Canada’s top-ranked golfer and Canada’s iconic railway are partnering for five more years, both on and off the course. Canadian Pacific (CP) has renewed seven-time LPGA tour-winner and the No. 12 ranked female golfer in the world, Brooke Henderson to serve as its golf ambassador.

Since signing on with CP in 2017 as a golf ambassador, Henderson has won four more LPGA Tour titles, including her historic win on home soil at the 2018 CP Women’s Open where she became the first Canadian to win the National Open Championship in 45 years.

Joining the CP family is sister and caddy Brittany Henderson, who will also wear the CP logo as she supports Brooke as a team and family member.

“It is an honor to extend Brooke’s sponsorship until Dec. 31, 2023, and welcome Brittany to the CP family,” said Keith Creel, CP President and Chief Executive Officer. “Brooke remains the perfect ambassador for CP as we continue to grow the game of golf, advocate for healthy living through CP Has Heart, and build on the iconic Canadian brand that is CP. Adding Brittany to the CP family was a natural decision, as railroaders know that precision and excellence requires a strong team.”

CP continues to sponsor Team Canada, a relationship that marked the beginning of Brooke’s relationship with the railway. Both the Hendersons are graduates of the amateur program that supports young golfers as they pursue their professional dreams.

Brooke has also been named a repeat winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as the Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year. In addition, PostMedia recognized her as their 2018 Summer Female Athlete of the Year and Canadian Sport Awards named her their 2018 Athlete of the Year.

“I am so proud to continue my relationship as an ambassador for CP. As many of my own family members have worked for CP in my hometown of Smiths Falls, it is truly special for me to wear the logo and continue that long history as a member of the CP family. Furthermore, the sincere gesture to add my sister Brittany to the CP family is incredible, as she’s been with me every step of my career. We both look forward to celebrating many more victories with the CP family.”

Already in the CP family is four-time LPGA Tour winner Lorie Kane, who signed on as an ambassador in 2014 when CP took over title sponsorship of the National Open. Kane, who was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 2017 and named a recipient of the Order of Canada in 2006, has an established reputation as one of the most personable and consistent players in the game, and has dedicated many efforts off the course to champion support for CP Has Heart.

CP recently named SickKids Foundation as its official charity beneficiary of the 2019 CP Women’s Open that will be hosted at Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ontario. Through its CP Has Heart program, CP will once again make a substantial donation to support local paediatric care. Follow along this season as golf ambassadors Brooke and Lorie encourage fundraising efforts to help reach this year’s $1.75M donation target.

In the five years of CP’s title sponsorship of the CP Women’s Open, $8.5 million has been raised to support children’s heart health in Canada. This will mark the third time in six years southern Ontario has hosted the CP Women’s Open resulting in more than $3.3 million dollars invested in London (2014 – $1.3 million) and Ottawa (2016 – $2 million).

Whose turn is it this week to treat golf as their whipping boy?

Mainstream media feed on the sport as a source of unsubstantiated headlines, many based on the fallacious stereotype of golfers as overweight entitled middle-aged men riding in golf carts while smoking a cigar and chugging a beer. (I do wish they would stop using my foursome as an example.)

For their edification, and yours, here are some verifiable facts about just one positive aspect of golf.

Last fall, Dr. Andrew Murray and his colleagues at Edinburgh University’s Physical Activity for Health Research Centre reported on the results of a review conducted by researchers into 5,000 existing studies about golf.

5,000 studies!

What they found was stunning.

Golf not only has physical and mental health benefits for everyone who plays, but those benefits increase with age. Older folks improve their balance and endurance as well as respiratory and cardiac health.

“We know that the moderate physical activity that golf provides increased life expectancy, has mental health benefits and can help prevent and treat more than 40 major chronic diseases such as heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, breast and colon cancer,” Murray told the BBC.

“Evidence suggests golfers live longer than non-golfers, enjoying improvements in cholesterol levels, body composition, wellness, self-esteem and self-worth.”

The Edinburgh University study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and is part of the Golf and Health Project, which is led by the World Golf Foundation.

A visit to the Golf and Health web site www.golfandhealth.org is a revelation. (Highly recommended for those mainstream media types mentioned above.)

Other studies show that walking 18 holes is equivalent to an eight-kilometre hike. That hike can drop blood glucose levels by up to 30 per cent in older golfers and helps everyone with weight maintenance and physical fitness. Walking and carrying your clubs can burn up to 2,000 calories per round. Even if you can’t carry, get off the power cart and use a manual or electric push cart (what the Brits call “trolleys”).

Heck, even being a spectator at a golf tournament is good for you.

