Golf is in an intriguing phase as the Canadian Women’s Open kicks off tomorrow in Edmonton, while the men’s FedEx Cup playoffs are ongoing in St. Louis, and the controversial LIV league appears to be nearing its end. Here’s what you need to know:
Canadian Women’s Open
Renamed the CPKC Women’s Open, this premier Canadian stop on the LPGA Tour returns to Royal Mayfair in Edmonton for the first time since 2013.
The tournament, boasting a prize pool of $2.75 million USD (with $412,000 awarded to the champion), includes six of the top 10 female golfers worldwide. This lineup features Nelly Korda from the United States, the current world No. 1, who has claimed two major titles this season. Notably absent are South Korea’s Haeran Ryu, ranked third and also a two-time major winner, along with No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul from Thailand, and popular English players Lottie Woad and Charley Hull, who hold the fifth and sixth spots, respectively.
Lydia Ko from New Zealand, currently ranked 12th, aims for a historic fourth Canadian Open title. Among her victories is the title at Royal Mayfair in 2013, where she defended her championship from the previous year in Vancouver as a 15-year-old amateur. Ko has since achieved three major victories and earned three consecutive Olympic medals, culminating in a gold at the 2024 Paris Games.
As usual, the crowd favorite will be Brooke Henderson from Canada, who secured her second title at this event last year in Mississauga, Ontario. This victory marked her 14th career win on the LPGA Tour, more than any other Canadian man or woman on a major tour, including two major championships.
Canada’s top golfer is gearing up to defend her title this week at the Canadian Championship. Brooke Henderson, from Smiths Falls, will be competing in Edmonton, alongside top talent from around the world. Emma Weller has that story.
Now positioned 11th in the world rankings, the 28-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ontario, is still in pursuit of her first win of 2026, although she recently came close at back-to-back major tournaments last month. Henderson tied for third at the Women’s PGA Championship in Minnesota, just three strokes behind Ryu, and subsequently lost in a playoff to the South Korean at the Evian Championship in France after shooting back-to-back rounds of 64 on the weekend.
Among the 14 Canadians participating this week are three promising teenagers.
Sixteen-year-old amateur Aphrodite Deng made headlines last year in Mississauga by sharing the clubhouse lead after the opening round before finishing tied for 20th, the best finish by a non-professional since Ko’s consecutive victories. Deng also showcased her talent at the U.S. Women’s Open this June, where she tied for 17th, and she has committed to join Stanford’s golf team in 2028.
Another 16-year-old amateur, Clairey Lin, triumphed at the prestigious U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship last month, following Deng’s historic win in 2025.
However, the most exciting young Canadian golfer in Edmonton this week may be Anna Huang. The 17-year-old from Vancouver has been excelling on the Ladies European Tour, recently becoming the youngest player to achieve four career victories, surpassing Ko’s record. At the Euro Tour’s London Championship earlier this month, she secured a two-stroke victory over Charley Hull.
Huang tied for 22nd at the Evian Championship last month and is currently ranked 45th in the world, despite being too young to qualify for the LPGA Tour.
Learn more about Huang and get a preview of the Canadian Women’s Open from the Canadian Press.
FedEx Cup playoffs
As the women’s season continues until November, the PGA Tour is approaching its final two weeks.
After the opening FedEx Cup playoff event in Memphis, which featured 70 players, the field has now been narrowed down to 50 for the BMW Championship in St. Louis, set to start on Thursday. Following this, the top 30 players in the season-long points competition will advance to next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta, where the standings reset, and the champion will receive a substantial $10 million from a total purse of $40 million.
Want to hear some astonishing figures? With an impressive eight-shot victory at last week’s St. Jude Championship, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler secured the top position in the points race and a bonus of $23 million. However, there’s still a significant amount of money on the line in St. Louis, as the runner-up in the standings will earn $13 million in bonuses, in addition to their tournament earnings. The third-place finisher in the Cup race will take home $8 million, while fourth place receives $6.5 million and fifth place collects $5.4 million—nearly a million more than the major champions’ earnings. Even the player in 30th place will receive a check for $460,000.
Regrettably, no Canadians will be adding to their bonus earnings after the three who qualified for the playoffs—Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Corey Conners, and Nick Taylor—did not progress past the St. Jude. Nonetheless, each of them will leave with bonuses around $180,000.
LIV (and let die?)
The LIV Golf season—and perhaps the league itself—is expected to conclude this weekend. Following the withdrawal of support from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the controversial tour has canceled its championship event in Michigan next week and will instead wrap up in Indianapolis. Jon Rahm has already secured his third consecutive individual title, but the team trophy is still up for grabs.
The future of LIV is uncertain. CEO Scott O’Neil is seeking new investors for a reduced version of the tour after the Saudis reportedly spent around $5 billion on extravagant player contracts and other costs over the past five years in an attempt to take over men’s professional golf. However, following the departures of notable players Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed from LIV earlier this year, it remains unclear whether Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and the remaining few stars will choose to continue or attempt a return to the PGA Tour.