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No. of Players
(Rank): 2,200,000 (3)
No of Courses
(Rank): 1,796 (2)
 There
is evidence of golf arriving in Canada as early as 1824, but the game
began to flourish in Canada after the organization of Royal Montreal in
1873, only a few years after Confederation and well before the game
took root in the United States. A club was subsequently founded in
Quebec in 1875 by a daughter of Old Tom Morris. The first inter-club
match in the Americas was staged between the clubs in 1876, the oldest
trio of North American courses was complete. One of the great
curiosities of the development of the modern game is that no Canadian
golfers emerged early on to further the popularity of the game in the
manner of Hagen, Jones, and others in the United States. So, although the
Canadian Open has been played continuously throughout this century as a
cornerstone of the PGA TOUR, Canadian golf has continued to be quite
popular among the Canadians but very much a stepchild of the American
game in terms of mass appeal and international success.
 Nevertheless,
Canada has produced some excellent golfers and from time to time golfers
such as George Knudson, and Dave Barr have been prominent on the PGA
TOUR. The World Cup originated at Montreal in 1953 as the Canada Cup and
was known as such until 1966. The Canadians themselves have won the up
three times (in 1968, 1980, and 1985), while Canadians have taken the
individual competitions five times (Stan Leonard in 1954 and 1959,
George Knudson in 1966, Al Balding in 1968, and Dave Barr in 1983).
Canada also won the Eisenhower Trophy (World Amateur Team Championship)
in 1986 at Caracas.
One of the most notable golfers in Canadian history was the late Moe
Norman. Moe was one of the greatest ball strikers in the history of the
game. Some of Moe's achievements include 6 time Canadian Senior
Champion, and Open Champion of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and
Quebec in the late 60s and 70s. Moe Norman was inducted into the
Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1995.
Another notable Canadian golfer is Lorie Kane who has been a prominent
figure in Ladies golf in Canada winning 4 LPGA events to date.
More recently, one of Canada's top golfers Mike Weir, who is currently
ranked #30 in the World. Mike has won a number of Championships,
including a phenomenal win at the 2003 Masters.
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