Pandemic’s worth of positive Canadian golf momentum coalesces at CP Women’s Open – CBC Sports
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For the most part, everything feels normal at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club — this year’s host of the CP Women’s Open.
But then you walk by a volunteer dressed as a referee, and then you walk by two more, and eventually there’s the 17th tee box, surrounded by hockey boards.
“The Rink” is a new addition to the tournament, an idea taken from the men’s Canadian Open to bring that Canadian edge to a sport sometimes lacking in that department.
Fans surrounding the hole are meant to be boisterous and players are meant to have fun. Canadian superstar Brooke Henderson said she plans on wearing an Ottawa Senators jersey on 17.
It’s a spot where three years of patience, coupled with a renewed interest in golf, will all be released.
Canada’s yearly LPGA tournament returns for the first time since 2019 on Thursday.
Sneak peek of the 17th hole — coined “the rink” 🔽 <a href=”https://t.co/VprG14UmUy”>pic.twitter.com/VprG14UmUy</a>
—@mylesdichter
But while the pandemic forced the event to temporarily disappear, it also breathed new life into the sport. At the same time, Henderson continued her march to the top of the Canadian golf ranks.
The 24-year-old headlines a strong field, which includes 18 of the LPGA’s top 20 players, all five of the year’s major winners and defending champion Jin-young Ko, the world’s current No. 1.
The crowd, though, will be firmly with the Canadian who took the trophy in 2018 in Regina.
“It’s a lot of adrenaline and a lot of energy. And I feel like when you’re playing well, you can really ride that. So that’s kind of the goal this week is to try to make some birdies, be aggressive and ride the energy of the crowd,” Henderson said Tuesday.
Besides Henderson, 17 other Canadians set to compete span generations, from four-time Tour winner Lorie Kane in her 30th and final CP Women’s Open to U.S. Women’s Amateur Open finalist and tournament rookie Monet Chun.
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‘Bigger and bolder’
Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum said it all adds up to a historically large undertaking, from partners to grandstands to hospitality.
He said there was about a 50 per cent increase in ticket sales from 2019, when Henderson played in Sunday’s final pairing.
“It’ll feel bigger and bolder. And it will just have that excitement,” he said.
The pandemic opened the door for the socially distanced sport of golf. If you play, you felt it — the struggle to book a tee time and slow pace were consequences of increased participation while tightly clustered indoor sports like hockey remained untenable.
Applebaum said about half a million Canadians returned to golf during the pandemic, in addition to 170,000 new golfers. Of the returnees, he said about two-thirds were women.
Golf Canada chief marketing officer Lisa Ferkul said that growth was a main reason she joined the organization around five months ago.
“We’re so focused on high performance and [the] growing participation and excellence in the sport that Canada is …….
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/golf/cp-womens-open-preview-1.6559966
For the most part, everything feels normal at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club — this year’s host of the CP Women’s Open.
But then you walk by a volunteer dressed as a referee, and then you walk by two more, and eventually there’s the 17th tee box, surrounded by hockey boards.
“The Rink” is a new addition to the tournament, an idea taken from the men’s Canadian Open to bring that Canadian edge to a sport sometimes lacking in that department.
Fans surrounding the hole are meant to be boisterous and players are meant to have fun. Canadian superstar Brooke Henderson said she plans on wearing an Ottawa Senators jersey on 17.
It’s a spot where three years of patience, co…….
For the most part, everything feels normal at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club — this year’s host of the CP Women’s Open.
But then you walk by a volunteer dressed as a referee, and then you walk by two more, and eventually there’s the 17th tee box, surrounded by hockey boards.
“The Rink” is a new addition to the tournament, an idea taken from the men’s Canadian Open to bring that Canadian edge to a sport sometimes lacking in that department.
Fans surrounding the hole are meant to be boisterous and players are meant to have fun. Canadian superstar Brooke Henderson said she plans on wearing an Ottawa Senators jersey on 17.
It’s a spot where three years of patience, co…….