ADELAIDE, Australia – Nelly Korda added to her family’s impressive sports pedigree Down Under with a win Sunday in the Women’s Australian Open.

Korda led by three strokes after the third round, increased it to four with a tap-in birdie on the 10th and added a 25-foot birdie on the 11th to make it a lead of five.

She had a third consecutive birdie on the 12th to help claim a two-stroke victory with a 5-under 67 at The Grange Golf Club, finishing with a 17-under total of 271. Defending champion Jin Young Ko was second after a 64.

Canadian Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., finished with a share of sixth at 10 under par. The finish marks the second consecutive strong finish for Sharp, who collected a T17 the week prior.

Fellow countrywoman Jaclyn Lee, a Calgary native, made her first LPGA Tour cut as a professional with a T22 finish.

Korda’s father Petr was an Australian Open men’s tennis champion, winning the tournament in 1998. Her golfing sister Jessica won the Australian Open seven years ago.

And her tennis-playing brother Sebastian won the Australian Open boys’ singles title last year.

“I’m just happy to finally be a part of the club,” said the 20-year-old Korda at the trophy presentations. “There’s maybe something in the air here. We love coming down under and we really enjoy our time here.

“I just got off the phone with my dad and he’s like ‘well, congratulations, you’re part of the Korda Slam now’.”

Petr and mother Regina, also a pro tennis player who represented Czechoslovakia at the 1988 Olympics, watched their daughter’s triumph from their home on the west coast of Florida.

Jessica, currently sidelined from the LPGA Tour because of a wrist injury, watched from Florida’s east coast. And Sebastian tuned in from Turkey moments before he played a Futures Tour match.

“When I was left out (of winning in Australia) they didn’t try to rub it in too much,” Nelly Korda said. “Now that we all have a win down here, it’s going to be really special … obviously there was pressure but I think I finally carved my own way.”

The Women’s Australian Open tweeted before the final round began a photo collage of Petr, Jessica and Sebastian doing what they called the “Korda Kick” – actually a scissor kick – after winning each of their titles, and adding that they hoped they hadn’t jinxed Nelly.

No worries there. Her lead was reduced to two strokes at one stage late on the front nine and again at the end, but Korda held on for the win after receiving help from afar from her sister.

And sure enough, keeping it in the family, Nelly was photographed doing a scissor kick after the trophy presentations.

Jessica Korda tweeted to her 81,500 followers just before Nelly made the turn at The Grange, at about 11:30 p.m on the East Coast of the U.S: “Who else is staying up with me?”

Jessica’s first reply came from someone who said “we might be needing a quadruple Korda-Jump picture.”

Nelly Korda said she spoke to her 25-year-old sister by phone not long after she finished her round.

“I couldn’t really hear what she was saying, she was screaming so much,” Nelly Korda said.

BARWON HEADS, Australia – Celine Boutier of France claimed a two-stroke victory in the LPGA’s Vic Open on Sunday while Scotland’s David Law made eagle on the par-5 18th to win the men’s title by a stroke over Australians Brad Kennedy and Wade Ormsby.

Boutier shot a final-round 72 to finish at 8-under 281. Australians Sarah Kemp (65) and Su Oh (74) and England’s Charlotte Thomas (69) were tied for second.

Law’s final-round 66 left him a stroke ahead of Kennedy (67) and third-round leader Ormsby (70) at 18-under 270 on the 13th Beach Golf Links to win his first European Tour tournament.

Canadian Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., closed at 2 under par for a share of 17th place. Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City was T32 at 1 over par.

The Women’s Australian Open, also sanctioned by the LPGA, will be played next week at The Grange in Adelaide. The men’s European Tour is co-sanctioning the Perth World Super 6 in Western Australia next week.

On the men’s side, Canadian Austin Connelly finished T49 at 5 under par.

BARWON HEADS, Australia – Felicity Johnson made a late move up the leaderboard Thursday at the LPGA’s Vic Open to take a two-stroke lead after the opening round.

The Englishwoman shot an 8-under 65 on the Creek course at the 13th Beach Golf Links, where men and women played in alternate groups in the unique tournament format also sanctioned by the men’s European Tour.

