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TSN Senior Reporter

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It’s hard to argue that Golf Canada’s player development program has been anything but a success since its inception in 2005. Although it took some time, the growth in elite men and women golfers from this country has been almost staggering.

Last month, nine men set a record for the most Canadians to play in a PGA Tour event. And if it’s not quantity, it’s quality. Brooke Henderson, at 24, is the winningest Canadian golfer of all time.

But Golf Canada isn’t satisfied. It believes there is more where all this came from and has announced that it will enhance and expand the current program with a goal of getting a combined 30 players on the LPGA and PGA tours within a decade. There are currently 13 golfers with status on both circuits.

It’s a lofty goal but one that Kevin Blue feels is quite reachable. In his role as Golf Canada’s chief sport officer, Blue undertook a review of the existing program and came to the conclusion that there was potential to put Canadian golf on a higher trajectory.

While the target may appear lofty, Blue said that when the player development program was first launched, its goal was to get five men into the top 200, which it achieved.

“Some people didn’t think that was possible,” Blue stated. “But we’re setting our sites even higher because we think it can be done.”

The reason for the optimism comes from detailed research done by analyzing global golf – particularly countries with a similar climate and demographic to Canada, by interviewing stakeholders involved in high-performance golf, and by building the framework for the new plan.

Many of the top Canadian golfers were also interviewed for their experiences moving through the program.

There are plenty of moving parts in the new program but perhaps the chief plank was raising the funds for it. Reaching out to a variety of parties, Blue was able to raise $13.5 million, led by a $5 million donation by Paul Maclean, the chief executive officer of Turf Care and former president of Golf Canada and Golf Canada Foundation.

“People in Canada are very passionate about sport and golf in particular,” said Blue, who tapped into his past as the athletic director at University of California, Davis, and its fundraising programs. “They are really rallying around this.”

“The achievement of our players on tour is a source of pride for everyone involved in Canadian golf,” said McLean in a Golf Canada release. “I am thrilled to support the effort to increase the number of Canadians on tour and we look forward to seeing even more Canadian flags on worldwide leaderboards.”

One of the first steps in the new program is the creation of a plan to identify and help develop some of the most promising juniors earlier than in the past. Children from 10-14 will now be targeted by providing resources to parents and coaches who are working with these young players. Local identification camps will be set up in every province to find some of the future stars.

Heading that program is Tristan Mullally, who will transition from his role as Team Canada Women’s head coach and into the role as national talent identification director.

Other planks in the new program will be to combine late-stage amateurs and young professionals into an expanded group with a focus on helping them launch and sustain professional golf careers; provide housing and training-facility access in the United States for transitioning professional players; and increase the breadth and depth of support for young professional players with funding based on an individualized analysis of specific player needs.

Other parts of the program will be unveiled and activated in coming months.

The new program will be presented officially at Golf Canada’s annual meeting on March 2.