Claire Welsh is taking the reins of Canada's travelling golf championship, and she looks forward to promoting the sport across the country.
Welsh was named the new tournament director of the CPKC Women's Open, Canada's national women's golf championship, on Tuesday. The RBC Canadian Open, the men's national championship, generally stays within the Greater Toronto Area while the Women's Open moves from city to city each year, most recently being held in Vancouver and Calgary.
It's an arrangement Welsh sees as a strength.
"One of the brilliant things about the Canadian sports scene is that there is just so much love for this event," said Welsh of the Women's Open. "It is such a cornerstone of golf and of sport in Canada.
"It goes without saying, seeing the impact that Brooke Henderson has made and the huge fan base that she's developed right across the country really just means that the event goes from strength to strength with each new market that it goes to."
The 2025 edition will be held Aug. 19-24 at Mississaugua Golf and Country Club in Mississauga, Ont., for the first time. The Women's Open is a two-time winner of the LPGA Tour's tournament of the year award.
"I've spent the better part of a decade travelling the world and seeing golf events everywhere. Men's, women's, professional, amateur," said Welsh. "I think that I can bring some of that experience to the table to look at things from a bit of a new perspective.
"But in terms of my vision for it, that's something that will come in time. From where I'm starting, it's a really, really high bar that has already been set."
Welsh takes over from Ryan Paul, who was appointed tournament director of the Canadian Open in August. Paul moved into that role after Bryan Crawford left to become commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League.
"My husband and I both quit our jobs (a year ago) and have been spending some time travelling and just sort of thinking about what it is that we wanted to do next," said Welsh. "We knew we wanted to come back to Canada, we just weren't sure what that was going to look like.
"It just feels like a really nice fit and it's really an honour and a privilege to have this opportunity."
Welsh spent 10 years working for The R&A, golf's governing body in the United Kingdom, in St Andrews, Scotland, holding progressively senior roles with The Open and the AIG Women’s Open championships.
Most recently, Welsh served as the head of player relations for The R&A.
In that role, she was responsible for critical elements including player engagement and retention, travel and accommodation, accreditation, ticketing, and player facilities, while building trusting relationships with players and their support teams at both major championships.
“We are incredibly excited to add Claire to our team at Golf Canada and bring home a globally experienced golf industry executive to lead a new chapter for the CPKC Women’s Open,” said Golf Canada chief operating officer Garrett Ball. "Claire’s experience working with The R&A along with all facets of building a successful and memorable tournament for the players, staff, partners, and fans was exceptional.
"We spoke with talented candidates both internally and externally and it was Claire’s extensive international experience in the global golf space that positions her as the ideal lead for Canada’s national women’s open championship.”
Before joining The R&A, Welsh spent six years working with Golf Ontario as the marketing and communications manager, overseeing championship media coverage and the organization’s digital channels.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2024.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