“Anytime you shoot 8 under, it’s pretty good,” Johnson said. “To do it bogey free is a bonus. I’m going to sound a bit cocky, but it was really easy. I hit 17 greens in regulation, birdied three of the par 5s, so there’s kind of a couple of almost gimme birdies.”

Su Oh of Australia had a hole-in-one and had held the lead for most of the day with Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Anne-Catherine Tanguay, both at 6 under.

“I thought my front nine, I came out like pretty hot. I was hitting some solid iron shots. And then I would say the back nine is a little bit more shaky, like the wind picked up and I think I didn’t have as much commitment as on the front, so I didn’t hit perfect, to be honest, but it was enough,” said Tanguay, who recently became an ambassador for RBC.

I am excited to be joining Team RBC.@RBC is a big supporter of Canadian golf and has played a leading role in the support of @GolfCanada ‘s National Teams.

I am fortunate to have been a part of these initiatives and I am looking forward to continue this journey with #TeamRBC. pic.twitter.com/WcTmeWwpo0

— AC Tanguay (@ACTanguay) February 6, 2019

The 28-year-old Quebec City native is prepared to take on any challenging weather conditions in the rounds to come.

“You know, just whatever happens, happens. I’m going to just focus on what I can control because obviously the weather is out of my hands. I’ll definitely try to prep as best as I can. Yeah, new course tomorrow, so it will be a lot of fun.”

Fellow Canuck Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., carded a 4-under 69 to share 10th place.

Oh aced the 138-meter par-3 15th hole with a 6-iron. Tanguay played the par-72 Beach course and shot 66.

Minjee Lee began her title defence with a 1-under 72, while seven-time major winner Karrie Webb shot 73, both on the Creek course. Morgan Pressel was 3-under after a 70 on the Creek layout, as was Georgia Hall.

Nick Flanagan, an Australian who won the 2003 U.S. Amateur, shot a 10-under 62 on the Creek course to take a two-stroke lead in the men’s tournament.

Among those tied for second were Flanagan’s roommate, James Nitties, and Kurt Kitayama, Hugo Leon and Callum Shinkwin. Andrew (Beef) Johnston shot 66, also on the Creek course, as did former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogivly on the Beach course.

Tournament officials said Nitties, who started on the back nine at the Beach course, tied a record for consecutive birdies with nine, equaling Mark Calcavecchia’s record at the 2009 Canadian Open. Unfortunately for Nitties, he double-bogeyed his fifth hole before making birdie on the last four holes of the back nine and the first five on the front.

“I don’t hold any other world records that I know of so to be a part of one is pretty cool,” Nitties joked.

The 62 was Flanagan’s lowest tournament round.

“I have had a few 9-unders on tour,” he said. “It felt super uncomfortable but it kind of came easy if that makes any sense, which it doesn’t really. A couple of early putts dropped and I just wasn’t trying too hard essentially.”

Canadian Austin Connelly opened with a 2-under 70 to sit T88.

The start of play was delayed for more than an hour by early-morning fog.

The Beach course is being played as a par-72 for both men and women; the Creek is par-72 for men and 73 for women. Both courses will be used for the first two rounds of the tournament.

The Women’s Australian Open, also sanctioned by the LPGA, will be played next week at The Grange in Adelaide.

It took weeks for Jaclyn Lee to really absorb that she had become a professional golfer. The Canadian announced she was joining the LPGA Tour on Dec. 7 but it wasn’t until classes at Ohio State University had resumed that it really clicked for Lee.

“I was at the indoor facility having a chipping competition with a few of my former teammates and guys from the men’s team and we were all talking smack. One of the guys said ‘ohh I’m trying to beat an LPGA player,’ and it kinda just hit me,” said Lee. “That kinda sounds weird, but it’s true.

“It’s just been little moments here and there where your whole lifestyle changes. Just to hear other people say it out loud is weird, but it’s my reality.”

Lee, from Calgary, will make her professional debut on the LPGA Tour on Thursday at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in Australia. She made the cut at last year’s Meijer LPGA Championship, finishing at 10-under 278 to tie for 35th but did not keep her winnings to maintain her amateur status. Turning pro meant giving up her spot on the Buckeyes’ golf team, but allowing herself to claim winnings at LPGA events.

