Canadian star Henderson, 3-time champ Ko headline CP Women's Open early roster
Canadian golf legend Kane to make record 30th and final appearance at tournament
Three-time champion Lydia Ko, defending champion Jin Young Ko and Canadian star Brooke Henderson are among the early commitments for the 2022 CP Women's Open in Ottawa.
Golf Canada on Tuesday released the early field list for the LPGA Tour's lone Canadian stop, which returns after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes 16 of the top 20 players on the current LPGA Tour money list, seven past CP Women's Open champions and 11 LPGA Tour in-year winners
Also on the list is Canadian golf legend Lorie Kane, who will be making a record 30th — and final — appearance at the tournament. The Charlottetown native is a four-time winner on the LPGA Tour.
Lydia Ko won her first CP Women's Open as an amateur in 2012. The New Zealander was the youngest-ever winner of an LPGA Tour event at 15 years and four months.
She defended her title as an amateur in 2013 and won again as a professional in 2015.
Henderson, from nearby Smiths Falls, Ont., won the 2018 event at Wascana Country Club in Regina. South Korea's Jin Young Ko, currently ranked No. 1 in the world, won the following year at Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ont.
Henderson, who was awarded the key to the city by Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson at a ceremony at the Hunt Club on Tuesday, is currently ranked 10th on the LPGA Tour money list.
Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., Hamilton's Alena Sharp, Calgary's Jaclyn Lee, Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Markham, Ont., and Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont., are among the early commitments. Reigning Canadian women's amateur champion Lauren Zaretsky of Thornhill has earned an exemption.
