LORIE KANE: Canadian golfing legend will compete in final Canadian Open in August

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Lorie Kane tried to hold back the tears Tuesday, but didn’t quite get the job done.

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The emotions got the better of her as she announced that August’s CP Women’s Open at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club will be her 30th and final Canadian Open championship.

“It’s going to be my last,” said Kane, the longstanding queen of the Canadians on the LPGA Tour. “I’m not going to be stop playing golf because how do you withdraw from something you absolutely love to do, but for the last little while, I have been a little up and down.”

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Kane, who joined the LPGA Tour in 1996 and has four titles and 99 top-10 finishes to her name, believes she can best serve the Canadian golf industry by channeling her energies towards the promotion and development of Golf Canada. She’s passionate about continuing to work on growing the women’s game even bigger in Canada.

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That includes, of course, pushing the upcoming CP Open. Just like in 2017, it figures to be the Brooke Henderson Show, but the competitor in Kane is hoping she can turn back the clock a bit in order to survive the cut after the opening two rounds in order to play on into the weekend.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a while,” she said. “I just feel like it’s the right time. When I walk up the 18th hole, it will be for the last time.”

Kane has served as a mentor for legions of young female golfers for more than two decades.

That group includes Henderson, who was holding back tears of her own in describing what Kane has meant to her over the years.

As a 14-year-old playing in her first Canadian Open, Henderson says she was like “a deer in the headlights” upon seeing Kane up close.

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Over time, the two have forged a close bond while carrying the red-and-white maple leaf flag around the world.

“I respect everything Lorie has ever told me,” said Henderson. “I always looked up to her. Eventually, I asked her for her opinions on all sorts of things.

Kane says it’s kind of like the circle of Canadian golfing life, looking back at the pros who showed her the way when she was breaking in.

“I remember the questions (Henderson) asked me when she was young and trying to decide whether to go to (university) or play golf professionally, and I’m glad she close what she did,” said Kane.

“I had a lot of strong support getting out on tour early, from Jocelyne Bourassa to Sandra Post to Dawn Coe-Jones. Now, Alena (Sharp) and Brooke have a great relationship, and I try to lend what support I have.

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“Is it passing the torch? Possibly. But you know, I will say this, 11 (LPGA) wins this young lady (Henderson) has. That’s more than anyone else has, man or woman, in Canada. And she still doesn’t get the respect she deserves across the sporting boards.”

Remembering the overflowing crowds cheering on Henderson in 2017, Kane’s biggest hope now is that the Smiths Falls native can capture the moment and win at home.

“It will be fitting for me, a great week and great for Brooke,” said Kane. “It’s like she will have an extra club in the bag.”

As for the timing and location of her announcement, Kane acknowledges the arrival of COVID-19 altered her plans.

The CP Open was originally scheduled to be played at Vancouver’s Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in 2020 and 2021, before the pandemic wiped everything out. The course was special to her because it was where she made her arrival on the Canadian golf scene and also home to legendary teacher Jack McLaughlin.

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“I thought maybe the circle would be completed if I went back there,” she said.

Given the circumstances, though, Kane says Ottawa is also an ideal spot to go out.

Back in 2000, when the Canadian Open was held at Gatineau’s Royal Ottawa and known as the du Maurier Classic, Kane was in the thick of the hunt for the championship until the final holes. Ultimately, she finished in a tie for fifth.

“I thought Ottawa would be a special place because I’m a very proud Canadian,” she said.

“To have the Order of Canada and to have played in 2000 and come so close to winning, and just to have the support here at the Ottawa Hunt and the city in general.

“Ottawa has been friendly to women’s golf.”

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