She will be joined at the inaugural Vic Open by fellow Canadian Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., Hamilton’s Alena Sharp and Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., pulled out of the event on Sunday due to illness.

Lee expects that transitioning from the NCAA to the pro game won’t be too difficult, at least on the course. Sorting out the logistics has been difficult, whether it was changing her U.S. visa status, finding an agent, or contacting her professors at Ohio State so they know that she’ll be out of the country weeks at a time as she wraps up her degree in finance.

“It was a lot of busy work and work in which I was the middle man in communications,” said the 21-year-old Lee. “It got a bit overwhelming at some points but it was all worth it in the end, for sure.

“It’s a situation that I wanted to be in, but it’s a lot more than just saying ‘I want to turn pro’ and that’s it.”

Lee sank a 10-foot putt for birdie on the final hole of the Q-Series LPGA qualifying tournament on Nov. 3, finishing the eight-round event in sixth place at 7 under to earn her card. After that she consulted with her family and coaches – both at Ohio State and with Golf Canada – on whether or not she should make the leap of faith and turn pro.

Tristan Mullally, Golf Canada’s women’s head coach, was part of Lee’s decision-making process and he believes she’s ready for the next chapter of her playing career.

“I wish everybody was like Jaclyn,” said Mullally, who reviewed all of Lee’s recent tournaments with her to underscore just how ready she was to turn pro. “She works really hard, she’s a smart kid, she’s honestly just a pleasure to be around. I don’t say that about everyone, I know you may think that.

“She’s just a great kid who has earned everything she’s got and is very appreciate of all the help.”

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea left the mistakes to everyone else down the stretch in the LPGA Tour season opener.

Ji managed a strong wind and temperatures in the 50s on Sunday by making three birdies on the back nine to pull away and close with a 1-under 70, giving her a two-shot victory in the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.

Ji got her mistakes out of the way early, opening with two bogeys to fall behind Lydia Ko. The 32-year-old South Korean took the lead for good with a birdie on the 10th hole at Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons, and she stayed in front the rest of the way.

“It was a little bit chilly for me today. My body was a little bit tight on first tee, so I just pulled a little bit, and I made a bogey,” she said. “I made a bogey again second hole. I was like, ‘OK, wait a minute. I need to play this.’ But I have like 16 more holes, and I just trust my swing after that.”

Ko was one shot behind when she pulled her tee shot on the par-5 13th and never found it, and then compounded the error with a three-putt for a double bogey. Ko made double bogey on the closing hole for a 42 on the back nine and a 77.

Ji finished at 14-under 270 to win by two over Mirim Lee, who made only one bogey in her round of 68. Nelly Korda (71) finished third.

“I just enjoyed my game with my celebrity partners,” Ji said. “It makes it more fun and I relaxed more. So I didn’t get nervous.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., started the day a shot behind the leaders but struggled on Sunday, shooting a 4-over 75 on the round. That put her into a tie with Stacy Lewis for sixth at 8 under for the tournament.

“I actually hit it great today,” said Henderson.

“I gave myself a lot of great opportunities and just the putter, you know, wasn’t working, which sort of sucks. But overall I feel like I hit it really well and I battled, which is nice.”

 

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@BrookeHenderson locks up her first top 10 of the 2019 @lpga_tour season with a T6 finish at #DiamondLPGA ????

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Jan 20, 2019 at 3:42pm PST

The LPGA opener was limited to winners over the last two seasons. It also included a celebrity field of athletes and entertainers who competed for a $500,000 purse using the modified Stableford scoring system.

Former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz had 33 points in the final round for a three-point victory over former pitcher Mark Mulder. Smoltz was busy doing math with the Stableford system, trying to hold on for the victory.

“I played really defensively knowing I could get two points for par,” Smoltz said. “I never thought the bogey I made at 17 would be the difference.”

Lewis, in her first competition as a mother, shot 70 and tied for sixth.

