TORONTO – Canadian Pacific (CP) and Golf Canada today announced that SickKids Foundation has been chosen as the primary charity partner for the 2019 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.

The 2019 CPKC Women’s Open will see Canadian sensation and CP ambassador Brooke Henderson defend her national golf title against the top LPGA Tour players in the world from August 19-25 at Magna Golf Club, in Aurora, Ont.

“CP is elated to be working with SickKids Foundation through the 2019 CPKC Women Open,” said CP’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Keith Creel. “This is a natural partnership as CP is focused on giving back through our community investment program, CP Has Heart, and SickKids Foundation is focused on helping young hearts across Ontario – a province that has been integral to our network for more than 130 years.”

This year, CP will be working with Kyle Hayhoe, a child ambassador for SickKids Foundation. Kyle was cared for at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) for four months after he was diagnosed with a hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy at only seven weeks old and required a heart transplant. Now, when Kyle isn’t attending his regular check-ups with the heart transplant, respiratory and nephrology teams at SickKids, he can be found on the golf course perfecting his swing.

Funds raised through the CPKC Women’s Open will go towards renovating a Cardiac Operating Suite at SickKids.  In addition, CP is also proud to support our tournament host community this year. CP will make a donation of $250,000 to Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ont. to support paediatric cardiac care.

“We appreciate the generous support of the community and are extremely grateful to our partners CP, Golf Canada and the CPKC Women’s Open,” said SickKids Foundation CEO, Ted Garrard. “Funds raised through this partnership will help continue to advance cardiac care that will deliver better outcomes for our patients who come from all across Canada, for many years to come.”

In the five years of CP’s title sponsorship of the CPKC 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 CPKC Women’s Open resulting in more than $3.3 million dollars invested in London (2014 – $1.3 million) and Ottawa (2016 – $2 million)

“I can’t say enough about the incredible work CP does through the CP Has Heart campaign – they are an absolute terrific partner who are helping to make a meaningful impact in the lives of countless Canadians,” said Golf Canada’s CEO, Laurence Applebaum. “Tournament week will be a fantastic showcase of world-class golf and charitable giving in support of SickKids Foundation.”

In 2018, Brooke Henderson became the first Canadian to win the country’s National Open Championship in 45 years, shooting 65 in the final-round for a four-stroke victory at the CPKC Women’s Open in Regina, Sask. Jocelyne Bourassa was the last Canadian to win the event, when she was crowned Canadian champion in 1973.

“On behalf of all Canadian golf fans, I’m eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see Canadian golf superstar Brooke Henderson defend her title,” added Applebaum.

This is the first time the Greater Toronto Area will play host to a major LPGA Tour event since 2001, when the event was held at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham. The 2019 CPKC Women’s Open will run August 19-25, 2019 at Magna Golf Club in Aurora.

The outstanding events, people and organizations from Canada’s vibrant sport tourism industry in Canada were honoured at the 13^thannual Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA) PRESTIGE Awards. The awards recognize those who work to bid, host and stage sport events across the country.

With three major events in Regina in 2018, Bernadette McIntyre played key volunteer roles in each one en route to winning the honour of Sport Event Volunteer of the Year Award. During the CPKC Women’s Open , she co-chaired the Host Committee which had 21 event committees, 42 co-chairs and over 1100 volunteers and saw Brooke Henderson become the first Canadian since 1973 to win Canada’s National Open.

She Chaired the Bid Committee for the Tim Hortons Brier, then formed the Host Committee and served on its executive. For the Mastercard Memorial Cup she acted as a liaison between the Host Committee and the venue. Her boundless energy and exceptional organizational skills  ensured that event participants, volunteers and attendees had truly fulfilling experiences.

Click here to sign up as a CPKC Women’s Open Volunteer.

There was a quiet poise to Brooke Henderson on that Sunday morning last summer in Regina ahead of her final round at the CPKC Women’s Open.

She had experienced big moments before: her first LPGA Tour win as a 17-year-old in 2015, her first major victory a year later, her first appearance at the Olympics.

This tournament was different.

No Canadian had won the national open since Jocelyne Bourassa in 1973. Supporters who crammed the galleries could sense something special was happening.

Henderson would deliver in emphatic fashion, firing a closing-round 65 for a four-shot victory.

“The 18th hole, standing on that green, surrounded by family and friends and hundreds of fans and spectators cheering me on – it was sort of a surreal moment,” Henderson said. “To finally hold that trophy that I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl, it gives me chills just thinking back on it.”

It was one of two tournament titles and 11 top-10 finishes for Henderson last season. On Wednesday, she was rewarded for her stellar campaign by being named a repeat winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as The Canadian Press female athlete of the year.