“Spectators at golf events have been reported to walk significantly further than the 7,500 to 10,000 steps recommended daily for health,” according to Golf and Health. So you don’t have to actually play the game to reap the health benefits associated with it.

Even if the preceding hasn’t persuaded you to get out and golf, how about this for a kicker?

The death rate for golfers is 40 per cent lower than for non-golfers of the same age, sex and socio-economic status, according to a study of 300,000 golfers by Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet. That equates to a five-year increase in life expectancy for regular golfers.

When the Edinburgh University study was released, the London Daily Mail ran this above the story:

“Play golf and you’ll live longer.”

Now, that’s a headline you can believe.

KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Brooke Henderson didn’t join the LPGA Tour thinking she would end up amongst the best Canadian golfers of all-time. At least not so soon, anyway.

Henderson tied the Canadian record for most career victories on the LPGA or PGA Tour on Saturday when the 21-year-old captured her eighth career title by shooting a 2-under 70 to win the Lotte Championship for the second year in a row.

Sandra Post had eight career victories on the LPGA Tour between 1968 and 1981, while Mike Weir and George Knudson equalled that on the PGA Tour.

“When I was younger it was just a goal to be on the LPGA Tour, to win my first event,” Henderson said.

“And when that happened and I won my first major the year after, things kind of just started to fall into place. I knew the record was eight. Just kept creeping toward it the last three years, which was really exciting.”

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., won last year’s event in Hawaii for her sixth Tour victory and followed that up in August 2018 as the first Canadian in 45 years to win the CP Women’s Open.

“I think starting last year I sort of saw that it was within my reach if I had two good seasons. Last year put me into great position, and coming back this year it’s been on the back of my mind every week that I tee it up. I’m just really happy that I have finally done it.

“Looking forward to overtaking it now.”

She finished 16 under on Saturday at Ko Olina Golf Club to beat South Korea’s Eun-Hee Ji by four strokes.

All the highlights from Brooke’s repeat performance in Hawaii ???? pic.twitter.com/XDRFo8KBht

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) April 21, 2019

Nelly Korda, tied with Henderson for the third-round lead, finished with a quadruple-bogey 8 for a 77 that left her seven strokes back at 9 under. She hit into the water twice on 18, then threw her ball in after finishing. The 20-year-old American also had a double bogey on the par-4 seventh.

“Pretty bad,” Korda said. “I mean, it was a tough day, but I ended really poorly and I’m pretty disappointed in that. … It was an unfortunate final round, but there is nothing I can do about it anymore.”

Ariya Jutanugarn (73) and 2016 winner Minjee Lee (74) tied for third at 11 under.

Henderson bogeyed her first hole, but that was the only blemish in the final round as she followed that up with three birdies and 14 pars.

She looked to be in some trouble on the par-4 16th, but saved par when she hit a put from off the green.

“It’s really amazing to even be mentioned in the same sentence as Mike Weir, George, and Sandra,” Henderson said. “This week was really special. I always love coming to Hawaii. Last year was such an incredible week for me, to be able to hoist that trophy for the first time. Coming back I knew I knew the golf course really well.”

Fellow Canadian and Olympic teammate Alena Sharp watched Henderson play out the round and joined her in celebration.

“Congrats my friend ?BrookeHenderson! Unbelievable title defense and tying Sandra Post’s record for most wins by a Canadian on the ?LPGA tour. So freaking proud of you!,” tweeted Sharp (72), who finished 2 under for 40th place.

Henderson takes home US$300,000 for the win. Through seven events in 2019, she has made six cuts, has one victory, three top-10 finishes and one top-15 finish for $498,151 total earnings.

Henderson, ranked No. 12 in the world, has one major among her tournament victories, winning the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship after beating Lydia Ko in a playoff when she was only 18.

Saskatoon’s Roy Pavely found the right combination of ten golfers and won the 2019 Rotary Club’s Masters pool.

Pavely selected Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Marc Leishman, Hideki Matsuyama, Fransesco Molinari, and Tiger Woods. In total, the group collected $5,624,355 which landed the $5,000 first place prize. The retired Bridge City resident said there wasn’t a real formula behind his selections.

“There’s not much of a story behind how I picked,” Pavely laughed. “Just a case of how they have been playing and where they rank.”

Pavely has been entering the Rotary Club of Saskatoon’s annual fundraiser for almost a decade and has finished as high as eighth and 14^th in years past. He said he’s also finished near the bottom too. Going into Sunday’s final round Pavely figured he had a decent shot but there was no way to really know where you stand.

“That Tony Finau had me worried there. I think him and Schauffele tied so it worked out good for me,” he said.

