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.”

CHANDLER, Ariz. – Four Canadians finished inside the top 45 in the final stage of Qualifying School at the Whirlwind Golf Club on Sunday to earn guaranteed Web.com Tour starts next season.

Leading the Canadian contingent was Calgary’s Ryan Yip, who played his way into a six-way tie for 10th at 18 under (73-65-67-65), earning guaranteed starts for the first 12 events.

Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Albin Choi (Toronto) and graduate Stuart Macdonald (Vancouver) closed the 72-hole stroke play event at 16 under par, tied for 23rd. Rounding out the quartet was Vancouver’s Seann Harlingten, who finished tied for 30th at 15 under par.

Choi, Macdonald and Harlingten earned exempt status for the first eight events by finishing between places 11-45 (plus ties).

Champion Lee McCoy of Dunedin, Fla., will be fully-exempt next season.

#TeamCanada alum @stuart_mac_golf with a ?? chip-in on 18… In great position to earn #WebTour status.

? from @BlairHamilton12

Full scoring: https://t.co/hUUONo6sam pic.twitter.com/Ob210iWzRo

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) December 10, 2017

Click here for full scoring.

OAKVILLE, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Josh Whalen of Napanee, Ont. and Maddie Szeryk, a dual citizen from London, Ont. and Allen, Texas, have been recognized as Canada’s top male and female amateur golfers for 2017 as Golf Canada announced the final standings for its National Orders of Merit.

Whalen claims top spot in the men’s National Order of Merit ranking after an impressive season highlighted by a 3rd place finish at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. The 22-year-old also posted a T6 finish at the Sunnehanna Amateur and recorded six NCAA top-20s in his senior year with the Kent State Golden Flashes, including a runner-up finish at the Boilermaker Invitational.

Hugo Bernard, 22, of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., finished second on the Order of Merit thanks in part to earning medallist honours at the USGA’s U.S. Amateur Qualifying event in Maine, as well as strong showings at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship (T4), the French Open (T3) and the Mackenzie Investments Open (T7).

Joey Savoie, 23, of La Prairie, Que., rounded out the top-3 after recording runner-up finishes at the Duke of Kent, the USGA’s U.S. Amateur Qualifying event in Maine and the Monroe Invitational.

Whalen, Bernard and Savoie were all recently named to the 2018 Team Canada National Amateur Squad.

The 2017 season marks the third straight year that Maddie Szeryk has finished atop the women’s National Order of Merit. The 21-year-old recorded three victories this season—the B.C. Women’s Amateur and Women’s Western Amateur Championships, as well as the NCAA’s Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational as part of the Texas A&M Women’s Golf Team.

Naomi Ko of Victoria, B.C., finished runner-up on the Order of Merit for the second consecutive time. In February, the 20-year-old picked up her first NCAA win at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic. Other notable showings included third place finishes at the Canadian Women’s Amateur and B.C. Women’s Amateur Championships, as well as the Women’s Porter Cup.

Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee finished third on the National Order of Merit. In 2017, the 20-year-old earned a runner-up finish at the B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship and two NCAA top-5s.

Szeryk, Ko and Lee are all returning members of Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad for 2018.

On the Future Links, driven by Acura National Junior Order Merit, Christopher Vandette of Beaconsfield, Que. and Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que., took home top honours in their respective divisions.

Vandette, 16, tallied five victories this season, including the Quebec Men’s Amateur Championship, Canada Summer Games and the Future Links, driven by Acura Ontario Championship. He also finished third at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship.

Rounding out the top three on the Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Boys Order of Merit are Nolan Thoroughgood (17) of Victoria, B.C. and Ethan Choi (15) of Pincher Creek, Alta.

Vandette and Thoroughgood were recently named to the 2018 Team Canada Development Squad which will train out of Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria.

Dao topped the junior girl’s Order of Merit after a prolific 2017 season where she picked up wins at the Canada Summer Games, Quebec Junior Girls Championship, NIVO Quebec Women’s Provincial Championship, U.S. Junior Girls Qualifier at Fitchburg, Ma., Future Links, driven by Acura Quebec Championship and the CJGA Quebec Junior Open. The 16-year-old also represented Canada at the World Junior Girls Championship in late September.

Finishing runner-up behind Dao is 16-year-old Monet Chun from Richmond Hill, Ont., while Susan Xiao, a 15-year-old from Surrey, B.C., rounded out the top-3.

Dao and Chun were recently named to the 2018 Team Canada Development Squad.

Golf Canada’s National Orders of Merit are used to identify and give recognition to top-performing amateur golfers from across Canada. They also provide an objective national comparison and ranking system, enabling Canada’s top players to compare themselves to counterparts across Canada.

Golf Canada also uses the National Order of Merit to assist with the Team Canada player selection and International event player selection process. For full Order of Merit standings and a points breakdown, please visit www.golfcanada.ca/nationalordersofmerit/.

