HONOLULU – Patton Kizzire figured he was in for a long day when his putting stroke wasn’t up to his standards.

He just wasn’t expecting the Sony Open to go this long.

The longest playoff in more than five years on the PGA Tour finally ended Sunday when Kizzire two-putted for par from just off the green on the par-3 17th hole, and James Hahn’s 8-foot putt to keep it going caught the right edge of the lip and spun away.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Kizzire said. “I was able to get it done.”

Kizzire, who closed with a 2-under 68, became the first multiple winner on the PGA Tour this season. He went head-to-head with Rickie Fowler and beat him by one shot in the OHL Classic in Mexico last fall for his first PGA Tour title. He was in a four-man battle on the back nine at Waialae that was whittled down to Kizzire and Hahn, who closed with a 62 to match him at 17-under 273.

And the fun was just getting started.

Kizzire had to watch three times as Hahn had a putt to win, two of those putts from 6 feet and 10 feet on the par-5 18th hole. Kizzire had two putts to win, though both of them were in the 30-foot range.

“That playoff was quite a marathon,” Kizzire said.

Canadian Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., — the lone Canadian to make the cut — finished in a tie for 39th place at 8 under.

Hahn has won both his PGA Tour title in playoffs, at Riviera and Quail Hollow. Closing with a 62 to even have a chance was no consolation.

“I played good enough to win, but I didn’t,” he said. “So for me, no matter how many birdies I make, if I’m not coming out of the room with the trophy, it really feels like I was defeated out there. I had a putt to win it. I’m going to be playing that over and over and over again.”

The six-hole playoff was the longest on the PGA Tour in just over five years, and given how the week transpired, it was only fitting.

Saturday brought panic to the islands with a push alert of a ballistic missile strike that turned out to be a false alarm.

There was a real strike on Sunday – the audio and video production workers for Golf Channel walked out over a labour dispute, leaving the network scrambling to provide at least limited coverage of an event that ended in prime time after the NFL playoff games were over.

Golf Channel managed enough cameras to provide coverage of the final three holes – one of their on-course reporters manned a camera on the 16th tower – and all six holes of the playoff.

It was worth the wait for Kizzire. His goal is to get to East Lake for the FedEx Cup finale, and he is well on his way with two victories so early in the season.

“One win doesn’t necessarily mean a whole lot,” Kizzire said. “Two means a little more, and three is even better. I’m always looking for the next one. I’m super excited right now.”

Missing from the playoff was Tom Hoge, who did everything right in his bid to win for the first time on the PGA Tour except for one swing. He had a one-shot lead when he was between clubs on the 16th hole, and opted to hit a draw to the back-left pin. He turned it too much and it found the bunker. His next shot got hung up in the shaggy rough, he chipped that to 12 feet and missed to make double bogey to slip one shot behind.

Hoge gave himself two good chances with putts of about 7 feet. Both burned the edge. He shot 70 and had to settle for third place, his best finish on the PGA Tour.

“This sets me up a lot better for the rest of the year, and hopefully made the FedEx Cup playoffs,” said Hoge, a 28-year-old from North Dakota who hasn’t kept his full card his previous three years on tour. “More so just the confidence I had to play in the final group and play well today.”

Brian Harman, who played in the final group at both Hawaii events, was two shots behind after a tap-in birdie at No. 12. But he three-putted for bogey from long range on the 13th, took two shots to get out of the bunker left of the 16th green and had to settle for a 70. He tied for fourth.

Defending champion Justin Thomas closed with a 68 and tied for 14th. Jordan Spieth finished with eight straight pars for a 66 and tied for 18th, ending his streak of seven consecutive top 10s dating to the PGA Championship in August.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Canada will be among 25 countries competing in the 13th edition of the South American Amateur at Martindale Country Club from Jan. 13-16.

Four elite amateurs will make up the Canadian contingent: Chris Crisologo (Richmond, B.C.), Matt Williams (Calgary), Céleste Dao (Notre-Dame-de-lÎle-Perrot, Que.), Ellie Szeryk (London, Ont.).

Dao and Szeryk are current members of Team Canada’s Women’s Development Squad; Crisologo is a member of the Men’s Amateur Squad and Williams is a program graduate.

