LAURIE WEIR
MISSISSAUGA – Smiths Falls sensational LPGA superstar Brooke Henderson will be front and centre this week as she leads a world-class field into the 51st CPKC Women’s Open, set for Aug. 20 to 24 at the Mississaugua Golf and Country Club. It will be the 21st time Ontario has hosted Canada’s national women’s championship and the first since 2022.
Henderson, Canada’s winningest professional golfer with 13 LPGA titles, returns to the spotlight on home soil. It was in 2018 when she won this event. That victory made her the first Canadian in 45 years to hoist the trophy and ignited the now-famous Brooke Brigade, a sea of red and white fans who continue to trail her at every Canadian, and many international, appearances.
The 2025 field features six of the world’s top 10 players and 19 of the top 25 in the Rolex rankings. World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul, No. 2 Nelly Korda and three-time Canadian Open champion Lydia Ko, ranked No. 3 and off her Olympic gold medal, will all tee it up. Also entered are Minjee Lee, Haeran Ryu, Hannah Green, Lottie Woad, Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang.
Defending champion Lauren Coughlin headlines a group of eight past winners returning, including Jin Young Ko, Sung Hyun Park, Ariya Jutanugarn and Paula Reto. Ko, a three-time winner, remains one of the most decorated players in the event’s history.
A strong Canadian contingent will join Henderson, highlighted by 15-year-old Aphrodite Deng along with Lauren Kim, Anna Huang and Vanessa Borovilos. Veterans Alena Sharp, Maude-Aimée Leblanc and Savannah Grewal round out the roster of Canadian talent.
The purse is set at $2.75 million (USD), with $412,500 to the winner. Through its CPKC Has Heart campaign, the championship will also raise millions of dollars in support of pediatric cardiac care at McMaster Children’s Hospital, with up to $250,000 matched for Trillium Health Partners.
Tickets are available through the tournament website at cpkcwomensopen.com or by phone at 1-800-571-6736. Grounds passes offer fans full access to follow players around the historic Stanley Thompson-renovated layout. Broadcast coverage will be available through the LPGA’s streaming service, the Golf Canada app, and television partners throughout the week.
For Smiths Falls, this year’s Open is another chance to watch its most famous golfer take on the best in the world with the Brooke Brigade ready to turn Mississauga into home turf into a sea of red and white.