The following are top-10 National Order of Merit finishers from each respective division:

Men’s National Order of Merit Top-10

Women’s National Order of Merit Top-10

Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Boys Order of Merit Top-10

Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Girls Order of Merit Top-10

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Two Canadians will join the world’s best next season on the LPGA Tour after earning conditional status in the final stage of Qualifying School on Sunday.

Maude-Aimée LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que., posted a final-round 75 (+3) to tie for 32nd to earn her status by way of finishing between places 21-45.

Fellow Canadian Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., finished T32 alongside LeBlanc at 1 over par through 90 holes of stroke play at LPGA International’s Jones and Hills courses. Marchand is coming off a banner year which includes a win at Symetra Tour’s PHC Classic as well as a T30 finish at the CP Women’s Open in front of a hometown crowd at Ottawa Hunt.

Marchand and LeBlanc will join the Canadian contingent next season on Tour: Brooke Henderson (Smiths Falls, Ont.), Alena Sharp (Hamilton, Ont.), Anne-Catherine Tanguay (Quebec City, Que.).

The top 20 players in Sunday’s finale earned full status, while those finishing inside places 21-45 join Marchand and LeBlanc with conditional status.

Five Canadians fell short of making Saturday’s 72-hole cut: Jennifer Ha (Calgary), Elizabeth Tong (Thornhill, Ont.), Samantha Richdale (Kelowna, B.C.), Lorie Kane (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) and Augusta James (Bath, Ont.).

Click here for full scoring.

Ben Silverman has put in the work to climb nearly 1,000 spots in the Official World Golf Ranking since the end of 2016.

Now he’s ready for a break.

Silverman, from Thornhill, Ont., went through a whirlwind year both on the course and off in 2017. He and his wife Morgan welcomed a son – Jack Palmer Silverman – in July, and he won the first tournament he played in after becoming a father.

The 30-year-old’s victory at the Price Cutter Charity Championship propelled him into the top 25 on the Web.com Tour money list, earning him PGA Tour status for 2017-18.

In the five events of the PGA Tour’s Fall Series, he made the cut in four of them and notched two top-10 finishes, including last week at The RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Ga.

Silverman admitted he couldn’t even remember where the PGA Tour played last week because of how much mental energy he had used up this past year.

“I was basically forcing myself each day to put every ounce of mental strength into it because after Sunday I knew I could just crash and let go. I was feeling completely exhausted,” he said.

Thanks to his recent results, he has moved up to sixth on the ranking of graduates from the Web.com Tour this year (from 49th), meaning there is a chance for him to get into even more tournaments next year.

He’ll play the first six events of the 2018 portion of the PGA Tour schedule with hopes of winning early and have the opportunity to take time off.

“A lot of hard work is starting to pay off,” he said. “I put together some good finishes and earned my way up to the PGA Tour the hard way.”

Silverman said his next big goal is to represent Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

To do it, he’ll have to jump approximately another 100 spots in the World Golf Ranking to either match or pass Adam Hadwin, currently Canada’s highest-ranked male golfer at No. 55.

“It’s a long-term goal but there are a lot of little things to do in order to get there, like become a top-two player in Canada,” Silverman said. “Hopefully I can win one or two tournaments before 2019. Those things are in my head as a way to get to my ultimate goal.”

Silverman’s path to the PGA Tour was non-traditional, as he didn’t play golf seriously until he was 16. He was a high-level hockey player before, and he didn’t play on Golf Canada’s National Team like PGA Tour winners Mac Hughes and Hadwin.

But he knew what he wanted to do with his life, and said he put in lots of hard work to get where he is today.

“I didn’t have a Plan B,” he said.

Although Silverman called his ride to the PGA Tour “improbable,” Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum told The Canadian Press watching Silverman’s progress has been inspiring.

“His journey to the PGA Tour exemplifies resilience and dedication and he should be extremely proud to have earned his place alongside the world’s best golfers,” Applebaum said. “It has been exciting to see that strong play carry over to his first few PGA Tour starts and no doubt Ben has positioned himself for success going forward.”

Up next for Silverman will be captaining the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada team at the beginning of December at the second annual Aruba Cup competition – which pits the top 10 golfers from the Mackenzie Tour against the top 10 golfers from PGA Tour Latinoamerica – before hanging up the clubs for the holiday season.

His first tournament back in action on the PGA Tour will be the Sony Open in Hawaii, Jan. 11-14.

(REGINA) – When the CP Women’s Open takes to the links in Regina in August, Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation will be the official beneficiary of the seven day tournament. Through its CP Has Heart campaign, Canadian Pacific (CP) will once again make a substantial donation to the host community by supporting pediatric cardiology at the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, which is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2019.

“CP is very proud to partner with Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital for the 2018 CP Women’s Open,” said Keith Creel, CP President and CEO. “This is a natural partnership as CP is focused on heart health through our community investment program, CP Has Heart, and the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital is focused on helping the youngest hearts across the great province of Saskatchewan – a province that has been integral to our network for more than 130 years.”