Henderson, who has won the award in three of the last four years, picked up 30 of 54 votes (55.6 per cent) in a poll of broadcasters and editors from across the country.

“Especially this year being an Olympic year with all the great athletes that competed in the Winter Olympics, it’s a big honour and I’m just really proud to take home this award again,” said Henderson, who was also named Postmedia’s Female Athlete of the Year.

Figure skater Kaetlyn Osmond and short-track speedskater Kim Boutin tied for second place with 10 votes each (18.5 per cent).

The winner of the Lionel Conacher Award as Canada’s male athlete of the year will be named Thursday and the team of the year will be named Friday.

With wet weather in the forecast, Henderson had an early start for her final round at the CPKC Women’s Open. Showing no sign of nerves or timidity, she lashed her opening drive down the fairway and birdied the hole for a two-stroke lead.

Angel Yin, Sung Hyun Park, Su Oh and others tried to make charges that day but Henderson wouldn’t buckle. In fact, the Canadian found another gear.

Henderson pulled away with four straight birdies on the back nine and tapped in a birdie putt on the 18th hole to send the crowd into a tizzy. Her seventh career LPGA Tour victory moved her one behind Sandra Post’s record for all-time wins by a Canadian.

“The blinders were on,” Post said. “She was looking at the finish line and she just looked like it was hers. She wasn’t nervous. It was hers.”

It was an emotional summer for Henderson and her family. Her maternal grandfather died in early June and her paternal grandfather died in early August.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., remained steady and consistent throughout the year. She won the Lotte Championship last April in Hawaii, earned US$1.47 million over the season and finished ninth in the world rankings.

“Big performances on the biggest stage amongst stiff competition in one of the highest-profile sports in the world,” said Edmonton-based Postmedia editor Craig Ellingson.

Henderson was fourth in scoring average (69.99) on the LPGA Tour, eighth in driving distance (268-yard average) and fourth in greens in regulation (74.5 per cent).

Her short game statistics were middle of the pack. Henderson was 72nd in putting average (29.7 putts per round) and 87th in sand saves (43.7 per cent).

“It’s easy to get down on yourself when things aren’t going perfectly,” Henderson said. “I feel like I stayed really patient through the majority of the year. When things were not very good, they always turned around. You just have to wait them out and I did that.

“Even going into the CPKC Women’s Open, I was in contention a few times and wasn’t able to get the job done. But I feel like I learned from those experiences and then when I put myself in position in Regina, I wasn’t going to let it go that time. I was able to seal the deal.”

Bobbie Rosenfeld, an Olympic medallist in track and field and a multi-sport athlete, was named Canada’s best female athlete of the half-century in 1950.

The first winner of the Rosenfeld award was golfer Ada Mackenzie in 1933. Marlene Stewart Streit leads all golfers by taking the honour on five occasions (1952, ’53, ’56, ’57, ’63).

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a year that saw 10 Rolex First-Time Winners added to the roster of LPGA victors, the 2018 LPGA Tour season produced 26 winners from 10 countries across 32 official tournaments. Powered by determination, athleticism and a drive for greatness, the 2019 season promises to continue the upward growth of the world’s best female golfers.

The 2019 LPGA Tour schedule will include 33 official events, plus the biennial Solheim Cup, which pits the 12 best players from the United States against their European counterparts. The Tour will visit 15 states and 12 countries (including the United States), with a record $70.55 million in official prize money.

“We are in one of the most exciting periods of time in LPGA history,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “One look at our 2018 season shows the breadth of global talent on our Tour, and I have no doubt that 2019 will continue this upward trend. We are not only proud of our Tour growth, but also the growth of our LPGA Teachers, LPGA Amateurs and LPGA-USGA Girls-Golf efforts.”

CONTINUED GROWTH IN PRIZE MONEY
In a sign of the continued strength of the women’s game, the 2019 season will see $70.55 million in prize money, up from $65.35 million in 2018. The season’s largest purses come at the U.S. Women’s Open Championship, conducted by the USGA, and the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, both with $5 million at stake. While the USGA will not confirm their 2019 purse until April 2019, they have confirmed the purse will be $5 million at a minimum. The CME purse will double from $2.5 million to $5 million, with the winner earning $1.5 million, the largest single prize in the history of women’s golf.

“LPGA purses have steadily increased over the last decade, a sign of the growing support from our corporate partners and sponsors for the game of women’s golf,” said Whan. “Across the board, our title sponsors understand the value that working with LPGA players brings to their businesses and we look forward to continuing to develop larger purses for the generations of players to come.”