Ariya Jutanugarn, the No. 1 player in women’s golf who captured every major award last year, went into the weekend two shots out of the lead and closed with a pair of 75s to tie for 18th. Her sister, Moriya Jutanugarn, managed a bogey-free round for a 69 to tie for fourth with Shanshan Feng (70).

Ko says her problems on the 13th started with thinking she had to hammer her tee shot.

No one could find it in the marsh area left of the fairway, though Ko was at least consoled to see “like a million balls in there, so it makes me feel better that I wasn’t the only one that hit there.”

She hit another tee shot and easily carried the bunker, and then hit a stock 3-wood onto the green.

“I was like, ‘Well, that was stupid.’ Because I could have just hit a normal driver, and I probably wouldn’t have duck-hooked it and it would still be able to be in play,” Ko said. “I guess there’s moments I thought it was necessary, but then it wasn’t. But, hey, you’re always going to have some of these failures along the way.”

The LPGA is now off for two weeks before resuming in Australia for the Vic Open. The tour returns to the United States on March 21-24 for the Founders Cup in Arizona.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Lydia Ko could only think about the putts that didn’t go in, perhaps because she was used to making so many.

Ko ran off four birdies on the front nine Saturday for a 30, and it was enough to carry her to a 5-under 66 and a share of the lead with Eun-Hee Ji going into the final round of the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions on the LPGA Tour.

Ji also was hot early, and a pair of birdies early on the back nine gave her a 66.

They were at 13-under 200.

But the big story for Canadian golf is Brooke Henderson. The Smith Falls, Ont., native was poised to make it a three-way tie at the top until she made bogey on the par-3 closing hole for a 69, leaving her one shot behind.

“Hopefully things go my way, but it’s really cool to be in this position going into Sunday,” said Henderson.

“I feel like I have a positive things to take. Hopefully, do something similar tomorrow and hopefully the putts will drop.”

With seven LPGA victories, Henderson entered 2019 one back of the all-time win record by Canadian professionals held by Mike Weir, George Knudson and Sandra Post. She’d tie the record with a win Sunday.

The LPGA Tour season opener is limited to winners each of the last two seasons for a $1.2 million purse. It also includes a 49-player field of celebrities and athletes competing for a $500,000 purse. Former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz had 39 points in the modified Stableford format, giving him a four-point lead over retired pitcher Mark Mulder. Mardy Fish from the world of tennis was five points behind.

There are eight different countries in the top-10 heading into Sunday’s final round of the #DiamondLPGA.

Lydia Ko and Eun-Hee Ji share the lead at 13-under par. pic.twitter.com/IhrcnrTeT1

— LPGA (@LPGA) January 19, 2019

The forecast for the final round was cooler temperatures in the upper 50s and 20 mph wind with gusts even stronger. Henderson hopes that works in her favour.

“I think I can grind it out, and a lot of my wins have come in windy conditions,” Henderson said. “I tend to play a little bit better. Hopefully, things go my way, but it’s really cool to be in this position going into Sunday. I feel like I have a lot of positive things to take.”

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Canada’s Brooke Henderson kept out of trouble and kept bogeys off her card Friday on her way to a four-under 67 and a two-shot lead in the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, the winners-only start to the LPGA Tour season.

The 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., had the only bogey-free round at Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons and is now 10 under for the tournament.

Ariya Jutanugarn, the No. 1 player in women’s golf who captured every major award last season, made two bogeys, including the par-3 closing hole. The Thai is not sure how she didn’t make more, considering how she hit the ball.

She mixed in six birdies over an 11-hole stretch and it added up to a 67, leaving her two shots back and tied for second along with Lydia Ko (68) and Eun-Hee Ji (67).

“I didn’t expect to finish 4 under today at all because I hit everywhere. I keep missing fairways and greens, and I’m at 4 under,” Jutanugarn said. “I’m going to say my short game helped me a lot today because I keep missing the green – and I’m not missing by two yards, I’m missing by like 10, 15 yards.”

No matter. She was poised going into the weekend to get her encore season off to a big start.

Henderson was at 10-under 132 as the seven-time tour winner tries to match Sandra Post, George Knudson and Mike Weir for the most pro titles by a Canadian. Henderson has had at least a share of the 36-hole lead in five of her seven victories.

