Golf Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced Team Canada women’s golf athletes nominated to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The two athletes are:
Brooke Henderson (Smiths Falls, Ont.)
Alena Sharp (Hamilton, Ont.)
The two athletes qualified for Team Canada based on their standing on the Official World Golf Rankings at the close of the Olympic qualification period following the completion of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on Sunday, June 23, 2024. At the close of the Paris 2024 women’s qualification period, Henderson sits 14th on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking and Sharp is 292nd.
The two-year Olympic qualification period for women’s golf saw the athletes earn their spot on Team Canada through their respective results on the LPGA Tour and other women’s global golf competitions. Paris 2024 will mark the third Olympic appearance for both Henderson and Sharp, who competed together at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Henderson was Canada’s top golfer in the sport’s return to the Olympic Games after 112 years, finishing in a tie for seventh at Rio 2016. She then finished tied for 29th at Tokyo 2020. A 13-time winner on the LPGA Tour, including two major titles, Henderson is Canada’s winningest professional golfer of all time. She currently sits fifth on the LPGA Tour’s Race to the CME Globe Rankings, with five top-10 finishes in 14 LPGA Tour starts in 2024. A graduate of Golf Canada’s national team program, Henderson is the only Canadian female athlete to win Canada’s national Junior (2012), Amateur (2013) and National Open Championships (2018 CPKC Women’s Open).
“Any time you can go and represent your country it’s a very proud moment,” said Henderson. “To be able to wear the Maple Leaf and go to Paris is really exciting for me.”
Sharp, a long-time LPGA Tour member, is no stranger to international competition. She earned a bronze medal for Team Canada at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games in Chile. The 43-year old has 16 career top-10 finishes and has made the cut in three of four events played this year on the LPGA Tour. Sharp made 14 cuts in 14 starts on the Epson Tour in 2023 with five top-10 results, including a win at the Champions Fore Change Invitational. She also won the ORORO PGA of Canada Women’s Championship in 2023.
“Reaching the Olympics for a third time was a huge goal of mine coming into this year and I am extremely proud to have achieved it,” said Sharp. “Representing Canada is the highest honour I’ve had in my career.”
Henderson and Sharp will look to become the first Canadian women to win an Olympic golf medal. Canada’s best Olympic finish in women’s golf was Henderson’s tie for seventh at Rio 2016.
Golf Canada’s Director of High Performance Emily Phoenix believes the Olympic and international experience of the athletes will be an asset to the women’s team in Paris.
“Both Brooke and Alena are heading into their third Olympic golf competition and that experience and familiarity is sure to prove beneficial for the athletes,” said Phoenix, who will serve as the Stollery Family Olympic Women’s Team Lead in Paris. “Brooke is a fierce competitor who has proven capable of bringing her best performances to the biggest stage while Alena heads to Paris with a great momentum in returning to the form on the LPGA Tour and earning a bronze medal for Canada at last year’s Pan Am Games golf competition.”
The women’s golf tournament at Paris 2024 will take place August 7 – 10 (Days 12 – 15) at Le Golf National.
“Congratulations to the two Canadian golfers selected to represent Canada in Paris. They will be competing in their third Olympic Games, and their remarkable skills will be crucial assets on the prestigious Golf National course,” said Bruny Surin, Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Chef de Mission. “They are ready to chip away obstacles and represent our country with pride and excellence. Swing strong and play with all your heart!”
Team Canada’s women’s golf team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games also includes the following caddies and support staff:
Caddies & Support Staff
Emily Phoenix (Calgary, Alta.) – Stollery Family Olympic Women’s Team Lead
Brittany Henderson (Smiths Falls, Ont.) – Caddie for Brooke Henderson
Sarah Bowman (Somerset, Penn., USA) – Caddie for Alena Sharp
Nick Taylor and Corey Conners were the two male golfers announced to the Paris 2024 Canadian Olympic Team last week.
Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organizations.
The latest Team Canada Paris 2024 roster can be found here.
Golf Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced Team Canada men’s golf athletes nominated to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The women’s golf athletes will be announced at a later date. The two male athletes are:
Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.)
Nick Taylor (Abbottsford, B.C.)
The two athletes qualified for Team Canada based on their standing on the Official World Golf Rankings at the close of the Olympic qualification period following the completion of the US Open on Sunday, June 16, 2024. At the close of the Paris 2024 men’s qualification period, Taylor sits 35th on the Official Golf World Ranking and Conners is 37th.
The two-year Olympic qualification period for men’s golf featured an exciting competition among Canada’s top-ranked male golfers, which ramped up in recent weeks and came down to the wire as the athletes worked to earn their spot on Team Canada through their respective results on the PGA TOUR and other global golf competitions.
Taylor will make his Olympic debut at Paris 2024. The 36-year-old is a four-time winner on the PGA TOUR, including a historic win at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open to become the first Canadian in nearly 70 years to capture Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship. With that win, he became the only Canadian male golfer to win the Canadian Junior (2006), Canadian Amateur (2007) and Canadian Open (2023) Championships. Taylor is a graduate of Golf Canada’s National Team Program, and has represented Canada at the World Amateur Team Championship (2008) and World Cup (2018). Taylor’s 2024 season includes three top-10 finishes, highlighted by a victory at the 2024 WM Phoenix Open to lock in his Olympic spot.
