Du Toit. “It might be a little tougher to do that, don’t think they just give away spots so I definitely lost a bit of an opportunity last week, but I’d love to do that.

“I just still try and play my best, make as many cuts as I can.”

Du Toit has his next chance to do just that this week at the International Series Oman at Al Mouj Golf in Muscat, Oman. Toronto’s Richard T. Lee is also in the tournament.

PGA TOUR — Five Canadians are in the field at this week’s Mexico Open at Vidanta Vallarta in Vallarta, Mexico. Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., is the top-ranked member of the Canadian contingent, entering the week at 62nd in the FedEx Cup standings. Mackenzie Hughes (72) of Dundas, Ont., and Ben Silverman (99) of Thornhill, Ont., are also in the field, as are unranked players Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C.

OUTSPOKEN HUGHES — Hughes, who is on the PGA Tour’s player advisory council for another year, remains outspoken about the upstart LIV Golf circuit. He spoke to CBS while on the course of last week’s Genesis Invitational about the ongoing rivalry.

“Now we’re in a place where I think fans are just generally a little bit fed up with it, to be honest,” said Hughes. “Those are the people that drive our sport so I’d love to appeal to the masses a lot more.

“Certainly, the way we’re going right now, to me, isn’t quite it.”

DP WORLD TOUR — Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., is the lone Canadian in this week’s Kenya Open at Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi. He finished second at the event in 2022.

LPGA TOUR — Brooke Henderson of Smiths Fall, Ont., is the lone Canadian in the field at Honda LPGA Thailand at Siam Country Club’s Old Course in Chonburi. She sits sixth in the Race to CME Globe standings after placing third at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on Jan. 18 and tying for 16th at the LPGA Drive On Championship.

MEN’S NCAA — Calgary’s Hunter Thomson won his season opener with eight birdies in the final round of the Palmas del Mar Collegiate tournament in Humacao, Puerto Rico. He won the event by two strokes on Feb. 13, helping the University of Michigan to a fourth-place finish. 

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.”

After a down year, there will be more than double the number of Canadian golfers on the LPGA Tour in 2024.

Maddie Szeryk and Alena Sharp will return to the top women’s professional golf circuit next year and Savannah Grewal will make her debut after all three qualified at the LPGA Tour’s Q School last week. They’ll join world No. 12 Brooke Henderson and Maude-Aimee Leblanc on tour.

“That’ll be really cool to grow on the women’s side and have more players out on the LPGA Tour every single week,” said Henderson before Szeryk, Sharp and Grewal had confirmed their status. “It’s been really fun to watch the men’s side of Canadian golf, they’ve been playing amazing with four wins on the PGA Tour last season, which is really cool.

“Hopefully something similar like that can happen on the LPGA Tour in the next few years.”

Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Szeryk of London, Ont., were the only two Canadians on the LPGA Tour last season after Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., missed most of the year with an injury. 

Szeryk is also happy to see ranks of the Canadian contingent swell in 2024.

“It’s so great to see that, that there’s going to be more Canadians out there,” said Szeryk. “We all feel the support from each other and build off of that, so that will be really nice to have more.”

Henderson maintained her LPGA Tour membership thanks to her end-of-season ranking and Leblanc will return on an injury exemption. Szeryk had to re-earn her LPGA Tour membership through Q-School after finishing the 2023 season just outside of the rankings threshold. 

She tied with Hamilton’s Sharp for 38th at the third stage of the qualifying format.

“A lot of relief that the week was over. It was just a stressful week,” said Szeryk with a sigh. “Obviously, you want to be on the LPGA and play as best as you can. 

“I think I’m just relieved and excited that I get to play out there again next year, because that’s really the dream.”

Grewal, from Mississauga, Ont., was the top Canadian at Q-School after she tied for 10th at 18 under. She turned professional in November after playing U.S. collegiate golf at Clemson. It is a requirement for all golfers to turn pro before entering the third stage of Q-School.

“Honestly, my goal is to be rookie of the year,” said Grewal, who made three starts on the LPGA Tour as an amateur. “I want to go out there and hopefully play some good golf.”

The 22-year-old Grewal will be the youngest Canadian to make her LPGA Tour debut as a professional since Henderson, now 26, turned pro in 2014.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners are a perfect 1-0 when paired together on the golf course. They’re ready to improve their decade-old record this week.

Henderson and Conners were teammates on Golf Canada’s junior national and both represented Canada at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, but they rarely see each other as professionals on the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour.

They haven’t been paired together since 2013, when they won the Copa de las Americas along with fellow Canadians Albin Choi and Augusta James.

That all changes when they tee it up together Thursday, at a new event featuring players from the world’s top men’s and women’s golf tours.

“I’ve always admired her swing and the smile she always has on her face,” said Conners on Wednesday in a joint news conference with Henderson. “We go way back. We haven’t crossed paths, unfortunately, that much over the last few years.”