Other purses to increase include three of the Tour’s five majors in the ANA Inspiration ($3 million, up $200,000 from 2018), the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship ($3.85 million, up $200,000 from 2018) and The Evian Championship ($4.1 million, up $250,000 from 2018). The AIG Women’s British Open purse is still being finalized but will be at least $3.25 million. The purse at the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship will increase to $1.8 million, up $300,000 from its inaugural year in 2018, while the purse at the Marathon Classic presented by Dana will increase to $1,750,000, up $150,000 from 2018.

NEW TOURNAMENTS KICK OFF LPGA SEASON
The 2019 season features four new tournaments, including consecutive inaugural stops to begin the year’s travel around the world. The Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions presented by Insurance Office of America, to be held Jan. 17-20 at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., promises to be a week of world-class competition and entertainment. LPGA Tour winners from the last two seasons will play alongside celebrities from the sports and entertainment worlds.

From there, the Tour heads Down Under, joining the European Tour at the Vic Open on Feb. 7-10 at 13th Beach Golf Links in Barwon Heads, Australia. The event marks the only professional golf tournament where men and women compete concurrently on the same course and for the same prize money. The Vic Open makes the ideal partner to the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, which the following week returns to the Grange Golf Club in a three-year rotation of Adelaide’s golf courses.

As announced earlier in 2018, the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational and the BMW Ladies Championship are also new to the 2019 LPGA schedule. The Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, which will be held at Michigan’s Midland Country Club in July, marks the first official team competition in Tour history. The LPGA’s newest stop in the Republic of Korea, the BMW Ladies Championship, takes the Tour to Busan and LPGA International Busan, the LPGA’s first golf facility outside the United States. It is the second stop on the LPGA’s annual Fall Asian Swing, which also takes the Tour through the People’s Republic of China, Chinese Taipei and Japan.

“I’m truly excited that three of our new tournaments for 2019 will feature formats that are new to the LPGA,” said Whan. “We’ve long wanted to get a Tournament of Champions back on the LPGA schedule, and this partnership with Diamond Resorts will definitely make the Four Seasons Orlando the place to be in January. Plus, our friends at Dow, long known for their scientific innovation, have brought that trait to the LPGA by bringing together this great team event. I can’t wait to see how the players will partner up over the coming months. Additionally, the Vic Open will showcase a joint men’s and women’s event that is interesting to players and fans, not to mention timely in the world of equal opportunity and pay.”

Three season-long races will also build anticipation and excitement for players and fans alike. The Aon Risk Reward Challenge, a new competition on both the PGA and LPGA Tours, will feature the world’s best golfers as they navigate risk across the season’s most strategically challenging holes. The player from each Tour on top of the Aon leaderboard at the end of the regular season will each receive $1 million.

The Race to the CME Globe is evolving in 2019, with the top 60 players following the Blue Bay LPGA heading to the CME Group Tour Championship with the opportunity to win the $1.5 million winner’s check. In its second year, the LEADERS Top-10s competition will award $100,000 to the player with the most top-10 finishes, with Ariya Jutanugarn taking the inaugural title in 2018.

The LPGA Tour will see 450 hours of domestic broadcast coverage on Golf Channel and network TV in 2019, with more than 475 hours available in 175 countries around the world.

One stop on the 2019 schedule is still to be announced, as the contractual agreement for that event is not yet completed. That is expected to be finalized early in 2019, so players and fans should reserve one more week for an additional exciting Tour stop.

MAJOR GLORY ON THE LINE
Five players from five countries took home major championships in 2018, and 2019 will surely add even more history to the LPGA record books.

In its traditional spot on the calendar, the ANA Inspiration kicks off the major season for professional golf. From April 4-7, the Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., will play host to major drama for the 37th consecutive year. The Country Club of Charleston, where World Golf Hall of Fame member and LPGA legend Beth Daniel learned the game of golf, will host the 74th U.S. Women’s Open Championship, conducted by the USGA, from May 30 to June 2.

The fifth year of partnership between the LPGA and the PGA of America takes the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship to Hazeltine National Golf Club, to be held June 20-23. Hazeltine National has hosted some of the game’s most major moments, including U.S. Women’s Open wins for Sandra Spuzich (1966) and Hollis Stacy (1977), and in 2016, the USA’s largest come-from-behind victory in Ryder Cup history.

The season’s final two majors take the LPGA Tour to Europe for consecutive weeks. The Evian Championship will move to July 25-28, reclaiming its place in the beautiful French summer. Along the shores of Lake Geneva and at the base of the Alps, the week in Evian-les-Bains, France, promises to be one of world-class glamour and competition.

The LPGA’s major season will culminate Aug. 1-4 at the newly named AIG Women’s British Open, held at Woburn Golf Club, 50 miles northwest of London. AIG recently signed a long-term deal to be the title sponsor of the Women’s British Open, which has been a major on the LPGA Tour schedule since 2001.