Pavely used to play the game often but he admits it’s harder to get out to the course. He said he likes to participate in the pool for a couple reasons.

“I used to be an avid golfer, I don’t have quite as much energy as I used to, but it makes watching the tournament that much more interesting and I think the money goes to a great cause,” he said.

Ray Salmon finished in second place and wins $1,000. His team was almost $154,000 back of Pavely’s. In third place, Avis Hardy will receive $500. Paul Watson, Bryan Renwick, Roger Huston, Woody Milne, and the Klassen family round out the prize winners taking home $100 for finishing in the top eight.

All the winners and standings can be found on the Rotary Club’s website.

Synergy 8 Community Builders has announced their 2019 keynote speakers for their annual “Drive for Kids Campaign” later this summer in Saskatoon.

Former professional golfer and current analyst, Darren Clarke and professional and Golf Channel host Blair O’Neal will be in the Bridge City on Aug. 27 for the 11^th year of the event. Campaign chair Troy Davies said Clarke comes highly regarded by previous golf attendees at the fundraiser.

“Darren comes highly recommended from Retief Goosen and Colin Montgomerie, two former guests we’ve had over the last two years. They just pointed out to us, with our event and the uniqueness of it having the dinner the same night Darren would be a huge hit to the audience. They’ve got a feel for the Saskatchewan folk, so we took their word. We reached out to Darren and he was more than willing to come,” Davies said.

Having O’Neal make an appearance is important to the committee as well Davies explained.

“She is highly regarded on the Golf Channel and their Morning Drive and she’s also a professional golfer which a lot of people don’t know,” he said. “To bring in a female professional is important to us because we think golf is making an impact. Even after the huge win by Tiger Woods I’d say more people are going to pick up clubs. It won’t be just men; it will be females as well and we want to promote both sides of the golf.”

National Hockey League players Cam Talbot and Eric Gryba will also be back this year to help raise money for the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation. Synergy took advantage of the growing golf market in Saskatoon back in 2011 when they brought John Daly to the city for the event. Since then they have reached out to other PGA Tour players and it’s helped them raise over $4 million Davies said.

“It’s really turned out to be a homerun for us with some of the names we’ve brought into the city. The feedback we’ve received from our corporate sponsors is that it’s been a success thanks to them. It takes corporate support to make this event happen. We’ve raised over $4 million and made a huge impact to the community,” he said.

The province’s children’s hospital is slated to open later this year. Then premier, Brad Wall announced the construction of the much-needed facility at Synergy’s event in 2010. This year the organization is hoping current Premier Scott Moe will attend and potentially make an opening date announcement. The group is still in discussion with his office. Whether that comes to fruition is still in the works, overall Davies said they have been blessed to work in conjunction with the foundation over the years.

“It’s a great fit for us, we have the same beliefs. Our goal this year is to purchase all the pediatric equipment in the trauma room, that’s what we will be focusing on,” Davies said.

The golf tournament is held at The Willows, the banquet takes place at Prairieland Park. Anyone who purchases a golf foursome receives a table of eight for the gala. Ticket and sponsorship details can be found on the Synergy 8 website.

The Elmwood Golf Club in Swift Current is preparing for a once in a lifetime celebration in 2019. The 18-hole newly renovated course is celebrating their 100^th anniversary this year.

Already open for the season, the club is set for a memorable year. Another aspect of the highly anticipated summer is the course is revamped under the guidance of Les Furber. General manager Sheldon Reinhart said the course had a long-term plan to redevelop the layout and the upgrades went quicker than expected.

“We were expected to kind of alternate years with the work we were doing but our members were happy with just keeping 18 holes in play. We had some shorter par threes over the last few years but overall the renovations went great. We rebuilt all 18 greens and essentially took pasture land and built five new holes,” Reinhart said.

Part of the redevelopment is an 82-lot residential subdivision called Cypress Point. Reinhart said sales have gone well with that too.

On the weekend of July 6 and 7, coinciding with the annual W.W. Smith Mixed Tournament, the course will hold a centennial banquet, tournament, and cabaret. Details are still being finalized but Reinhart expects the celebration to be special.

“We’ve got lots planned and the weekend is going to be great for not only our members but the entire city and region,” he said.

The club is also offering a new member special for the centennial season. A new member can join the club for $695 and if they are referred by a current member, that person will receive a $400 credit. Reinhart said the hope is to get people on the “new” course and hopefully they come back.

“That’s the goal, hopefully new members, and current members love what we’ve done here, and they continue to come play Elmwood for years to come,” Reinhart said.