“It’s always fun to be in the final group and be in contention,” Henderson said. “It’s what we play for pretty much every single week. It’s nice to be here. It’s only the halfway point, but I still need to make a lot of birdies and keep hitting it to win.”

She didn’t make as many birdies as she wanted in the second round, but it was enough. Henderson began the back nine with two straight birdies, and closed with seven straight pars to stay in the lead.

Another round, another lead for @BrookeHenderson ???#DiamondLPGA pic.twitter.com/M9m7uIbWC8

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 18, 2019

Stacy Lewis, in her first tournament as a mother, followed her opening 66 with a 74. That dropped her to 17th place in the 26-player field limited only to LPGA Tour winners each of the last two seasons.

The field also has a strong celebrity component, with 49 athletes and entertainers competing in a modified Stableford format for a $500,000 purse. Former tennis player Mardy Fish posted 39 points for the second straight day, but with bogeys over his last two holes, his lead was down to one point over former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz.

Jutanugarn played the second round with former NBA star Ray Allen, and even though she was hitting shots all over the course, she found plenty of time to talk.

“I asked him how to manage when you’re like the best player, like how to manage everything,” Jutanugarn said. “We talked all 18 holes, and he helped me a lot with like how to manage, be like a top player. … It means so much to me. Ray is so nice to me. I kept asking him questions.”

Mirim Lee had a 69 and was alone in fifth place, while Lexi Thompson (69) and Marina Alex (67) were another shot behind.

Henderson won two times last year, including the CP Women’s Open in Regina. She won the KPMG Women’s PGA for her first major in 2016. Despite shutting it down for two weeks over the break while in Canada, she likes the mix she had of rest and practice when she got back to the work.

“Overall, I’m really happy to be in double digits after two rounds. That’s pretty cool, minus 10,” she said. “So I feel like there’s not too much wrong, but just maybe a little bit of inconsistency. Some putts, I wasn’t hitting them quite as well as I would have liked.”

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Canada’s Brooke Henderson is tied for the lead after the opening round of the LPGA Tour’s season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.

The 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., carded a six-under 65 to put her on top along with Korean Eun-Hee Ji.

Henderson overcame a slow start with a bogey on the second hole and a par save on No. 3 at the Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons. She birdied five of her last eight holes for a 65 to tie Ji, who had a bogey-free round.

The tournament – the first season-opener in Florida for the LPGA since 2015 – is only for LPGA winners each of the last two years.

The event had the feel of a pro-am because of all the celebrities and athletes, although it wasn’t all hits and giggles. Along with the 26-player field from the LPGA Tour competing for a US$1.2 million purse, 49 entertainers are competing for a $500,000 prize fund using the modified Stableford scoring system.

Tennis player Mardy Fish led that field with 39 points for a two-point lead over a group that included retired pitcher Mark Mulder.

But it was a different vibe from most LPGA events.

“I had to remind myself it wasn’t Wednesday afternoon, it was Thursday, and I had to get a good score together,” said Henderson, who was in a group with former NBA star Ray Allen. “I think that’s when things kicked in on the front nine. I started getting a couple of birdies to recover from that bogey, and then from there I was ready to go and made a lot of birdies.”

The leaders are one stroke ahead of Lydia Ko of New Zealand and American Stacy Lewis, who was playing her first tournament since giving birth to her first child last year.

.@BrookeHenderson’s first swing of the 2019 @LPGA season ????‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/3UuBvRB52s

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 17, 2019

Nearly three months after Lewis became a mother, and six months after she last played on tour, she opened with seven birdies on Thursday.

“Pleasantly surprised,” Lewis said. “Had pretty low expectations going into the day. Just really made a lot of putts. I had some weird shots, which I knew was going to happen having not played in a while. I don’t know where it came from, but I’m going to take it.”

Ariya Jutanugarn, the world’s No. 1 player who captured every major award last year, opened with a 67. Shooting the same score were Lexi Thompson and Mirim Lee.

