Tag: Brooke Henderson

Golf Canada CEO urges golfers to stay home during pandemic

While many U.S. courses are taking precautions and remaining open, Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum advised all of Canada to stay home.

To play or not to play?

As the COVID-19 pandemic brings much of the world to a standstill, the golf industry continues to debate the safety of remaining open for play. While many courses in the U.S. are taking extra precautions and remaining open, Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum has advised all of Canada to stay home.

“I think it’s really a normal thought to see golf as a great activity with regards to some of the social distancing guidelines that were given, but I would give further thought to the fact that it’s a lot more interactive than you may think at the outset,” Applebaum told The Canadian Press. “Everyone has to do their duty to not come into contact with others.

“So we’ll refer to the experts who are giving these guidelines and give Canada a chance to really plank the curve, not just flatten it.”

It’s still early season in Canada and while many public courses have closed, operators at private clubs will be making decisions in the coming days and weeks.

“I will tell you that the overwhelming majority are thinking about the health and wellness of their staff, and of their overall memberships, and so the majority of them have closed their doors until further notice,” said Applebaum.

“It’s on a club-by-club basis and we’ve been providing the guidance of wanting to have everyone think about what (public health officials) have told us are the best things we can to be safe, be healthy, and to try and do all the right things to eradicate the coronavirus.”

On Sunday evening, Team Canada announced that they will not be sending any Olympic or Paralympic athletes to Tokyo if the are held as planned this summer. The Canadian committees urged the IOC to postpone by one year.

That means that if the Games continue as scheduled, Canada’s beloved star, Brooke Henderson, will not be competing. Henderson is the winningest player in Canadian history – male or female – with nine LPGA titles. She’s the highest-ranked Canadian golfer at No. 7 in the world. Adam Hadwin is the highest-ranked male at No. 25.

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Canada won’t send its Olympic team to Tokyo if Games are held this summer

Brooke Henderson won’t be able to compete in the women’s Olympic golf tournament if the Games are held as planned beginning in July.

The International Olympic Committee announced Sunday that it is considering the possibility of postponing the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and will make a final decision over the next four weeks.

The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees decided they did not want to wait.

In a dramatic move Sunday night, Team Canada said it would not send Olympic or Paralympic athletes to the Games if they are held as planned this summer, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The country’s Olympic and Paralympic Committees also urged the IOC and International Paralympic Committee to postpone their respective Games by one year.

While other national Olympic committees have released statements calling on the IOC to postpone, Canada is the first nation to threaten not to send a delegation if the Games go on as scheduled.

This means that Brooke Henderson won’t be competing when the women’s golf tournament in Tokyo begins July 30. At No. 7 in the Olympic rankings, she’s the highest-ranked Canadian golfer. On the men’s side, Adam Hadwin comes in at No. 25.

“This is not solely about athlete health – it is about public health,” Team Canada said in its statement. “With COVID-19 and the associated risks, it is not safe for our athletes, and the health and safety of their families and the broader Canadian community for athletes to continue training towards these Games. In fact, it runs counter to the public health advice which we urge all Canadians to follow.”

The Canadians’ statement came hours after IOC president Thomas Bach sent a letter to athletes, explaining that he did not believe it was time to call for a postponement but also indicating that the IOC is ramping up its scenario-planning. The Tokyo Games are scheduled to begin July 24.

 

Chatter at LPGA’s TOC turns to cheating in golf, stealing signs in baseball

Celebrities like Smoltz, Justin Verlander, Grant Hill, Brian Urlacher and Roger Clemens help bring new fans to the LPGA’s season opener.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Brooke Henderson begins the 2020 season on Thursday alongside MLB’s John Smoltz and Josh Donaldson and, of course, she’ll try to crush the ball.

“I’ll try to hit it just as far,” said a smiling Henderson. “I’ll be a little short, but I’ll try to crank it out there too. You know, just to make some birdies with them and have some fun.”

Fun is the over-arching theme of the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions. Particularly for those paired with Larry the Cable Guy.

But they want to win too. Henderson’s determined to extend her streak of two-wins seasons, which dates back to 2016. Smoltz won his first golf title last year at the Diamond Resorts, and the MLB Hall of Famer is thirsty for more.

Celebrities like Smoltz, Justin Verlander, Grant Hill, Brian Urlacher and Roger Clemens help bring new fans to the LPGA. Even Smoltz addressing the Astros cheating scandal during the pre-tournament press conference helps to generate buzz outside of normal golf circles.