Also, on the Elmwood schedule this season is a Maple Leaf Junior Tour event on May 19 and 20. The senior men’s Golf Saskatchewan Order of Merit tour will stop at the Elmwood too for the Mercator Financial Southwest Senior Men’s Championship from July 8 to 10.

Not only is registration open for the provincial amateur golf championships in Saskatchewan but the PGA of Sask. has announced their schedule.

Their 13-event line up begins on May 27 at the Royal Regina Golf Club with the Ken Rodgers Pro Partner.

The Evergreen Golf Course in Nipawin plays host to the Northeast Open on June 1 and 2. The professional women will play the Sun Mountain Pro Lady at the Willows Golf and Country Club on June 4. On June 10 and 11 in Waskesiu, the Lobstick Open will take place.

In Prince Albert at the Cooke Municipal Golf Course the Callaway ProAm will occur on June 24. The tour returns to the Evergreen on July 15 and 16 for the Oakcreek/GSH Zone Championship. The Ping Pro Junior is slated for the Elmwood Golf Club in Swift Current on July 29.

Over Aug. 12 and 13 the Moon Lake Golf and Country Club is hosting the TaylorMade/adidas Zone ProAm will take place. Back in Swift Current at the Elmwood on Aug. 9 will be the RBC/Lincoln PGA Scramble Regional Final.

Waskesiu will host a second event, the Waskesiu ProAm is scheduled from Aug. 26 to 28. On Sept. 4, Regina’s Murray Golf Club will be the site of the Cobra Puma Pro Best Ball tournament. Dakota Dunes Golf Links will welcome the pros on Sept. 9 and 10 for the Callaway/ClubCar Tour Championship.

The final event of the season is Oktoberfest at the Tor Hill Golf Club in Regina on Sept. 27 and 28.

Registration opened on April 15, forms and more details are available on the PGA of Saskatchewan’s website.

Roman Timmerman and Kade Johnson are being honoured for spectacular seasons on the golf course at Southern Arkansas University (SAU).

The Muleriders are amid a school record breaking campaign led by the Saskatoon and Yorkton products. On Saturday, the Great American Conference (GAC) held their annual awards banquet ahead of the GAC golf championships. During the event, Timmerman and Johnson were honoured as All-GAC first team selections. This is a first for the SAU golf program.

Tmmerman, 20, finished the regular golf season with five top-5 finishes. He shot a career best 204 (67-66,71) at the GAC Preview event tying for second place overall. His second-round 66 was tied for the second-best round in the SAU NCAA era’s history. The three round total is also second lowest in school history. He’s currently ranked 73^rd in Division II by Golfstat. Timmerman is also up for SAU’s male athlete of the year. That will be awarded later this month.

Johnson’s junior season is just as successful. The 20-year-old placed in the top eight of his tournaments six different times which includes his first career collegiate win. Johnson is ranked 50^th in Division II according to Golfstat.

The Saskatchewan pair is currently competing in the GAC Men’s Golf Championship, the school is taking on ten other teams at the event. They play 36 holes Monday and another 18 on Tuesday.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Fallen hero, crippled star, and now a Masters champion again.

Tiger Woods rallied to win the Masters for the fifth time Sunday, a comeback that goes well beyond the two-shot deficit he erased before a delirious audience that watched memories turn into reality at Augusta National.

Woods had gone nearly 11 years since he won his last major, 14 years since that green jacket was slipped over his Sunday red shirt. He made it worth the wait, closing with a 2-under 70 for a one-shot victory and setting off a scene of raw emotion.

He scooped up 10-year-old Charlie, born a year after Woods won his 14th major at Torrey Pines in the 2008 U.S Open. He hugged his mother and then his 11-year-old daughter Sam, and everyone else in his camp that stood by him through a public divorce, an embarrassing DUI arrest from a concoction of painkillers and four back surgeries, the most recent one just two years ago to fuse his lower spine.

“WOOOOOOO!!!” Woods screamed as he headed for the scoring room with chants of “Tiger! Tiger! Tiger” echoing as loud as any of the roars on the back nine at Augusta National.

“It’s overwhelming, just because of what has transpired,” Woods said in Butler Cabin. “Last year I was lucky to be playing again. At the previous year’s dinner, I was really struggling. I missed a couple of years not playing this great tournament. To now be the champion … 22 years between wins is a long time. It’s unreal to experience this.”

Woods lost his impeccable image to a sex scandal, one of the swiftest and most shocking downfalls in sport.

He lost his health to four back surgeries that left him unable to get out of bed, much less swing a club, and he went two years without even playing a major. It was two years ago at the Masters when Woods said he needed a nerve block just to walk to the Champions Dinner. At that time, he thought his career is over.

Now the comeback is truly complete.