The Grant Thornton Invitational, a new tournament on the pro golf calendar, sees players from the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour pair up in a season-ending event. Prize money will be evenly divided between the two genders at the 16-team field at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla.

Henderson and Conners hope to learn from each other on the course and maintain their unblemished record as a pairing.

“I’m really excited to watch the men play, watch Corey play, see how he goes about it,” said Henderson, who added they have already begun strategizing. “I think that it’s pretty cool to have a partner and somebody that is as brilliant as Corey is to talk that through.”

Neither Conners or Henderson had turned professional when Team Canada won the Copa de las Americas by one stroke at the TPC Blue Monster Course at Doral Golf Resort & Spa Miami 10 years ago. Conners, Henderson, Choi and James finished with a four-day total of 25-over par 1,177 to best Mexico (1,178) by a shot and the United States (1,179) by two.

A lot has changed since then.

Conners, from Listowel, Ont., has won twice on the PGA Tour since turning professional in 2015 and is the second highest ranked Canadian on this year’s FedEx Cup standings.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., has put together an even more impressive resume, winning 13 times on the LPGA Tour including two majors since turning pro in 2014. She has the most pro wins in the history of Canadian golf.

“Ever since they announced the format of this event, I tried to try to throw my name in and partner up with Brooke,” said Conners. “I think it was similar from from her side, so it’s really exciting to be here together representing Canada. 

“Obviously, I’ve got a pretty solid partner so I’m looking forward to having some fun this week.”

Henderson think she can learn a lot from Conners, one of the best ballstrikers on the PGA Tour.

“I always enjoy watching my playing partners just regularly out on tour, when they’re practising, when they’re warming up, and also when I’m playing with them,” said Henderson. “You just always try to keep an eye out and see what I can learn and what I can pick up on and maybe how I can improve.”

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., the highest ranked Canadian on the PGA Tour, will also play at the event. He will partner with China’s Ruoning Yin.
Henderson and Conners agreed that the Grant Thornton could help grow the sport of golf in North America.

“It’s a really cool opportunity for the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour to do something together,” said Conners. “Hopefully this leads to some more collaboration and possibly some more events together.”

Savannah Grewal, Alena Sharp and Maddie Szeryk finished inside the top-45 at the 2023 LPGA Q-Series in Mobile, Ala. securing their 2024 LPGA Tour status.

Grewal of Mississauga, Ont. finished T10 at 18-under following rounds of 66-69-71-67-71-68-412. Grewal turned professional in November, prior to the third stage of Q-Series. Grewal has made three starts on the LPGA Tour as an amateur. Grewal reached match play at both the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur and British Amateur.

Sharp of Hamilton, Ont. finished T38 at 9-under following rounds of 69-72-70-69-73-68-421. Sharp has 19 years of experience on the LPGA Tour and made four starts in 2023, highlighted by and eighth place finish at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational and T36 at the CPKC Women’s Open. Last month, Sharp also won the bronze medal for Canada at the 2023 PanAm Games in Santiago, Chile. In addition, Sharp represented Team Canada at the Olympic Games in 2016 and 2020.

Szeryk of London, Ont. also finished T38 at 9-under with rounds of 68-67-71-75-68-72-421. Szeryk recently completed her second full year on the LPGA Tour and made 22 starts with one top-ten finish. During her career, Szeryk has made 36 starts on Tour with one top-ten finish.

Robin Choi of Australia finished atop the leaderboard at 29-under after six rounds. Mao Saigo of Japan and So Mi Lee of Republic of Korea finished tied for second at 26-under. For the final leaderboard please click here.

Players who finished inside the top-45 including ties after 108 holes earn 2024 LPGA Tour eligibility. Players finishing in positions 1-20 and ties earn LPGA Tour status in Category 14 and players finishing 21-45 and ties earn LPGA Tour status in Category 15.

Golf Canada Q-School/Series stipends were made available thanks to generous donors of the Golf Canada Foundation, to help off-set the expenses of Canadian professionals striving to qualify for tours affiliated with the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour.

Now in its third year, the stipends have been given to Canadian professionals based on performance at Q-Series/School to ensure more support is available for players who accumulate higher expenses from advancing to further stages. To receive a stipend, players must compete professionally on the tour where they earned status (or another professional tour if status is gained elsewhere). In addition to Grewal, Sharp and Szeryk, 11 others will receive a stipend for their 2023 Q-Series/School performance including Leah John, Kate Johnson, Tiffany Kong, Brigitte Thibault, and Selena Costabile along with Jared du Toit, Stuart Macdonald, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Thomas Giroux, Etienne Papineau and Myles Creighton.

Next week the PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry will take place from December 14-17 at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley Course and Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.