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It’s to be expected that the commissioner would have good things to say about the week, but if you want to get to the bottom of something in the world of golf, you always go to the caddies. Beside the driving range at Magna this week was the Levelwear Caddy Lounge, where loopers could get a free haircut, physio, a massage, or grab a beer and play darts or ping pong. On Sunday, British caddie Chris Edwards, who works with Charlotte Thomas, was glued to the couch as the lounge was being disassembled around him.

“A lot of events are done well, but none are done as well as this,” said Edwards. “It’s the best event of the year, every year.”

Even without the major designation, the event lost in 2001, it’s obvious that the CP Women’s Open is seen as second-to-none in the world of women’s golf. It’s true that even in a record year the tournament draws less than 40% of the fans that the RBC Canadian Open does, but caddie Edwards said there were definitely more fans at Magna this week than there were at the U.S. Women’s Open at the Country Club of Charleston in June.

The trick for Golf Canada and the sponsors of our national opens is to build off the success of 2019. Luckily, the table looks to be set for 2020.

The RBC Canadian Open is moving from the well-received Hamilton Golf and Country Club to another prestigious classic parkland layout at St. George’s. With players growing increasingly critical of the bomb and gouge behemoth courses they find on the PGA Tour, the winding fairways and golden-age charm of St. Georges is sure to be a hit. Not to mention the 20-minute drive to downtown Toronto is equally sure to be a hit with the PGA Tour’s travelling team of twentysomething multi-millionaires.