“It’s not the only team,” said Smoltz, “but it’s going to be the team that’s been made an example of because they have the most evidence of what was happening. It’s irrefutable. …

“What makes golf unique is that it’s up to the integrity of each person to determine whether they want to apply the rules as they’re meant, and that’s why golf has always been known as the gentleman’s game. But it’s frowned upon, and we all know enough people and play with enough people at our clubs that just can’t help themselves by getting an advantage and an edge because they want to compete, and they want to be successful. That bothers me, but it’s not immune from anywhere.”

Asked to weigh in on Patrick Reed’s recent run-in with the rules, Smoltz said that technology made Reed’s actions in the bunker look particularly egregious.

“The live (feed) is more up for interpretation,” he said.

But between the two sports, Smoltz continued, baseball players rely on teammates to get information. They’re constantly reading things, taking advantage of what another player is giving.

Golf is more straightforward.

“Baseball has a little bit more of a way to govern itself … ” said Smoltz. “That doesn’t happen as much anymore.

“In other words, if Jack (Wagner) was at the plate and he was peeking, and he was peeking at the catcher, it’s within his right to peek at the catcher to see what signs are, but then it’s within my right to give him a bruise on his derriere with a baseball. That’s what would happen 25 years ago. That doesn’t happen so much anymore.”

Jack Wagner, an actor who was taking part in the early-week presser alongside Smoltz, didn’t miss a beat.

“Just don’t hit the face,” he said.

Only a handful of celebrities have the game to hang with the likes of Wagner and Smoltz. They’ll play for a $500,000 purse, with the winner receiving $100,000.

While the LPGA field is missing a number of heavy hitters, including the top two players in the world, Jin Young Ko and Sung Hyun Park, Henderson is among the favorites this week, having played in the Diamond event before it became an LPGA stop. The purse for the LPGA pros is $1.2 million, with a winner’s portion of $180,000.

After the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, Henderson stayed back in Naples, Florida, where she makes her second home, for a month soaking up the sun. Then she went home to Canada for two weeks with sister, Brittany, where temperatures dipped to minus 30. She’s ready to get 2020 started.

“I think a key thing for me is scoring average and keeping it below 70,” said the Canadian star, “which I did again last year.”

Henderson is the all-time winningest Canadian player – male or female. Smoltz said the pressure of trying to win a golf tournament compared to a World Series is “night and day.” He’d rather have the bases loaded, nobody out and a 3-2 count on every hitter.

“I think that’s what I was primed to do,” he said. “I know what my strengths were in that sport. This intuitively is all self-pressure, and there’s a lot of doubt. Golf exposes your doubt really quickly. So you may have a weakness and you try to hide it for a couple of days, it will show up.”

Smoltz mastered the ability to get amnesia about mistakes on the mound. In golf, he’s still working on it.

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Top 10 LPGA moments in 2019: Storied career ends and a real-life Cinderella emerges

The LPGA is full of fairy-tale moments. Some are on the grandest stages involving the game’s biggest stars and some come out of nowhere.

There’s never a shortage of fairy tale moments on the LPGA. Some of them happen on the grandest of stages from the game’s biggest stars. Others come hurtling out of nowhere.

Breaking a record held by 15-time major champion Tiger Woods usually fast-tracks a player to this type of year-end list. There were grab-a-tissue moments and “are you kidding me?!” putts. A real-life Cinderella who just couldn’t stop smiling and a one-time villain who flipped the script on how she’ll be remembered in this game with one sensational Sunday.

So here they are, the top 10 moments on the LPGA in 2019:

Related: 10 best LPGA players of the decade

10. Dream team

Teammates Cydney Clanton (right) and Jasmine Suwannapura celebrate on the 18th green after winning the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. (Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

A caddie brought Cydney Clanton and Jasmine Suwannapura together for the inaugural Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, but Clanton believes it was more of a divine plan. One year ago, Clanton missed out on her full card by $8. After a closing 59, the Auburn grad had a two-year exemption and a spot in the Evian Championship and AIG Women’s British Open. Suwannapura’s invitation proved life-changing for her partner, who’d spent most of the year on the Symetra Tour.

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10 best LPGA players of the decade

Suzann Peterson? Lydia Ko? Ariya Jutanugarn? Golfweek reveals the best 10 LPGA players of the decade.

After Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa left the game to focus on family, youth mostly dominated the next decade on the LPGA.