With major drama comes major competition. The season’s five majors build to the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award, which will be awarded at the Rolex LPGA Awards during the week of the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. Named for 10-time major champion Annika Sorenstam, the honor is bestowed on the player who, during the current LPGA season, has the most outstanding major championship record. Ariya Jutanugarn captured the 2018 award, joining Michelle Wie (2014), Inbee Park (2015), Lydia Ko (2016) and So Yeon Ryu (2017) as award recipients.

SOLHEIM CUP RETURNS TO SCOTLAND
The PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles will host the 16th Solheim Cup, marking the Cup’s return to Scotland for the first time since 2000. Gleneagles was the site of the 2014 Ryder Cup, which saw the European Team earn a 16½-11½ victory over the United States. The European Solheim Cup Team, captained by Scotland’s own Catriona Matthew, hopes to take inspiration from that victory as they face off against the Americans, with three-time Captain Juli Inkster at the helm, who took their own 16½-11½ victory at the 2017 Solheim Cup. The Americans will head to Gleneagles as the two-time defending champions, having mounted a furious Singles comeback in Germany in 2015 to take a one-point win.

FROM TOMORROW’S STARS TO FAN-FAVORITE PIONEERS
While the 2019 Symetra Tour schedule is still being finalized, the LPGA Tour’s official qualifying tour will have at least 20 events for the next generation of LPGA talent. The season will kick off in North Port, Fla., with the inaugural SKYiGOLF Championship hosted by Charlotte Harbor National Golf Club at Bobcat Trail from March 7-10. Since Symetra’s inaugural sponsorship year in 2012, the Symetra Tour has grown from 16 tournaments and $1.7 million in prize money to $3 million awarded over the course of 21 tournaments in 2018.

2019 will see the North Carolina return of LPGA Q-Series presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, the two-week qualifying tournament that debuted in 2018 as a replacement for Stage 3 of Q School. Forty-eight players earned their 2019 LPGA Tour cards, led by KLPGA star Jeongeun Lee6, who claimed medalist honors and earned $15,000.

North Carolina will also again host the LPGA T&CP National Championship, with the nation’s top teaching and club professionals returning to Pinehurst No. 8 on Aug. 26-28. Stephanie Eiswerth, University of North Florida women’s golf assistant coach and a Class A LPGA teaching professional, captured the 2017 title in her championship debut.

In October, the third Senior LPGA Championship presented by Old National Bank will return to the Pete Dye Course at scenic French Lick (Ind.) Resort. Some of the greatest names in the history of the game hope to join Trish Johnson (2017) and Dame Laura Davies (2018) as Senior LPGA winners.

2019 LPGA Schedule (bold = majors; italics = new event)

AURORA, Ont.  (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada, in partnership with title sponsor Canadian Pacific (CP), are pleased to announce that tickets are now available for the 2019 CPKC Women’s Open, taking place August 19-25 at the prestigious Magna Golf Club.

One of Canada’s premier annual sporting events, the CPKC Women’s Open features miles of front row seating for golf fans to experience Canada’s lone stop on the LPGA Tour and cheer on Canadian sensation and CP Ambassador Brooke Henderson as she defends her national title on home soil.

CLICK HERE to get your tickets for the
2019 CPKC Women’s Open

General admission tickets, starting at just $20 for early week access, provide access to the grounds to get an up-close look at the stars of the LPGA Tour.

Tournament rounds for Thursday, Friday and Saturday are just $50; a Sunday final-round ticket is $60; and a weeklong, fully-transferable badge is $120.

A specially-priced youth ticket (13-17 years old) is also available while juniors aged 12-and-under gain FREE grounds admission all week long.

In addition to general admission tickets and corporate hospitality products, the CPKC Women’s Open also offers a premium ticket product in The Heritage Club.

The Heritage Club is a covered venue with a partially covered outdoor patio located nearby the clubhouse of Magna Golf Club. It offers upgraded food and beverage for purchase, ample televisions with a live feed of the broadcast, private washrooms and views of practice putting green, 10^th tee, 11^th tee and others. The Heritage Club tickets cost $100 for one day or $250 for a fully transferable weekly pass.

Volunteer opportunities to be a part of the 2019 CPKC Women’s Open are also available with a full listing of committee positions here.

The CPKC Women’s Open is so much more than a sporting event. Enjoy world-class golf and a premium hospitality platform at a signature Canadian event that will leave a substantial charitable legacy in support of children’s heart health.

Get your tickets today and join us at the picturesque Magna Golf Club – www.cpkcwomensopen.com/tickets.

• Prices reflect pre-event ticket prices. Ticket prices may differ at the gate.