Bold golf predictions for 2023: Brooke Henderson cracks Top 3 in the world

There was plenty to celebrate in Canadian golf in 2022 — Brooke Henderson won a major, two Canadians made the Presidents Cup team and the return of the RBC Canadian Open and CP Women’s Open were incredible! — but as the snow flies (unfortunately), there is still some time yet until golf season picks back up again across the country.  

Lucky for golf fans in Canada both the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour’s 2023 campaigns are set to return not long after the calendar turns to January.

Golf is perhaps the most unpredictable of sports, but we’re going to do our best here — in hopes that 2022’s momentum will mean more big moments for Canadian golf next year.

A Canadian wins a men’s major

There seems to be too much symmetry on this one, but sometimes a little bit of good juju from the universe is all you need.

2023 will mark the 20-year anniversary of Mike Weir’s Masters triumph, and a fellow Canadian, Corey Conners, is heading into this year’s spin around Augusta National on the back of three straight top-10 finishes including a tie for sixth this year (the best by a Canadian since 2005, when Weir finished fifth). Conners became the first Canadian since Stan Leonard in 1958-60 to finish inside in the top 10 at the Masters three years in a row with his result this April.

Conners at Augusta, exactly 20 years after Weir did it, would be the specific men’s major-winning choice.

But look at what happened this fall on the PGA Tour with Mackenzie Hughes and Adam Svensson winning events in a span of seven weeks — the Canadians on the PGA Tour are all hitting their primes. The more they put themselves into the contention, the more comfortable they’ll get.

Now it’s just time for them to do it on the biggest stages in the sport.

Brooke Henderson will get to Top 3 in the world

What more can be said of Brooke Henderson? She’s already an all-time great (her 12 wins are the most of any Canadian on the PGA or LPGA Tour), is a guaranteed Canadian Golf Hall-of-Famer and was a two-time champion in 2022, including winning her second major title (the first Canadian, male or female, to ever win more than one major).

So, what’s next?

Well Henderson, who ended the year ranked sixth in the world, is laser-like on getting to No.1 in the world. Imagine a 25-year-old Canadian from a town of 9,000 people with a homemade swing and her dad as her coach and her sister as her caddy as the top female golfer on the planet?

Henderson has been a bit of a victim of her own success in the past (the world-rankings system’s algorithm does not reward someone who plays as often as Henderson did pre-2020) but she may cull her schedule a little further for 2023 based on her familiarity with venues, preparation for majors, and more.

So, while Lydia Ko and Nelly Korda are showing no signs of slowing down as No.’s 1 and 2 in the world, respectively, a few more wins by Henderson in 2023 — which would be the least-bold prediction made — should get her up onto the podium, at minimum, by this time next year.

RBC Canadian Open rewarded to another first-time venue

With the RBC Canadian Open returning to the PGA Tour schedule for the first time since 2019 the organizers got dealt a beauty with Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Tony Finau all in the final group Sunday and McIlroy firing an 8-under 62 to repeat as the Canadian champion.

Oakdale Golf and Country Club, a 27-hole facility in Toronto, is set to host the RBC Canadian Open for 2023. It’s the first time the storied club will welcome the best in world.

There are, however, a few slots open on the upcoming Canadian Open schedule. The event will not be leaving the Greater Toronto Area, so we’re betting another first-time club will get to host the Canadian Open sooner rather than later.

Sources say the PGA Tour’s agronomy team has visited three GTA facilities that have never hosted the Canadian Open before and conversations continue to nail down a new spot for the event to be played.

Restrictions exist, of course — it’s not just a golf tournament anymore but an entertainment event — but by the time we get to this year’s event, the picture should be clearer.

The RBC Canadian Open is slated to return to Hamilton Golf and Country Club in 2024 while Oakdale is set to host again in 2026 (the 100th anniversary of the club).

Aaron Cockerill wins on the DP World Tour

For those who don’t follow the global game as much as just the LPGA and PGA Tours, Canada’s Aaron Cockerill (of Winnipeg) had a solid campaign on the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) where he re-earned status for 2023 on the back of a few well-timed late-season top finishes. He also made his RBC Canadian Open debut this summer at St. George’s where he made the cut.

Cockerill ended his 2022 with a tie for fourth at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and will head into 2023 with loads of momentum.

Two important things are set to happen next year: The first is that the top 10 golfers on the DP World Tour’s season-ending Order of Merit (who are not already qualified) will earn PGA Tour cards for the next season. The second is that Cockerill is set to become a father for the first time in February.

Given the professional carrot and the personal inspiration, look for Cockerill to lift a trophy in 2023. If he does, he’ll be the first Canadian to win on the now-DP World Tour since Jerry Anderson in 1984.