He wrapped his arms around his father when he won his first green jacket in 1997, changing the world of golf.

“Now I’m the dad with two kids there,” he said.

He wanted his children to see him win, once saying they saw him only as a YouTube legend. They were at the British Open when he had the lead briefly. They couldn’t make it to East Lake last September, when he won the Tour Championship for his first victory in five years.

“I wasn’t going to let that happen to them twice,” he said. “To let them see what it’s like to have their dad win a major championship, I hope it’s something they’ll never forget.”

Woods won his 15th major, three short of the standard set by Jack Nicklaus. It was his 81st victory on the PGA Tour, one title away from the career record held by Sam Snead.

“A big ‘well done’ from me to Tiger,” Nicklaus tweeted. “I am so happy for him and for the game of golf. This is just fantastic!!!”

It was the first time Woods won a major when trailing going into the final round, and he needed some help from Francesco Molinari, the 54-hole leader who still was up two shots heading into the heart of Amen Corner.

And that’s when all hell broke loose at Augusta.

Molinari’s tee shot on the par-3 12th never had a chance, hitting the bank and tumbling into Rae’s Creek for double bogey. Until then, Molinari had never trailed in a round that began early in threesomes to finish ahead of storms.

And then it seemed as though practically everyone had a chance.

Six players had a share of the lead at some point on the back. With the final group still in the 15th fairway, there was a five-way tie for the lead. And that’s when Woods seized control, again with plenty of help.

Molinari’s third shot clipped a tree and plopped straight down in the water for another double bogey. Woods hit onto the green, setting up a two-putt birdie for his first lead of the final round.

The knockout punch was a tee shot into the 16th that rode the slope just by the cup and settled 2 feet away for birdie and a two-shot lead with two holes to play.

Xander Schauffele failed to birdie the par-5 15th and scrambled for pars the rest of the way for a 68. Dustin Johnson made three straight birdies late in the round, but he got going too late and had to settle for a 68 and a return to No. 1 in the world.

Brooks Koepka, one of four players from the final two groups who hit into the water on No. 12, rallied with an eagle on the 13th, narrowly missed another eagle on the 15th and was the last player with a chance. His birdie putt on the 18th from just outside 10 feet never had a chance, and he had to settle for a 70.

“You want to play against the best to ever play,” Koepka said. “You want to go toe-to-toe with them. I can leave saying I gave it my all. He’s just good, man.”

Wood finished at 13-under 275 and became, at 43, the oldest Masters champion since Nicklaus won his sixth green jacket at 46 in 1986. That for years has stood as Augusta’s defining moment.

This was one is sure to at least rival it.

“This is definitely, probably one of the greatest comebacks I think anybody’s ever seen,” Koepka said, before rattling off Woods’ total PGA Tour victories and 15 majors.

Is the Nicklaus record back in play?

“I think 18 is a whole lot closer than people think,” Koepka said.

Koepka and Molinari both faced Tigermania in the majors and held their own, Molinari at Carnoustie to win the British Open, Koepka last summer at Bellerive to win the PGA Championship.

Molinari went 49 straight holes without a bogey, a streak that ended on the seventh hole. It was the double bogeys that cost him, and the Italian was gracious as ever in defeat.

“I think I made a few new fans today with those double bogeys,” he said.

Although golf courses across Saskatchewan have began opening for the season earlier this month, Monday, April 15 is the official opening day of the season.

Handicapping and score tracking through either your Golf Saskatchewan or Golf Canada public player membership will begin today for rounds played in the province. A list of member clubs can be seen here, for membership information click here.

Today also marks the opening of registration for the provincial golf championships. Participants can begin registering for Golf Saskatchewan’s eight tournaments at 1 p.m. The first event of the year is the 101^st Saskatchewan Women’s Amateur Championship in early July at Moon Lake Golf and Country Club. To find the list of all the championships click here.

The Order of Merit Tours (OMT) across five different categories (junior women, junior men, men, senior men, and women) are also starting to inch closer. The juniors kick off in Estevan at the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club on May 4 and 5 for a Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour stop.

The first women’s event is the Prince Albert Northern Ladies Championship at Cooke Municipal on June 1 and 2. Kim Brown is the reigning tour champion.

The men’s OMT schedule begins in the Queen City on May 25 and 26 with the Regina Dental Group Men’s City Amateur. David Stewart is the 2018 champion of the tour.

Waskesiu Golf Course will host the first event on the senior men’s OMT schedule from June 4 to 6 with the Senior Men’s Lobstick. Rick Hallberg will look to defend his OMT title in 2019.

For more details and registration information for all the OMT events click the “COMPETE” tab on the main page of the Golf Saskatchewan website.