Funds raised through the CP Women’s Open will support a dedicated pediatric cardiology space and specialized equipment in the Pediatric Outpatients Clinic at the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. With a nature theme running throughout the hospital, the “Frog Pod” will be specifically used to treat pediatric cardiology patients and will include three echocardiography exam rooms, a pulmonary function technology lab, an exercise challenge room, and a regular exam room. Directly across the hall, included in the pod, is a staff echocardiology reading room.

“On behalf of Saskatchewan children and families, we offer our heartfelt thanks to CP and the CP Women’s Open for helping us further develop the provincial pediatric cardiology program at our new children’s hospital,” said Brynn Boback-Lane, President and CEO of Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation. “It warms our hearts to know the impact this legacy gift will have for young patients, families, and the provincial pediatric cardiac team.”

The Pediatric Outpatients Clinic, which will see children for general pediatrics, cardiology, oncology, speech and language, hearing, and psychiatry, will offer three times more exam rooms than are available today. An anticipated 40,000 young patients will use this area of the hospital every year.

In the four years of CP’s title sponsorship of the CP Women’s Open, $6.5 million has been raised to support children’s heart health in Canada.

“Together with our incredible partners at CP and the LPGA Tour, Golf Canada is proud to bring world-class professional golf to The Wascana Country Club, the city of Regina and the province of Saskatchewan in 2018,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum. “I can’t say enough about the great work that CP does through the CP Has Heart campaign and there is great reason for Saskatchewan residents to be excited about the charitable legacy in support of pediatric cardiac care at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital that will make a difference in people’s lives.”

This is the first time Saskatchewan will play host to a major LPGA Tour event. The CP Women’s Open will run from August 20-26, 2018 at Regina’s Wascana Country Club. Tickets and corporate hosting are available for purchase at www.cpwomensopen.com

Toronto – The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament will take place at five separate sites during the spring of 2018 as players compete for Mackenzie Tour membership for the 2018 season.

The five 72-hole, no-cut Qualifying Tournaments with fields of 132 players each will take place on the following dates and locations:

Players will have an opportunity to qualify at one of the five sites, with official details on the number of membership cards and playing status to be announced at a later date.

“We’ve been fortunate to have so many players interested in qualifying to compete on the Mackenzie Tour over the last five years, and we felt that it was important to give as many players as possible the chance to qualify with five fields of 132 players,” said Mackenzie Tour President Jeff Monday. “We look forward to hosting players at each of these five outstanding venues next spring as they look to achieve their goals of making it to the PGA TOUR.”

Carlton Oaks, which has previously hosted PGA TOUR and Web.com Tour Q-School, returns as a host from 2016 and 2017 Mackenzie Tour qualifying along with Crown Isle, which annually hosts the season’s final Qualifying Tournament.

The Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass, the sister course to the world-famous THE PLAYERS Stadium Course and a Web.com Tour host facility from 2010-2015, joins as a new qualifying site this year along with The Wigwam’s Gold Course, which has hosted U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur Qualifying. Also serving as a site is The Club at Eaglebrooke, which was designed by Architect Ron Garl and opened for play in 1996.

The application to enter Mackenzie Tour qualifying will be open to the public live at PGATOUR.COM/MackenzieTour on January 15, 2018. Entry fees will once again be US $2,750.

The full 2018 Mackenzie Tour schedule will be announced in early 2018.

Cobra Golf, a leader in golf club innovation and technology, today introduced the KING F8 and KING F8+ drivers featuring the brand’s first ever Precision Milled Forged face for the ultimate in driving performance. The groundbreaking, fully CNC machined driver face paired with revolutionary 360^o Aero Technology^TM and equipped with COBRA CONNECT™ Powered by Arccos, delivers COBRA’s fastest, most precise and smartest drivers to date.

“At COBRA Golf our engineers continue to push the envelope when it comes to innovation and delivering the best in game-changing golf equipment for golfers of all levels,” said Tom Olsavsky, VP of Research & Development, COBRA Golf.

The KING F8 and F8+ drivers (along with COBRA’s entire F8 family of products including fairways, hybrids and irons deliver the first ever connected set of golf clubs), boast COBRA CONNECT™ Powered by Arccos, the award winning connected golf system that helps players of all skill levels make smarter, data-driven decisions.  Electronically embedded sensors in the grip automatically record the distance and accuracy of every shot so golfers can track their improvements round-to-round.  Using the COBRA CONNECT/Arccos 360 mobile app, users simply pair their club to receive detailed performance data and access rangefinder GPS distances for more than 40,000 courses worldwide.

Both the F8 and F8+ drivers, along with hybrids, will be available at retail on Jan. 12, 2018. The entire family of KING F8 Irons will be available at retail beginning Feb. 2, 2018.

Learn more by visiting the website here.