Williams will lead the Canadian quartet in Saturday’s opening round, teeing off No. 1 at 8:20 a.m. The University of Houston junior will be paired alongside a familiar face in Colombia’s Camilo Aguado, who held the 54-hole lead at the 2017 Canadian Men’s Amateur at Toronto Golf Club and Islington Golf Club. Aguado finished the championship tied for 4th, while Williams closed with a share of 8th.

Defending women’s champion, Isabella Fierro, will tee off No. 1 at 1:10 p.m. local time—the Italian finished T16 at the 2015 World Junior Girls Championship in Ottawa, Ont.

LPGA superstar Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., captured the event in 2013 with a wire-to-wire victory in Bogotá, Colombia, to become the first (and only) Canadian to win the event.

Click here for tee times.
Click here for full scoring.

Golf Digest released its third biennial edition of the World 100 Greatest Courses on Thursday, which included nine Canadian courses from coast-to-coast. View the full list on their website here.

No. 9

Cabot Cliffs
Inverness, N.S.

No. 20

St. George’s Golf & Country Club
Etobicoke, Ont.

No. 36

National Golf Club of Canada
Woodbridge, Ont.

No. 43

Cabot Links
Inverness, N.S.

No. 51

Capilano Golf & Country Club
West Vancouver, B.C.

No. 60

Hamilton Golf & Country Club
Ancaster, Ont.

No. 87

Highland Links
Ingonish Beach, N.S.

No. 89

Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge Golf Club
Jasper, Alta.

No. 99

Banff Springs Golf Club
Banff, Alta.

HONOLULU – Zach Johnson and Chris Kirk each made seven birdies and shared the lead in the Sony Open.

Jordan Spieth made eight birdies and for the second straight year walked away from Waialae Country Club amazed that he could be six shots behind.

A year ago, it was because Justin Thomas shot 59 playing in the same group.

On Thursday, it was one hole.

Spieth hit four trees with four shots on the par-4 eighth hole – his 17th of the opening round – starting with a tough break when his tee shot caromed off the trunk of a tree and down an 8-foot deep ditch that left him no good options. He wound up with a quadruple-bogey 8 and had to settle for a 69.

He signed his card, signed autographs and declined requests to speak to the media.

Canadians Mac Hughes (Dundas, Ont.) and Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.) opened with even-par rounds to hold shares of 78th place. Fellow countryman Ben Silverman (Thornhill, Ont.) carded a 1-over-par 71.

Johnson and Kirk kept clean cards playing on opposite sides of the draw and closed with different brands of birdies on the par-5 18th hole – Kirk two-putted from about 10 feet, while Johnson found a bunker, laid up and hit a wedge to 5 feet.

They were a shot ahead of Brian Harman, Vaughn Taylor, Kyle Stanley and PGA Tour rookie Talor Gooch.

Mac Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., shot 70’s and Ben Silverman of Thonrhill, Ont., was 1 over 71.

Thomas, who set the PGA Tour scoring record for 72 holes in his wire-to-wire victory, opened with a 67 and was all smiles at the end. Thomas, an Alabama alum, won a bet on the college football championship that required Georgia graduate Kevin Kisner to wear a Crimson Tide jersey on the par-3 17th.

“It’s definitely the best Kis has ever looked in a jersey,” Thomas said.

Kisner kept the jersey and plans to auction it off for charity. He shot 68.

More than half of the field – 77 players – broke par in the mild trade wind and relentless sunshine down the road from Waikiki Beach.

Kirk had only one top 10 last year – his final event of the year in the RSM Classic at Sea Island – and nearly two months off didn’t appear to half any momentum. He might have been rusty, but not when it comes to island life.

Because of the chilly weather in the South, Kirk brought his family out to Oahu a week ago Monday. He practiced a little in the morning at Ko Olina and hung out with his wife and children in the afternoon. He realized how littlegolf he had played during the short off-season when he reached into his bag and found golf balls that he had marked for the final round at Sea Island.

“I’ve probably been off long enough now that you never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I really had no expectations whether I was going to play good or bad after having some time off. But this is a golf course that I’ve traditionally done pretty well on, and a place that I really love. So you always feel like it’s possible.”

He hit wedge to about 3 feet on the 15th and 16th, and that final birdie on the par-5 18th was a two-putt from 10 feet.

