Canada’s push for golf gold at the Tokyo Olympics includes Golf Town athlete Brooke Henderson, and LPGA Tour veteran Alena Sharp, as well as first-time participants Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes. The four will travel to Tokyo at the end of the month to participate in the games, which were delayed by Covid-19 last year. The golf competition will take place on the East Course of the Kasumigaseki Country Club.

“I’m very honored and proud to be an Olympian for the second time,” said Henderson, who played in Brazil in 2016 at the age of 18. “To have Mack and Corey join us this time … it is very special to have them join us on this journey.”

The golfers were chosen through World Golf Rankings, with the men being picked on June 21, and the women on June 28. Conners is the top-ranked men’s golfer in Canada at No. 37, while Hughes is No. 65. Henderson is ranked No. 7 in the world on the Rolex Golf Rankings, while Sharp is ranked No. 136. Qualification for the women’s team concluded on June 28.

The golf portion of the Olympics includes 60 male and 60 female athletes battling over 72 holes of stroke play. A three-hole playoff followed by sudden-death, if needed, will lead to the medalists being chosen. Sharp and Henderson both participated in the Rio Olympics, with Henderson finishing in a tie for seventh, while Sharp finished in 30^th.

A number of top male golfers, including Dustin Johnson and U.S. Open winner Jon Rahm, have announced they won’t be making the trip to Japan, citing scheduling conflicts. Canadian men’s golf was represented by Graham DeLaet and David Hearn at the Rio games in 2016.

Conners and Hughes played together at Kent State in Ohio and are long-time friends who met at 12-years old. Conners said making the team was a motivating factor and he never questioned not going to Tokyo.

“This is something I’ve thought about for a while and worked really hard to represent Canada,” said Conners, from Listowel, Ont. “This is the peak and I’m really proud to be able to call myself an Olympian.”

Hughes said he’s been excited to potentially represent Canada at the Olympics since golf’s return was announced in 2009.  “When golf was announced that it was coming back to the Olympics … it was on my radar, something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Hughes, 30, who grew up in Dundas, Ont., and won on the PGA Tour in his rookie season in 2016.

Winnipeg’s Derek Ingram and Vancouver’s Brett Saunders are the coaches for the team.

One thing is clear—the women’s side of the Canadian team has deep connections. Sharp is married to her caddie, Sarah Bowman, while Henderson’s sister, Brittany, is her caddie. Henderson considers Sharp, 40, one of her mentors in the game who helped her when she was a teenager trying to make her way on the LPGA Tour.

“We’re going to be a great unit and we are great friends,” Sharp said. Henderson considers the Olympics as a major championship for women’s golf—and a key to expanding the appeal of golf worldwide.

“It is such a global stage and it is such fun to be part of,” she said.