Calgary, Alta. – Golf Canada and the Golf Canada Foundation are proud to officially announce the creation of the Jocelyne Bourassa Legacy Fund, honouring the legacy of Canadian Golf Hall of Famer and trailblazer Jocelyne Bourassa. In a fitting tribute to the inaugural winner of the CPKC Women’s Open.
The Jocelyne Bourassa Legacy Fund was created with two clear objectives: First, to increase the number of women in the high-performance coaching profession by providing full tuition grants to successful applicants of the year long Women in Coaching Program led by Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada. Secondly, to provide education grants for women athletes who are part of Golf Canada’s Team Canada Program.
“The Bourassa Legacy Education Grant will be critical in supporting our best women amateurs by allowing them to focus on their pursuit of the LPGA Tour while knowing they will be supported when they choose to continue their education in the future,” said Emily Phoenix, Director of High Performance, Golf Canada. “Additionally, the support for the Women in Coaching Program will increase opportunities for women in high-performance coaching and impact the next generation of Canadian golfers.”
The fund is part of Golf Canada’s high-performance strategic plan to help 30 Canadians reach the LPGA and PGA TOUR by 2032. The modern path to the LPGA Tour often requires the best amateurs to turn professional before graduating from college – only 20 per cent of the current top 50 women on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings graduated from university. The creation of the educational grants will support high performance players as they face the difficult decision of when to turn professional.
Team Canada member, Brooke Rivers of Brampton, Ont. will be the first eligible recipient of the Bourassa Legacy Education Grant. Rivers recently turned professional following one-year of collegiate golf at Wake Forest University. In her freshman year, Rivers notched two Top 15 finishes and reached her best ranking of no. 141 on the World Amateur Golf Rankings. In her professional debut, Rivers finished as runner-up at the GolfBC Group BC Women’s Open as part of the She Plays Golf Championship series, earning an exemption in the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open. As a Bourassa Legacy Education Grant recipient, Rivers would be supported to finish her education in the future.
The financial objective of the Bourassa Fund is to raise $1 million. One year after a soft launch the Fund is closing in on 50 per cent of its fundraising goal. Jocelyne Bourassa Legacy Fund committee members include Joelle Efford (Chair, Jocelyne Bourassa Legacy Fund and Sr. Director Development, Golf Canada Foundation), Diane Dunlop-Hebert (Golf Canada Past President and Honorary Life Governor), Chris Greatrex (former LPGA and PGA of Canada professional), Debbie Savoy-Morel (Professional Emeritus and Ambassador, Club de Golf Le Mirage), Mary-Lee Cobick (Sr. Vice President, LPGA Foundation and Professionals), Libby Skinner (trusted colleague of Jocelyne) and Liz Hoffman (Golf Canada Past President, Honorary Life Governor and Golf Canada Foundation Board member).
Jocelyne Bourassa won the first LPGA Tour Canadian event in 1973 formally known as La Canadienne, now the CPKC Women’s Open. Bourassa served as the executive director of the du Maurier Classic, one of the LPGA’s four major championships. She was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1972 and was inducted into the Quebec Golf Hall of Fame in 1995, Golf Canada’s Hall of Fame in 1996 and into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. Bourassa passed away on August 3, 2021, at the age of 74.
For more information on the Jocelyne Bourassa Legacy Fund, please contact Joelle Efford at jefford@golfcanada.ca. To make a donation to the Jocelyne Bourassa Legacy Fund, please click here.