Dry weather, a fast course and the trades allowed a rarity for Johnson, who hit wedge into the green on the 480-yard opening hole. That was first of three straight birdies, and he had ample more opportunities, including a shot that hit the pin on No. 10 and settled 3 feet away. He missed that, though the two-time major champion wasn’t too discouraged. He picked up an unlikely birdie on the 13th from the fairway bunker by making a 25-foot putt, and he made a 20-foot birdie on the next hole.

“Just kept the course in front of me and played solid golf,” Johnson said, winless since the 2015 British Open at St. Andrews. “Made a few putts, missed a few putts. But I’m very encouraged with the direction.”

Spieth played well enough to be right there with them except for a pair of long three-putt bogeys – and that one tee shot.

His drive on No. 8 was not terribly offline, and the trees to the left are a common spot. This one hit the trunk of a tree and tumbled down a wide (and dry) ditch about 8 feet below the fairway. He studied his options. He found none.

He could have dropped it with a penalty stroke, but there was nowhere to go. His plan was to hit out of the sandy base of the ditch toward the trees closer to the fairway. If it hit the trees and dropped out, he would have been closer than the drop and at least had an opening to the putting surface.

It hit one of the smaller branches and came back toward him, about a yard short of go back down into the ditch. For his third shot, he had a gap toward the front of the green (the pin was back left), but out of a fluffy lie, the ball came out high and hit more trees, bouncing left and settle near another tree.

Next, he had to go under the tree in front of him and over a tree guarding the green. He only got the first part right.

At this point, he was lying 4 and was only a few yards away from the second tee, waiting for another group to tee off. His only choice there was to dump it into the bunker, where the sand was thin. He hit that out to 30 feet and two putts later had a snowman (8).

GAUTENG, South Africa – Branden Grace and Chase Koepka shot 7-under 65s to share the first-round lead at the SA Open on Thursday.

Koepka, the younger brother of U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, was among the morning starters and set the clubhouse target by hitting an eagle and seven birdies in his third tournament of his debut season on the European Tour.

Grace had three eagles – at Nos. 2, 8 and 15 – as he bids for a ninth European Tour title and to complete the set of wins at his native South Africa’s three most prestigious events. He has already won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in 2014 and the Nedbank Golf Challenge last year, as well as the Joburg Open in 2012.

England’s Chris Paisley was alone in third place after shooting 66.

Canada’s Austin Connelly recorded a 2-under 70 to sit inside the projected cutline in a tie for 31st. Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Mike Weir notched five birdies against four bogeys and one double-bogey en route to posting a 1-over 73.

Adam Hadwin had a career year in 2017, and as the calendar changes, he added two more honours.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) is proud to announce Hadwin, Josh Whalen, Judith Kyrinis, and Brooke Henderson are the 2017 Players of the Year as voted by GJAC members across the country. Hadwin’s magical season where he notched his first PGA Tour victory, shot 59, and played on the Presidents Cup team was also named the Canadian Golf Story of the Year.

“GJAC is happy to honour these golfers and their accomplishments in 2017,” said Robert Thompson, GJAC president. “The accomplishments of the winners – and each of the nominees – show how strong Canadian golf is right now. GJAC wishes the best of luck to in the year ahead.”

Hadwin’s first PGA Tour victory came in March after a thrilling Sunday at the Valspar Championship, where he won by one over Patrick Cantlay. In January, Hadwin became the eighth golfer in PGA Tour history to shoot a sub-60 round.

Just weeks after his win, Hadwin got married and closed on his first home to cap a whirlwind start to 2017. He ascended to inside the Top 50 in the world (becoming Canada’s highest-ranked male golfer in the process), played all four majors, and participated in the Presidents Cup in September.

Henderson continued her impressive start to her LPGA Tour career, winning twice – at the Meijer LPGA Classic and the McKayson New Zealand Women’s Open – and nearly defending her title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She finished sixth on the LPGA Tour’s 2017 money list, earning just over $1.5 million in 30 events (the most on Tour).

She was the only unanimous choice out of the four winners.