“The opportunity to represent my country at the Olympics has been a huge goal of mine for many years,” said Taylor. “To see the news become official today is quite humbling and surreal. I’m excited to get to Paris to compete, proudly wear the Maple Leaf, and soak in what I know will be an incredible experience.”
Conners will make his second Olympic appearance after finishing 13th at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. A T9 finish at the US Open this past weekend helped vault the 32-year-old up nine positions on the Official World Golf Ranking to secure his spot at Paris 2024. He is a two-time PGA TOUR winner (2019 and 2023 Valero Texas Open) who has earned nine top-25 results this season including a solo sixth place finish at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open. Also a graduate of Golf Canada’s National Team Program and past member of the Presidents Cup International Team (2022), Conners has represented Canada on numerous occasions, including the World Amateur Team Championship in 2012 and 2014.
“It is going to be a huge honour to represent Canada alongside all the other athletes,” said Conners. “It was a big goal of mine to make the team again this year and I can’t wait to get to Paris.”
Taylor and Conners will look to become the first Canadian to win an Olympic golf medal since George Lyon’s gold medal at St. Louis 1904. Canada’s best finishes in men’s golf since the sport returned to the Olympics in 2016 were a 13th place finish for Conners (Tokyo 2020) and a 20th place finish for Graham DeLaet (Rio 2016).
Golf Canada’s Director of High-Performance Emily Phoenix praised the athletes for their determination through the qualification period to see their Olympic dreams become a reality.
“Nick and Corey, along with all of the Canadian players have shown a great deal of perseverance throughout the qualification period which shows how much representing Canada at the Olympics means to the athletes. The depth of Canadian talent right now in the professional game is significant and we look forward to sending a strong team to represent Canada in Paris.”
The men’s golf tournament at Paris 2024 will take place August 1 – August 4 (Days 6 – 9) at Le Golf National.
‘’Congratulations to our two Team Canada golfers who are perfectly in the swing for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games! Thanks to their meticulous preparation, these athletes are attacking challenges with impressive drive. Their patience, technical mastery, and calm under pressure place them at the pinnacle of their performance. They demonstrate that hard work and passion lead to the realization of our dreams,‘’ said Bruny Surin, Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Chef de Mission.
Team Canada’s men’s golf team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games also includes the following caddies and support staff:
Caddies & Support Staff
Emily Phoenix (Calgary, Alta.) – Team Leader
David Markle (Shelburne, Ont.) – Caddie for Nick Taylor
Danny Sahl (Sherwood, Alta.) – Caddie for Corey Conners
The qualification period for selecting Team Canada’s two female athletes for the Paris 2024 Olympic golf competition ends on Sunday, June 23.
Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organizations.
The latest Team Canada Paris 2024 roster can be found here.
OAKVILLE, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada has announced the athletes who have been selected to represent Team Canada as part of the 2016 National Amateur Squad and Development Squad. In total, five Ontario golfers will be part of the program. Burlington’s Blair Hamilton returns to the Men’s Amateur Squad, Vaughn’s Tony Gil and Aurora’s Jack Simpson will be on the Men’s Development Squad, and Ottawa’s Grace St-Germain and Mississauga’s Chloe Currie, a 2015 member of Team Ontario, are part of the Women’s Development Squad.
In all, ten athletes comprise Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad including five players on the men’s team and five on the women’s. The National Development Squad, primarily a U19 program, will also feature 10 players (five men and five women).
Returning to the men’s Amateur Squad is 2015 Gary Cowan Award (low amateur at the RBC Canadian Open) winner Blair Hamilton, 22, of Burlington, Ont. Hamilton enters his senior year at the University of Houston on the heels of a strong junior year that included two collegiate victories and six other top-20 finishes. He finished T17 at the 2015 Canadian Men’s Amateur and currently boasts Canada’s top-amateur ranking at No. 104 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). This will be his second year on the Amateur Squad and his third in total with Team Canada (Development Squad in 2012).
Joining the team for his first official season is reining B.C. Amateur champion Jared du Toit of Kimberley, B.C. The 20-year-old currently sits as the team’s second-ranked amateur at No. 122 in the WAGR. He played his first two seasons at the University of Idaho before transferring to Arizona State this year for his junior season. During his time at Idaho, du Toit recorded eight top-10 finishes including a win at the Wyoming University Southern to go along with winning Freshman of the Year honours for the Western Athletic Conference.
After a two-year hiatus, Eric Banks of Truro, N.S., makes his return to Team Canada following a summer that featured top-25 finishes at the Northeast Amateur, Canadian Amateur and Monroe Invitational. Banks is also a former Nova Scotia Men’s Amateur champion (2011) and two-time Nova Scotia Junior Boys champion. He enters his fourth year with Team Canada after graduating from the University of Florida where he won the David Toms award—given to the collegiate golfer who most overcomes adversity. Banks, 22, recovered from successful open-heart surgery in June of 2012 that repaired a hole in his heart.
