It takes a lot to wear a Maple Leafs jersey in Ottawa and get cheered for it.
But that’s exactly what happened when Lorie Kane pulled on the blue-and-white sweater on the 17th hole, dubbed “the rink” at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club on Friday at the CP Women’s Open.
Kane, 57, was in the midst of hitting the final shots of her iconic career at the tournament, which started in 1991 and was about to come to its official close.
Then, as the Charlottetown native headed down the 18th fairway, she snuck a glimpse to her right.
“I was catching Brooke [Henderson] going down 16, so I was focusing on the leaderboard and trying to get a glimpse of how she did it. So it was special,” Kane said.
In front of Kane were two grandstand’s worth of people, plus many more lining the outside of the green, waiting to cheer on the Canadian golf legend.
WATCH | Kane says goodbye to CP Women’s Open:
Canadian Hall of Famer Lorie Kane’s teary-eyed fond farewell at the CP Women’s Open
9 hours ago
Duration 5:23
Four-time LPGA winner, and Canadian Golf and Canadian Sports Hall of Fame member Lorie Kane of Charlottetown was teary-eyed as fans saluted her on the 18th hole, as she played her final professional round at the CP Women’s Open on Friday in Ottawa.
Meanwhile, back on the 10th, 12-year-old Lucy Lin was just preparing to begin her second round, with an outside shot at making the cut.
A total of 19 Canadians converged in the country’s capital for the 2022 national open, where the past met both the present and the future.
“I think there’s a lot of really positive things happening in young women’s golf here in this country,” Kane, who missed the cut, said after her round on Friday.
“And again, it’s because we’re putting money, pardon the expression, where our mouth is and getting what support needs to be gotten or given to young golfers.”
Henderson at 5-under
Henderson is the star people came to see in Ottawa — unfortunately, on Thursday, it was only those in attendance who could see her, as none of her round made it to live TV in Canada.
By Friday, the issue was rectified, as TSN aired Henderson’s entire round.
“I feel like that’s just kinda progress in the women’s game,” Henderson said. “Here in Canada I feel like I’m so loved and supported and I feel like the fans really have my back, so that’s pretty cool.”
For the second straight day, Henderson exited the course with a bogey on her last and feeling like she could’ve done better. She made a buzzer-beater birdie on the second hole, rolling in a putt just as the horn sounded to suspend play due to rain. The delay pushed the end of the second round to Saturday morning, when play will resume at 7:15 a.m. ET.
But with the Smiths Falls, Ont., native sitting at 5-under, and leader Narin An of South Korea at 13-under, the hill to contention is steep.
“Not the position I wanted to be in, but I’m playing the weekend and I have amazing crowds and amazing fans out here cheering me on, so I feel like if I can make a couple birdies early I can ride some momentum,” Henderson said.
WATCH | Henderson lingers in Ottawa:
2nd round play gives Brooke Henderson a shot heading into the weekend at CP Women’s Open
9 hours ago
Duration 3:34
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont, carded a 3-under 68 to sit at 5-under par heading into the weekend at the CP Women’s Open in Ottawa.
If An, the Tour rookie, holds on, she’d become the third Korean winner in the last four editions of the tournament, after Jin-young Ko in 2019 and Sung-hyun Park in 2017.
“I don’t have experience winning in the U.S., but I do have some experience in Korea, so it’s not an unfamiliar feeling right now. I hope to put up good results the next two days,” An said.
Alena Sharp, the Hamilton, Ont., native who recently lost her LPGA Tour card, was also set to play the weekend, sitting 3-under for the tournament.
Maddie Szeryk, of London, Ont., is likely to progress to weekend play after shooting a 3-under 68 on Friday. The 26-year-old said on Thursday that the spotlight on Henderson helped ease some of the pressure.
“I think you cheer for all the Canadians. You want everyone to do well,” she said.
Toronto amateur Lauren Zaretsky made good on Thursday’s hole-in-one by also likely playing her way into the weekend, alongside fellow Canadian Rebecca Lee-Bentham, who was right on the cutline at 2-under. Meanwhile, Sarah-Eve Rheaume sits just below the cutline at 1-under.
Canadian celebration
While an LPGA tournament featuring plenty of big names and top players was at stake, the event also represented a celebration of sorts for the Canadian contingent.
That was truer for Kane than anyone, who made a clear effort to soak in the atmosphere, even bowing to the crowd at one point as the skies seemed to open up just in time for her final hole.
Kane was grouped with the 41-year-old Sharp, who like Henderson wore shoes with the Maple Leaf on them.
“One of those Canadians that you just want to root for and I wanted to help,” Kane said of Sharp. “I think she’s got so much game left, it’s not funny. And so I told her she needs to keep going and keep working hard.”
Vancouver’s Lin played in a group with 33-year-old Maude-Aimée LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que., who recently earned a top-10 finish at the Scottish Open.
However, early blemishes likely extinguished either’s hopes of making the cut.
Monet Chun, the Richmond Hill, Ont., native who came into Ottawa having just reached the final of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Open, also was unlikely to play into the weekend.
You could call it the golden generation of Canadian golf — really, Henderson’s numbers alone (12 wins, including two majors) get you most of the way there.
On the men’s side, two Canadians could make the Presidents Cup team, made up of the best non-American, non-European players, for the first time ever. Corey Conners has already secured his spot, while Mackenzie Hughes and Adam Hadwin are firmly in the hunt.
Combined with growing amateur interest throughout the pandemic, the sport has maybe never been in a better place.
Separated by 45 years, it was goodbye for Kane and hello for Lin in Ottawa.
And in the middle there was Henderson, welcomed back by a crowd eager to watch their hometown hero.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
