Canada is back on the LPGA Tour map

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This article was published 19/11/2021 (1732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NAPLES, Fla.—After a second so-so round at the LPGA Tour Championship, Canadian Brooke Henderson said it just might not be her week.

But after Friday’s announcement of the LPGA’s 2022 schedule, there is one big week to come that she’s already looking forward to.

After two years of cancellations because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CP Women’s Open will be back from Aug. 25 to 28 at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club. Vancouver’s Shaughnessy will host the 2023 edition.

The 34-event schedule will offer a record $85.7 million (U.S.) in prize money.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., is an honorary member at the Ottawa club and shot a course-record 63 there in the third round of the 2017 tournament, in front of a boisterous crowd. She won the Canadian event the following year in Regina, the first homegrown winner of the national open since 1973.

“The schedule looks great. The purses are a lot larger, and it’s nice for (sister/caddy) Brittany and I to be part of the LPGA Tour right now,” Henderson told the Star on Friday. “Hopefully I can play a little better than I did today.”

Henderson shot a 2-under-par 70 on Friday and is 3-under going into the weekend, well back of leader Céline Boutier at 14 under.

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CP Women’s Open director Ryan Paul was in town and said he spoke to some golfers about Friday’s announcement by the federal government that professional athletes will be among those who, starting Jan. 22, must be fully vaccinated to enter Canada. He added that nearly 1,000 volunteers have already signed up to help with the tournament in Ottawa, and that tickets will be available to the public by the end of the month.

LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, whose grandfather was French-Canadian, said the tour has navigated many international border restrictions over the last two years and is eager to return north of the border. The new schedule includes stops in 10 countries.

“Our team has done a remarkable job of trying to understand all the different requirements and protocols everywhere, and it has not been easy,” said Marcoux Samaan, who took the job in May. “I think everybody is feeling a sense of, ‘We’re going to be back normal next year’ and we’ll be able to focus on the things we all would love to do.”

The last CP Women’s Open was held in 2019 at Magna Golf Club, north of Toronto. Jin Young Ko lifted the trophy and went on to become player of the year.

Adam Stanley is an Ottawa-based contributor to the Star’s Sports section and the host of golf podcast Next Round’s On Me. Follow him on Twitter: @adam_stanley