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.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.
WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).
Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.
“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.
“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”
Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.
Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.
Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.
Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.
The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.
Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.
The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.
WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.
The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.
Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad
Forwards
Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);
Backs
Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