Jutanugarn started the year with a new caddie, who previously worked for his fiancee, ANA Inspiration winner Pernilla Lindeberg. She opened with a 77, the highest score among LPGA players.

The Thai said she had some nerves from not having played in two months. And not being used to celebrities in her group also required an adjustment.

“Because I didn’t play for so long – especially playing with them – I feel upset. He hit like 60 yards past me,” said Jutanugarn, who played in the same group with retired baseball players Josh Beckett and Kevin Millar. “Every hole he has a chance to make eagle, so I thought, ‘Maybe I’m not that good.”’

She was referring to Beckett on the long tee shots. She didn’t know much about either, though she figured one thing one quickly.

“I know they are baseball players. I know both of them are really famous,” she said. “And nobody asked me for an autograph. They all asked them.”

Lewis had not played on the LPGA Tour since a 66 to tie for 39th on July 12 at the Marathon Classic in Ohio. She gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Chesnee, on Oct. 25.

The biggest difference was her routine.

She now has to remember where to find daycare, to get out the door a little earlier and making sure she has all the bags for her game and her daughter.

“You’ve got to take three trips to the care to get out the door every morning,” she said. “So it’s a new normal.”

Her game looked like the old Stacy Lewis, at least for the opening round. She was 1 under at the turn until rolling in five birdies to offset one bogey on the back nine.

Twenty of the 26 players were at par or better.

Henderson finished fourth on the LPGA money list last year after winning two events.

On the airplane from Ottawa after her Christmas holidays, everyone recognized Brooke Henderson.

“That was just kind of different, but kind of cool,” said Henderson with a laugh from Naples, Fla., as she prepared for the LPGA season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions this week in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

While the 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., insists life hasn’t changed much as she’s rocketed up the golf rankings the past few years, the airplane scene shows just how far Henderson has come in the general Canadian sport landscape.

With seven LPGA victories, Henderson enters 2019 one back of the all-time win record by Canadian professionals held by Mike Weir, George Knudson and Sandra Post.

To match or eclipse that mark, the reigning Canadian Press female athlete of the year (an award she has won three times in the past four years) said she’s focused on keeping her scoring average below 70. Her 2018 average of 69.99 was good enough for fourth on tour and if she meets that goal again, she said everything else would fall in line.

The key to her success will be her putting, as it’s the one area of her game that has held her back in the past. She said she’s been working hard with her father Dave (who is also her coach) on speed.

Having good pace on the greens, she said, would be a difference-maker this year.

“I’ve been working on consistency and make sure I’m ready for 2019,” she said. “And I feel like I am.”

Henderson earned a legion of new fans at least year’s CP Women’s Open in Regina, when she won by four shots and became the first Canadian woman to win on home soil in 45 years. She also won the Lotte Championship in Hawaii in April.

“I feel like I’ll be in contention a lot of the time and hopefully that leads to getting at least one win this year,” said Henderson. “But I’d love to keep that streak going of having at least two (she’s won two tournaments each of the past three years).”

Adam Hadwin, Canada’s top-ranked male golfer, certainly wouldn’t doubt that possibility. He calls Henderson “a force.”

“With someone like her, with her being so young, the world is her oyster,” said Hadwin. “My hope is that she continues to enjoy the game and she stays the young, happy kid that she is and she continues doing what she’s doing. If she can do that, she’ll have an extremely long, successful career.”

Despite the money (she’s earned more than US$1.4 million the last three years in a row and counts Rolex as one of her sponsors), and the fame (a bobblehead doll made in her likeness has become a collector’s item), Henderson doesn’t feel like her life is that much different.

It’s been a big adjustment going from a town of 9,000 to being recognized around the world, she admitted, but Henderson remains close to the people who have been by her side for years.

After dropping the ceremonial puck before an Ottawa Senators game in December and receiving a standing ovation, she watched the game in a box surrounded only by family and some friends she’s known since grade school.

“The people that have always been there for me and always been important to me ? they haven’t changed at all,” she said. “I feel like I’ve just grown friends around the world. I’ve brought things in, in addition to those people from my life in Smiths Falls.”

Henderson, who joked at the 2017 CP Women’s Open about retiring early, said she’s not looking too far ahead these days.

