Tiger putting on the Green Jacket once more, or Brooke winning her ninth on the LPGA Tour, making her the Canadian with the most victories on the LPGA or PGA Tours. What about Corey Conners Monday qualifying into a PGA Tour event and winning to punch his ticket to Augusta?
Every year there’s some key events and moments that capture the imagination of fans—and 2019 was full of them. Here’s a look at some of the top stories from 2019
Tiger wins his 15th major
Injuries and question marks—both haunted Tiger Woods despite his season-ending win at the Tour Championship to close out 2018. But the Masters is a different beast when it comes to Woods—it is a course he was competitive on even as his game was in shambles. That’s not to say it didn’t surprise many when Woods won his 15th major in April to hold off Brooks Koepka by a single shot. It was Woods’ fifth Green Jacket—his son, Charlie, wasn’t even born when the golfer won his last major, in 2008.
“To have my kids there—it has come full circle,” he said. “My dad was here in ’97, and now I’m a dad with two kids here.”
Brooke makes history
At 21, Golf Town Athlete Brooke Henderson is already bettering legends. In June, Henderson won her ninth event on the LPGA Tour, making her the Canadian with the greatest number of victories on either the LPGA or PGA Tour. Mike Weir and George Knudson both have eight wins on the PGA Tour, while Sandra Post carded eight wins on the LPGA Tour.
With more wins than any Canadian—a total that includes a major championship—Henderson cemented herself as one of the country’s all-time greatest athletes, in any sport.
Rory wins RBC Canadian Open
With its new date in June, a week before the U.S. Open and one of the strongest fields the tournament has seen, fans came out in record numbers to see the best on the planet compete at Hamilton Golf and Country Club. It was his first appearance at the RBC Canadian Open—but Rory McIlroy made the most of it. A dominant weekend led McIlroy to win the tournament, with a final round that put him on a 59 watch.
“What I’m proudest of is still playing with that freedom today being tied for the lead, and putting my foot down and really making this tournament mine,” McIlroy told media after the final round.
How dominant was McIlroy? His final round 9-under 61 and 22-under finish put him seven shots ahead of Shane Lowry, who would go on to win the British Open a few weeks later.
Jin Young Ko’s bogey-free run
114. That’s how many consecutive holes Jin Young Ko played this year without dropping a shot. That’s more holes than anyone on the LPGA or PGA Tour.
The streak comes to an end after 114 bogey-free holes.
Incredible streak Jin Young! 👏
Jin Young Ko's streak of 114 consecutive bogey-free holes is the longest known streak on the @LPGA Tour or @PGATOUR.
Earlier in her round she surpassed @TigerWoods 2000 streak of 110 holes. pic.twitter.com/zdwnBXQDhC
— LPGA (@LPGA) August 29, 2019
Cory Conners’ breakthrough
A solid start to the fall events on the PGA Tour in 2018 put Listowel, Ont. native Corey Conners in a peculiar spot heading into 2019. Despite winning $1-million to start the season, his status on the PGA Tour meant he wasn’t getting starts. That changed at the start of April when Conners managed to get through Monday qualifying to earn a start at the Valero Texas Open.
He’d put together four terrific days of golf and finish at 20-under, two shots ahead of the closest challenger. It was his first win on the PGA Tour.
“It is crazy,” he said after the round. “Definitely a life-changing moment. I can’t really put it into words.”
Hadwin makes Presidents Cup
By his terms, Adam Hadwin had a mixed 2018-19 PGA Tour season. But Canada’s top male golfer turned it around in the fall with a runner-up finish at the Safeway Open, followed by a tie for fourth at the Shriners Hospital for Children Open. That made it tough for Presidents Cup International Captain Ernie Els to ignore Hadwin, who played on the team two years ago in a losing effort. Hadwin is the third Canadian to play on the team, following Mike Weir, who is an assistant captain with Els (Weir played in five Presidents Cups) and Graham DeLaet, who played in 2013.
“Each opportunity brings a new experience, new golf course, new teammates and a different atmosphere,” Hadwin said. “We’re playing at home this time. And I bring the experience of what goes on. I bring a lot of exuberance and excitement to the event, but also knowing what I need to do to win there.”
Slow play debate
All season long, discussion about the pace of play was a hot topic and the debate really heated up during the FedExCup Playoffs after a video of Bryson DeChambeau spending more than two minutes reading a putt went viral. You may recall European Tour star Eddie Pepperell called him an “unaffected single-minded twit” on Twitter.
CP Women’s Open
It was one of the largest attended CP Women’s Open in history as the only Canadian stop on the LPGA Tour headed to Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ont., just north of Toronto. In front of one of the biggest crowds ever, World No. 1 Jin Young Ko dominated on Sunday for her fourth in of the year and set a record for the lowest score of the tournament at 26-under. She beat the previous record set by Ariya Juanugarn in 2016 and So Yeon Ryu in 2014 (265, -23) – by three shots.
Some really good story lines to make up the 2019 season, that’s for sure. Two things I would really like to see in 2020 (besides sheer dominance from Brooke on the LPGA
tour) is strict discipline including ejection from a given tournament for slow play and a 100% healthy Graham DeLaet. He is my personal favorite Canadian player. Besides, he’s a huge Flames fan. GO FLAMES GO!!!