The Royal Canadian Golf Association and RBC, the title sponsor of the Canadian Open through 2012, sent a message during an event at the Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., on Monday that they want to celebrate the past while making the present and future of golf in our fair country as good as possible.
The RCGA's executive director, Scott Simmons, isn't afraid of change. It remains to be seen whether he and the organization will succeed, but they're moving ahead with a vision that's been a long time coming.
Meanwhile, it's Canada Day as I'm writing, so I'm thinking more of the past than the present and future.
Here's a look, then, at the top 10 moments in the Canadian game (your views may differ, which suggests only that there's been plenty to celebrate):
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Mike Weir's win in the 2003 Masters is first. Canadians were transfixed in front of their television screens as Weir, who was at Glen Abbey Monday and spoke proudly of his fellow Canadian golfers, stood over a seven-foot putt on the 72nd green to get into a playoff with Len Mattiace. Weir poured the putt in and won the playoff. Canadians still talk about his massive moment, and feel it was theirs as well. It was.
Next is Sandra Post's win in the 1968 LPGA Championship. Post, then 20, played off against the defending champion, Kathy Whitworth, a giant in the game. Post looked confident during the 18-hole playoff, but later said she was full of fear. No matter. Post became the first Canadian to win a professional major tournament.
Sandy Somerville, 36 years earlier, was the first Canadian to win an amateur major. The craftsman from London, Ont., won the 1932 U.S. Amateur in Baltimore. He also won six Canadian Amateurs. They were big, but his U.S. Amateur win, third on this top-10 hit list, hit the front pages.
Fourth is George Knudson and Al Balding's win in the 1968 World Cup in Rome. This was the year the name of the team event was changed to the World Cup from the Canada Cup. The best players from each country played in those days. Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer played on U.S. teams.
Then there's Marlene Streit, the amazing Marlene Streit. She attended the event Monday and it was impossible not to marvel at her many accomplishments - too many to mention. We'll settle for her 2004 induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame as No. 5 on this list of great Canadian golf moments. She's the only Canadian inductee.
Moe Norman is another Hall of Famer. He's not in the World Golf Hall of Fame, but his induction into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1995 was an important moment, No. 6 here. The induction was long overdue. One hopes today's RCGA wouldn't have taken so long to induct Norman, an unusual and fascinating man who died in September of 2004.
Seventh on the list is Gary Cowan's win in the 1971 U.S. Amateur. Cowan also won the 1966 U.S. Amateur. It's impressive to win a single U.S. Amateur. Cowan won two. He was at Glen Abbey, where his accomplishment was remembered. It should never be forgotten.
Next is Stephen Ames's win in the 2006 Players Championship. Ames gives a lot to golf in Canada and he gave a lot to fans across the country when he shredded the field with a final-round 67 to win by six shots. On Monday, Ames invited Canadians to call on him any time to help advance the game in his adopted homeland.
George S. Lyon called attention to the game in Canada in 1904, when he won the gold medal in the Olympics golf competition in St. Louis. Golf hasn't been an Olympic sport since. The trophy he won was on display Monday at the Abbey. His accomplishment ranks ninth.
This brings us to Pat Fletcher's win in the 1954 Canadian Open in Vancouver. No Canadian has won since, which has become a bigger story as the years have passed. Weir lost in a playoff to Vijay Singh in 2004 at Glen Abbey. Weir said Monday that he looks forward to the day when a Canadian will win the Open. Maybe he'll take the trophy when the tournament returns to Glen Abbey July 24 through 27.
Canadian golfers, including Weir, refer to the tournament as their fifth major. Fletcher's win was important in 1954.
How big would a Canadian win today be? It would be at or near the top of anybody's top 10 great Canadian golf moments.
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