Kyrinis had a stellar 2017 campaign capped off with a victory in an all-Canadian final at the U.S. Senior Amateur. She also won the Ontario Women’s Senior Amateur and Mid-Amateur Championships, along with finishing runner-up at the prestigious North and South Senior Women’s Amateur, and fifth at the Canadian Women’s Senior Amateur.

Whalen finished No. 1 on the Golf Canada Amateur Order of Merit for his fine campaign in 2017. He finished third at the Canadian Men’s Amateur and notched six top-20 finishes during his senior year at Kent State University.

Laurence Applebaum, CEO of Golf Canada, caught up with journalist Ian Hutchinson of Golf News Now in a phone interview on Wednesday to discuss the successes of 2017 and what’s ahead for Golf Canada in 2018 and beyond.

Listen to the clip here.

The PGA TOUR announced today that Brad Fritsch has violated the PGA TOUR Anti-Doping Policy’s ban on the use of performance-enhancing substances and has been suspended for three months. Mr. Fritsch self-reported this information after discovering that an ingredient in a supplement that he was taking was on the prohibited list. He has acknowledged his inadvertent error and accepted his suspension. He will be eligible to return on February 28, 2018.

Statement from Brad Fritsch’s Facebook page:

“Alright. We start Monday.”

That was a text I sent to my good friend Alex on Saturday Nov 11, the same day I had failed to advance at Second Stage of the Web.com Tour Q-School. Alex is a chiropractor, and he operates a really successful weight loss program out of his office as well. I had seen his commercials that run during the daytime soap operas (my WIFE watches General Hospital, not me; promise), advertising “lose a pound of fat per day.” My wife had done the program once before and lost 25 pounds. It seemed like the perfect time to, finally, lose some weight – I had turned 40 two days prior; I was pretty much the heaviest I’d ever been (242 pounds); and my kids were getting really fast. Plus, it looked like I would have a good two months off. I would lose the weight and simultaneously adapt my golf swing throughout the program with my instructor.

The majority of Alex’s program is low calorie, highly disciplined eating. You eat two meals per day (I did noon and 6pm), consisting of a small protein and whatever vegetables you want. Yes, I almost died in the first two weeks. If it sounds awful, that’s because it was. I tried to drink 120oz of water per day, and then took the supplements that every other program participant takes – a liquid multivitamin, even more vitamin D, a “body detox” solution, a probiotic, and a spray called BioSom.

“Hey, it’s not that spray that got Vijay in trouble, right?”

That was a text from November 30, from one of my brothers. I was telling him and my other brother what I was doing with the weight loss program. It felt like my heart sank into my stomach. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t checked all of the supplements against our Anti-Doping list. I immediately sent a text to Andy Levinson, head of the Tour’s Anti-Doping program.

I should give some background on my feelings about the Tour’s Anti-Doping program, because it has a lot to do with how this has come to this point. I’ve been a huge advocate in expanding its transparency, both in meetings for the Web and PGA Tour and also in private conversations with multiple PGA Tour employees. I like the truth, and I hate rumor and innuendo. I’ve been adamant that we should publicize every offender, no matter the offense. Truthfully, I was mainly thinking of recreational testing when I formulated my opinion, and never for one second considered I would one day be a part of a potential “performance enhancing” violation. The only thing I would ever test positive for is excessive Chick Fil A.

And so it was with my view of the Anti Doping program in mind that I texted Andy Levinson that day. Truthfully, it was 10% my assumption that everything was fine; however, it wasn’t fine. That last supplement ended up containing a substance called DHEA, and it is indeed banned on our Anti-Doping list. But 90% is my dislike of hypocrisy. How could I sit there all those times and say “if it happens, it’s the truth, and if it’s the truth, get it out there,” and when it was my turn, just lie about it?

I couldn’t. It’s not who I am. I believe in the program and if I’m to be suspended, then so be it. It is my own fault that I’m in this position.

I’m just so upset with myself that I didn’t think to question what was in the supplements. But I never did. And in the program rules, it stipulates that a self-report is the same as a positive test. I did know this when I sent the text to Andy Levinson – like I said above, I believe in the program. I’m a proud member of the PGA Tour and I don’t take that lightly. If there is any silver lining, it’s that I thankfully never played a competitive round during all of this. I don’t feel great about this situation, but I’ve had over a month to kind of process my feelings about it. I’m in a good place (and I’ve lost 28 pounds, so I’ve got that going for me). I’m not sure I’d feel exactly the same way if I had competed against my peers while using a banned substance, even if it was out of ignorance.