Also returning to Team Canada after a hiatus is Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., native Hugo Bernard. The 20-year-old was runner-up at the 2015 Canadian Amateur and also earned top-five finishes provincially at the Alexander of Tunis, Duke of Kent and the Quebec Men’s Amateur. He captured the Quebec Men’s Amateur title in 2013 as well as the 2012 Quebec Junior Boys championship.
Rounding out the men’s team is Purdue University senior and Vancouver native Stuart Macdonald. The 20-year-old finished runner-up at the 2015 B.C. Amateur, tallied two top-10 finishes in his junior season and finished tied for 13th at the 2015 Canadian Amateur.
On the women’s side, the Amateur Squad is headlined by returning member and dual-citizen Maddie Szeryk who’s 2015 season includes a victory at the Ontario Women’s Amateur and T6 finish at the Canadian Women’s Amateur. In her freshman season at Texas A&M, Szeryk was named to the All-South Eastern Conference team in addition to winning Freshman of the Year honours for the conference thanks to nine top-10 finishes in 12 tournaments played. The 19-year old currently sits as Canada’s top-ranked female on the WAGR at No. 38.
Joining Team Canada is rookie Josée Doyon of St-Georges-de-Beauce, Que. Doyon is coming off a remarkable season that featured a win at the Quebec Women’s Amateur in addition to three collegiate victories for the Kent State Golden Flashes. The 22-year-old’s junior season earned her Mid-American Conference Golfer of the Year honours. Now in her senior year, Doyon currently sits at No. 61 on the WAGR.
Rounding out the women’s team are a trio of graduates from last season’s Development Squad including 18-year-old Naomi Ko of Victoria, B.C., who enters her fourth year with Team Canada and first as a member of the N.C. State Wolfpack. In 2015 she finished fifth at the B.C. Women’s Amateur, tied for second at the Ontario Women’s Amateur, third at the Canadian Junior Girls and tied for 24th at the Canadian Women’s Amateur.
Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee, 18, heads into her third year with Team Canada and her freshman season at Ohio State. The 18-year old finished tied for seventh at the B.C. Women’s Amateur, third at the Alberta Ladies Amateur and 16th at the Canadian Women’s Amateur. In 2014, Lee captured both the Alberta Ladies Amateur and Junior Girls titles.
Michelle Kim, an 18-year-old Surrey, B.C., native, moves up to the Amateur Squad after one season the Development Squad. Currently in her freshman year with University of Idaho, Kim won both the 2015 B.C. Women’s Amateur and Junior Girls, while adding a victory at the Canadian Junior Girls and a tie for 38th at the Canadian Women’s Amateur.
“This is always an exciting time of year as we welcome the next group of young men and women selected as members of Team Canada,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer. “Supporting, developing and nurturing Canada’s future stars remains to be at the core of our primary objectives. We are committed to investing in high performance talent through elite coaching, training, sport science and preparation.”
The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2016 Amateur Squad:
WOMEN’S NATIONAL AMATEUR SQUAD
Maddie Szeryk, Allen, Tex. (19)
Josée Doyon, St-Georges-de-Beauce, Que. (22)
Michelle Kim, Surrey, B.C. (18)
Naomi Ko, Victoria, B.C. (18)
Jaclyn Lee, Calgary, Alta. (18)
MEN’S NATIONAL AMATEUR SQUAD
Blair Hamilton, Burlington, Ont. (22)
Jared du Toit, Kimberley, B.C. (20)
Eric Banks, Truro, N.S. (22)
Stuart Macdonald, Vancouver, B.C. (20)
Hugo Bernard, Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que. (20)
Complete National Amateur Squad bios can be found here.
As part of the National Amateur Team Program, Golf Canada also named the 19-and-under Development Squad that includes five female and five male athletes. The Development Squad is designed to help facilitate the continued development of Canada’s top young talents.
The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2016 Development Squad:
WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
Grace St-Germain, Ottawa, Ont. (17)
Hannah Lee, Surrey, B.C. (15)
Tiffany Kong, Vancouver, B.C. (14)
Kathrine Chan, Richmond, B.C. (15)
Chloë Currie, Mississauga, Ont. (15)
MEN’S DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
Tony Gil, Vaughan, Ont. (17)
A.J. Ewart, Coquitlam, B.C. (16)
Thomas ‘Jack’ Simpson, Aurora, Ont. (17)
Alexander Smith, Calgary, Alta. (17)
Charles-Éric Bélanger, Québec, Que. (16)
Complete Development Squad player bios can be found here.
Golf Canada also announced the 2016 Team Canada coaching staff with Derek Ingram returning as Men’s Squad Head Coach, supported by Robert Ratcliffe who will also head up the Development Squad. On the women’s side, Tristan Mullally returns as Women’s Squad Head Coach and will receive support from Ann Carroll, who will oversee the Women’s Development Squad specifically. All coaches are all class “A” professionals with the PGA of Canada.
The athletes named to the 2016 National Amateur and Development Squads are a product of a circle of support that includes personal coaches, parents and high performance activities conducted by the respective provincial golf associations.
