GATINEAU, Que. – The Brooke Henderson-inspired generation of Canadian female golfers has officially arrived. And they, along with Henderson herself, will be teeing it up in the national capital region next summer.
The 2027 CPKC Women’s Open will be contested at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club August 18-22, event organizers announced Monday.
“There is something special about coming home and playing in front of your friends and family,” Henderson, whose hometown is about an hour away from the club, told Sportsnet.ca. “I’m really looking forward to seeing the fans at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club.”
Henderson, who won the 2025 edition of the CPKC Women’s Open — defeating Minjee Lee by one stroke for her 14th LPGA Tour title — will be turning 30 a few weeks after next year’s event. In her incredible wake is an impressive generation of young female talent all nipping at her heels. Anna Huang, who is just 17, won on the Ladies European Tour on Sunday (her third top-10 finish in a row on that circuit) and is now the second-ranked female Canadian pro golfer in the world. There’s also Aphrodite Deng, who at just 15 finished tied for 20th at last year’s CPKC Women’s Open.
“The Brooke Generation is here. The group idolizing Brooke is here. By (2027), we’ll likely have more Canadians than we’ve had in our field — and we’re really excited about that,” tournament director Brian Newton said Monday from the club.
The 2027 CPKC Women’s Open will mark the 14th time that the event has been contested in the province of Quebec and the first since 2011.
The Royal Ottawa Golf Club, one of the oldest clubs in North America, was founded in 1891, and the treaty for the Royal Canadian Golf Association (the prior name of Golf Canada) was signed at the club.
It is also one of only eight clubs in Canada to host Golf Canada’s four premier events — the RBC Canadian Open, the CPKC Women’s Open, and the Canadian men’s and women’s amateurs — and one of just three to host the men’s and women’s national opens twice.
The last time Royal Ottawa played host was 2000.
“It’s an exceptional honour for the club to host the CPKC Women’s Open. We have a long history of hosting big events, and the members really get behind it,” Greg Richardson, the general manager of Royal Ottawa, told Sportsnet.ca. “After 27 years, it’s time.”
The CPKC Women’s Open goes on an east-west rotation each year — the 2026 edition of the CPKC Women’s Open will take place this August at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club in Edmonton — and it makes all the sense in the world to see the tournament return to the Ottawa area with Henderson’s star continuing to shine. It was last hosted in Ottawa in 2022 at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club. That club, which also hosted in 2017, had first right of refusal for 2027 but decided to pass.
Royal Ottawa hosted the Canadian men’s amateur last summer, and Newton said while CPKC Women’s Open organizers were in early discussions with Royal Ottawa to play host, the “resounding” feedback from the players on the golf course “stamped and sealed” that they could bring back the best female golfers in the world.
“The area is so supportive. Being Brooke’s adopted hometown helps, but (the Ottawa-Gatineau area) is a real stronghold for this tournament,” Newton said. “2017 and 2022 were transformative moments for this event and what Brooke brings to this region.
“Next year will bring the CPKC Women’s Open to just another level.”
For Henderson, certainly, but for everyone she’s inspired as well.
