‘To be more than just golfers’: Lorie Kane readies for Order of Sport honour
Posted Sep 24, 2021 4:45 am.
Last Updated Sep 24, 2021 8:15 am.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) — The next step in Lorie Kane’s incredible journey includes a stop in Calgary.
Later this fall, the four-time LPGA Tour winner will receive the Order of Sport and will be officially inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, located in WinSport.
“I’m proud that the Hall has looked at it as not only what we’ve done as athletes and builders on our playing fields but what we’re were allowed to do off,” Kane said this week on a Zoom call with the media.
“And to be more than just golfers, but actually people that will leave an impact in the communities that we play.”
Hearing from Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame’s class of 2020-21 athlete inductees:
John "Jackie" Barrett – ????️♂️
Sonja Gaudet – ????
Diane Jones Konihowski – ????♀️
Lorie Kane – ????️♀️
Eric Lamaze and Hickstead – ????
Steve Nash – ????They will receive Canada’s highest sporting honour on Oct. 3. pic.twitter.com/wQiTOX3zVD
— Sandra Prusina (@sprusina) September 21, 2021
Looking back on her career, she has 11 professional wins, but she says getting on Tour is one of her most memorable moments.
“The big thing is, I was 30 when I became a member of the Tour,” Kane explained. “My age has always been put in front of me. I never looked at it as a problem. I just joked that if they gave me a 10-year credit, I would’ve been 20 when I started like everyone seems to be these days.
“Then, my first win in St. Louis [2000 Michelob Light Classic], which took a little while to get there. I had nine runner-up finishes before I finally got into the winner’s circle.”
READ MORE: Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame names 2020-21 inductees
She certainly paved the way for the success we’re seeing on the greens now from golfers north of the border. However, she believes more needs to be done to help these athletes.
“We lost a Hall of Famer in Jocelyne Bourassa,” Kane said. “If you think back to 1973, she wins the La Canadienne, and then gave up playing. I think Jocelyne as an athlete, understood what we needed, and she gave us tools from media training to clinic training.
“The support to get young women on the golf course? It’s a funny thing. When you don’t need the financial support, it’s there. When you need financial support, it isn’t.
“So, where I’m sitting, we’re successful on the LPGA Tour, and we need to do a better job of really understanding what female athletes need to get to the next level — whatever that level is, the best amateur or where I sit as a professional.”
The 65th Order of Sport Awards will be streamed live on Sportsnet at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 3.