The 2019 season is her main focus.

“I feel like I’ve handled everything pretty well so far,” said Henderson. “I’m just trying to get a little bit better every day, and have a great year.”

Henderson is the lone Canadian in the winners-only event this week. The first full-field event of the LPGA Tour season goes Feb. 7-10 in Australia.

CANADIANS TO WATCH ON THE LPGA TOUR IN 2019

• Brittany Marchand – Marchand, 26, managed to secure LPGA status for 2019 after finishing tied for seventh at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in July, her best result of the year. The native of Orangeville, Ont., is Canada’s second-ranked female golfer behind Henderson.
• Alena Sharp – Sharp, 37, said in 2018 she battled depression as she struggled on the course. But a run of solid results to end of her year secured LPGA Tour status once again in 2019 for the native of Hamilton. She’s looking for her first win.
• Jaclyn Lee – Calgary’s Lee finished in sixth place at the LPGA Tour’s Q-Series (an eight-round qualifying tournament) to comfortably earn status for 2019. The 21-year-old announced in December she would be leaving Ohio State University to turn professional. While she’s still going to get her degree, she won’t play on the golf team.
• Anne-Catherine Tanguay – The native of Quebec City is back on the LPGA Tour for the second year in a row after finishing eighth in Q-Series. She finished 126th on the money list last year.

Four Canadians join Team RBC as golf brand ambassadors 

Today, RBC welcomed its newest Team RBC golf brand ambassadors: Corey Conners, Brittany Marchand, Ben Silverman and Roger Sloan. These four Canadians join an elite roster of players, including Canadians Adam Hadwin, Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp.

Ahead of a historic golf season marked by the most Canadians ever on the PGA TOUR, RBC continues to grow its commitment to the game on home soil by evolving its brand ambassador program. Now, all Canadian players that have reached the pinnacle of performance and secured status on the LPGA and PGA TOURS are eligible to join the Team RBC Canadian program – currently 10 members strong.

This expansion is also part of RBC’s ongoing support of Canadian golfers and includes funding for Canada’s National Amateur Golf Team and Young Pro Squad, as well as contributing to the national amateur golf championships, in partnership with Golf Canada.

Team RBC was established in 2009 and is comprised of 18 elite male and female golfers who embody the pinnacle of golf performance. Along with RBC branding on their apparel and golf bag, these new ambassadors will support RBC’s client-hosting experiences and marketing initiatives.

As the title sponsor of the RBC Heritage and RBC Canadian Open, RBC is also proud to be the Official Banking and Financial Services partner for all Team RBC ambassadors.

Quick facts:

• Corey Conners: Two top-15 finishes during the 2018 PGA TOUR season
• Brittany Marchand: Made 12 of 16 cuts during her first 2018 LPGA TOUR season
• Ben Silverman: Four top-15 finishes during the 2018 PGA TOUR season
• Roger Sloan: Finished 12^th on Web.com Tour Money List

Quotes:

“I’ve had the opportunity to partner with RBC when I was on Team Canada’s Young Pro program. This feels like a great next chapter in my journey as I compete on the PGA TOUR and I’m thankful RBC is with me again and for all they do for golf in Canada.”  – Corey Conners, Team RBC Ambassador

“I am so proud and so grateful to be a part of the Team RBC family . RBC has given so much to our game and their support enables us to continue to grow and develop on the world stage I look forward to getting to know the team and am excited about the milestones ahead.” – Brittany Marchand, Team RBC Ambassador

“RBC has been a longstanding supporter of golf, helping us build stronger connections with our clients and fans around the world. We’ve been on a journey with many of these athletes as amateur players, like Corey and Brittany. Now we’re continuing that partnership as they strive to reach the highest level of golf on the international stage.” – Mary DePaoli, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, RBC

“Today’s announcement is an important moment for Canadian high-performance golf. To see Canadian athletes recognized for their hard work, efforts and performance is just outstanding. It’s also another demonstration of RBC’s longstanding and continued support of golf both at the amateur and professional level.”  – Derek Ingram, National Men’s Team Coach, Golf Canada