A dozen players took a turn at No. 1 after Lorena Ochoa ended her streak of 158 weeks in May 2010.

The global nature of the tour exploded, with players like Shanshan Feng, Ariya Jutanugarn and Lydia Ko blazing trails from all corners of the world.

Golfweek takes a look back on the 10 best players of the past 10 years.

Brooke Henderson at the Meijer LPA Classic. (Al Goldis, AP)

10. Brooke Henderson

A two-time winner in each of the past four seasons, Canada’s darling has been a top-10 machine in her time on tour. With nine total victories, she’s the winningest player in Canadian golf history – male or female. Won an LPGA major at age 18.

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Suzann Pettersen, Brooke Henderson highlight annual Rolex Awards dinner

Brooke Henderson received the Founders Award, given to the player whose behavior best exemplifies the spirit, ideals and values of the LPGA.

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NAPLES, Fla. – Guests at the annual Rolex Awards ceremony Thursday night got to relive the most sensational moment of the year – the putt that clinched the Solheim Cup for Europe – from the legend herself.

“It’s a feeling that can never be topped,” said the newly-retired Suzann Pettersen, who was on hand to receive the Heather Farr Perseverance Award after coming back from a complicated pregnancy and the birth of her son to deliver an instant classic.

Pettersen, 38, insisted that her retirement was a spontaneous decision. In the midst of the mayhem on the 18th, a moment with her son was all it took to see the future clearly.

“It meant the world to me to perform at such a high level, now as a mom,” said Pettersen. “But the moment I held Herman, my heart told me instantly what the world was about to know. Enough is enough.”

The last thing Pettersen remembers before taking the putter back for the stroke that will define her legacy in this game is a television reporter saying “So here we have Suzann Pettersen …”

The rest, of course, is history.

“It felt like a fairy-tale,” she said.

People often ask Pettersen if she still would’ve retired had the putt missed.

“I never have to answer that,” she told Golf Channel host Tom Abbott with a laugh.

Brooke Henderson got the night started by accepting the Founders Award (formerly the William and Mousie Powell Award), given to the player whose behavior and deeds best exemplifies the spirit, ideals and values of the LPGA. Henderson was chosen by her peers.

LPGA commissioner Michael Whan presents the Rolex Player of the Year award to Jin Young Ko of South Korea during the LPGA Rolex Players Awards at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort on November 21, 2019 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

The Commissioner’s Award went to KPMG. When John Veihmeyer, former global chair of KPMG who recently joined the LPGA board, signed on as title sponsor of the Women’s PGA Championship, the whole tour changed.

“KPMG made us realize we weren’t just great female athletes,” said LPGA commissioner Mike Whan. “We didn’t just provide hospitality and good television. We were a living, breathing microcosm of what diversity, inclusion and women’s leadership is all about.”

One of the most impactful moments of the evening belonged to Jeongeun Lee6, who flawlessly delivered her Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year acceptance speech in English. When Lee6 won the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this year, she made a promise that the next time she found herself in a similar situation, she’d be able to communicate in English.

Lee6’s three-minute speech, which she memorized, was an inspiring display of courage and hard work. She worked on it for months. When it was over, the rising South Korean star put her hands on her heart in a moment of pure joy and relief. She’d done it. The crowd gave her a standing ovation.

And then, of course, there was World No. 1 Jin Young Ko, who dominated the season with four wins, including two majors.

When introducing Ko, Whan recalled a time in 2015 when he told a similar crowd gathered in the same room that Lydia Ko might be the last player to ever win the Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. Yet there he was, four years later handing the POY award to Jin Young Ko. She’d  become the fifth player to complete the feat, joining Nancy Lopez, Beth Daniel, Annika Sorenstam and Lydia Ko.

Whan also marveled at Ko’s greens in regulation percentage, 79. 1, a tour record. Not to mention her bogey-free streak of 114 holes, which broke Tiger Woods’ mark by four holes.

Jeongeun Lee6 of South Korea is presented with the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year by Annika Sorenstam during the LPGA Rolex Players Awards at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

She even has a chance at breaking the 69 mark for scoring en route to the Vare Trophy, something that’s only been done by Sorenstam.

“I’ll just tell you this Jin Young,” said Whan. “You’re young, and you’ve got a lot of winning to do.

But at some point in our life you’re going to remember a night when the names they compared you with were Annika Sorenstam and Tiger Woods. I don’t know how big you dreamed as a young girl, but that’s as big as it gets.”

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