I just wish I had paid attention to the details. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t pay attention to the details.

I’d like to express my thanks and appreciation to my family, friends, and especially my sponsors, for their unwavering support.

I also want to thank the PGA Tour, Commissioner Jay Monahan, and Andy Levinson for bringing this to a speedy resolution.

To all those who believe in me, who cheer for me, who respect me – I hope those three things don’t change.

Sincerely,

Brad Fritsch

The year 2017 is drawing to a close and what a year it was for Canadian golf. Our pros won literally around the world and on just about every tour imaginable. Our amateurs of all ages made Canada proud at home and abroad. And, off the course, there were significant moments that are well worth memorializing as 2018 looms on the horizon.

This is the third of a three-part series remembering most, if not all, of those memorable moments.(If we’ve unintentionally overlooked any—there were so many, after all!—please let us know on Twitter or Facebook.

February:

Roland Deveau of Nova Scotia returns as president of Golf Canada for a second one-year term.

Judy Darling Evans and Bob Vokey elected to the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.

More on Bob Vokey and Judy Darling Evans, our 2017 inductees into the @CGHF: https://t.co/moub4WZWyb pic.twitter.com/3cTksnSV9B

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) February 28, 2017

Bill Klein of Parkville, B.C., and George McLeod of Brandon, Man., named co-recipients of Golf Canada’s Volunteer of the Year award.

March:

Mike Weir, a five-time competitor in the event, is named assistant captain of the international team at the Presidents Cup.

Scott Simmons resigns as CEO of Golf Canada after 10 years.

May:

Laurence Applebaum succeeds Scott Simmons as Golf Canada’s chief executive officer.

Golf Canada is proud to announce Laurence Applebaum as the organization’s next CEO.

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on May 16, 2017 at 12:26pm PDT

Toronto’s Bruce Mitchell is named the first Canadian to serve as captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

June:

Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada publish the 2017 Golf Facilities in Canada Report.

September:

Golf Fore The Cure presented by Subaru announces it raised more than $300,000 for breast cancer research through more than 160 events from coast to coast in 2017.

A BIG thank you to all #GolfForetheCure participants for helping us reach $6M raised for breast cancer research??

? https://t.co/Ea7KnwH3jd pic.twitter.com/FK4L30HGn0

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) September 28, 2017

Following Adopt a School Week, Golf Canada announces an additional 240 school adoptions, representing an additional 28,800 elementary, intermediate and high-school students being introduced to the sport through the Future Links driven by Acura program.

#GolfinSchools totals 240 adoptions to date in 2017 thanks to collective efforts during Adopt a School Week ????

? https://t.co/inaE5cF4ln pic.twitter.com/fAHZ10hpre

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) September 27, 2017

The Canadian Golf Superintendents Association appoints Jeff Calderwood as its executive director, a post he will hold concurrently with his position as CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada.

October:

Golf Canada announces that in 2018, for the first time, the National Development Squad program will feature a centralized component which will be based out of Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, B.C.

Kevin Thistle is named CEO of the PGA of Canada to replace the retiring Gary Bernard.

New PGA of Canada CEO Named to Lead Association to a New Era of Success https://t.co/N7lQrg3GYd

— PGA of Canada (@pgaofcanada) October 10, 2017

November:

The 2017 CP Women’s Open, held in Ottawa, wins the Best Charity/Community Engagement award from the LPGA Tournament Owners Association.

A crowd-funding initiative by the Canadian Golf Museum and Hall of Fame raises thousands to digitize and preserve irreplaceable volumes of Canadian Golfer magazine.

Craig Loughry, Golf Canada’s director of handicap and course rating and Golf Ontario’s director of golf services, is named president of the International Association of Golf Administrators.

Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Mike Weir is inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Congrats to Mike Weir on his induction into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame today ?? ?? • ? @cansportshall

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Nov 9, 2017 at 12:00pm PST

December:

Calgary’s Shaw Charity Classic wins the PGA TOUR Champions President’s Award for the third time in its five-year history.

Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada announce a partnership committed to the principles of the Responsible Coaching Movement, endorsed by the Coaching Association of Canada and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

A proud day for Canadian golf with our CEO (Laurence Applebaum) and @pgaofcanada CEO (Kevin Thistle) signing the Responsible Coaching movement

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Dec 13, 2017 at 9:00am PST

TORONTO – Canadian golfer Brooke Henderson is barely out of her teens and her list of accomplishments on the LPGA Tour is already a long one.

She won her first LPGA Tour event in 2015, added her first major championship last year and picked up two more tournament titles in 2017. Henderson capped her latest impressive season Wednesday by winning the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada’s female athlete of the year.

“I’ve always kind of felt like I belonged out there, which I think is a big part of why I’ve had so much success so early,” said Henderson, who turned 20 in September.

Henderson picked up 35 of 63 votes (56 per cent) in a poll of broadcasters and sports editors from across the country.

“Not only is the young golfer an international champion, but she’s also playing a monumental role in helping young children get into the game,” said Mitch Bach of CHAT TV news in Medicine Hat, Alta.

Swimmer Kylie Masse was a distant second with seven votes. Gymnast Ellie Black and soccer player Christine Sinclair were tied for third with four votes apiece.

Henderson, who also won the Rosenfeld award in 2015, is the first golfer to win the award on two occasions since Lorie Kane (1997, 2000). Swimmer Penny Oleksiak took the honour last year.

“(Henderson) captured the attention of Canadian golf fans in a way not seen since the adoration given previously to Mike Weir,” said Winnipeg Free Press sports editor Steve Lyons.

Henderson had a slow start to the season with just two top-10 finishes in her first 10 events. She found her form in June by winning the Meijer LPGA Classic and just missed out on a playoff at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship later that month.

Her second title came in September at the New Zealand Women’s Open.

“Patience I think is a key word that basically describes my whole season,” she said.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., finished sixth on the money list at just over US$1.5 million and was 13th in the world rankings. She did it by relying on her impressive long game and consistent accuracy from the fairways.

She finished 20th on Tour in driving distance this season (263.58 yards) and was 10th in greens in regulation (75.10 per cent). That helped her average just under 70 strokes a round (10th at 69.88).

Another big moment for Henderson came in August at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open in Ottawa. She nearly missed the cut before giving her army of fans something to cheer about on the weekend.

Henderson surged up the leaderboard before finishing in a tie for 12th place.

“I can’t even really put into words what it meant to me to see all that support and those people cheering me on,” Henderson said from Naples, Fla. “To get that 63 course record on Saturday in front of all those people in my hometown was truly amazing and one of the highlights of my year for sure.”

Henderson’s five career LPGA Tour victories leaves her only three behind Sandra Post for most wins by a Canadian.

“She knows how to score and she’s not afraid to go low,” Post said. “Some people, they get to 5 under, and they quit. She keeps going.”

Henderson, who had eight top-10 finishes, plans to focus on improving her short game as she prepares for the season opener next month at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.

Her putting average of 29.77 per round was 58th overall and she sat 100th in sand saves at 42.67 per cent.

“I have big goals and hopefully in 2018 I’ll have my best year yet,” Henderson said. “But to have a year like 2017 to back up what I did in 2016 – which was really a miracle season for me, everything went perfect – so to grind it out in 2017 and to have the finishes that I did, I’m really proud of that.”

Tennis player Denis Shapovalov won the Lionel Conacher Award as Canada’s male athlete of the year on Tuesday. The CP team of the year will be announced Thursday.

Bobbie Rosenfeld, an Olympic medallist in track and field and a multi-sport athlete, was named Canada’s best female athlete of the half-century in 1950.

The first winner of the Rosenfeld award was golfer Ada Mackenzie in 1933. Marlene Stewart Streit leads all golfers by taking the honour on five occasions (1952, ’53, ’56, ’57, ’63).

“I’m extremely proud to be named Canada’s female athlete of the year,” Henderson said. “I was just looking at some of the names … Marlene Streit, Lorie Kane, Sandra Post, all golfers that have won this award. Even the last few years, I just saw Christine Sinclair, Hayley Wickenheiser, Eugenie Bouchard.

“Those names are huge names in all of sport and all of Canada. So to be amongst them is a great honour for me.”