Lorie Kane

Childhood

Lorie Kane is the second of four daughters of Marilyn and Jack Kane. She was introduced to golf at five years old. Her father was the first club professional at the Brudenell River Golf Course. Jack cut down a set of irons for Lorie and educated her about the fundamentals of golf. Jack taught Lorie about work ethic and intensity. He had high expectations of his daughter and recommended that she practice regularly.

Growing up, Kane played many different sports. Besides golf, she participated in gymnastics, field hockey, softball, basketball, volleyball, track and field, and synchronized swimming.

Kane idolized Jack Nicklaus. “When I was learning to play, he was the most prominent player. Like any other golfer, I remember where I was sitting when I saw him win the 1986 Masters at the age of 46. I liked his appeal, his presence and his game.”

Junior Career

Lorie Kane’s first notable success came in 1982 at the age of 17. She won her first of back-to-back Prince Edward Island Junior Girls Golf Championships. Then in 1983, she not only defended her junior girls’ title but won her first of nine Prince Edward Island Women’s Amateur Championships. She won every year from 1983 to 1992, except in 1986.

Despite her golf success as a teenager, Kane did not receive a golf scholarship from an American university or college. After graduating from high school, Kane attended Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

In 1991, Kane had her first international success at the amateur level when she won the Mexico Amateur Championship. Also that year, she was part of the Canadian women’s team at the Commonwealth Trophy (now known as the Astor Trophy competition) in Northumberland, England.

1992 Court Case

In 1992, Vancouver hosted the World Amateur Team Championship. Kane met all the original qualifications to make Team Canada. But the Canadian Ladies Golf Association changed the criteria, and Kane did not make the team. She subsequently took the CLGA to court. With the assistance of her sister Mary-Lynn, who is a lawyer, Kane won her court case, and was given a spot on the team. They tied for 10th place out of 31 teams in the tournament.

Turning Professional

In 1993, Kane turned professional at the age of 28. She reached the LPGA in 1996. Considered a late bloomer, Kane was an LPGA rookie at age 31. She was older than established LPGA stars such as Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb. In her rookie season, Kane made the cut in four events, including a season-high eighth place at the PING Welch’s Championship.

In 1997, Kane won the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award, presented to Canada’s top female athlete. She missed the cut only twice in 32 LPGA events that year, and was 11th on the LPGA money list. She also had eight Top 10 finishes with four at second place. Kane had 12 more Top 10 finishes in 1998 and 15 in 1999, but still had not won an LPGA tournament. By the end of the 1999 season, Kane was regarded by many as the best female golfer in the world not to have won an LPGA event.

Breakout 2000 Season

During the 2000 LPGA season, Kane won three LPGA events. This tied the record for the most wins by a Canadian woman golfer in a calendar year. (Sandra Post of Oakville, Ontario, previously won three times in 1979.) In her first career win on 6 August 2000, Kane posted a four-round score of 11 under par to win the Michelob Light Classic in St. Louis. That was followed by victories at the New Albany Golf Classic and at the Mizuno Classic. Kane finished fifth that year on the LPGA money list ($929,189) and won her second Bobbie Rosenfeld Award.

2001 and Beyond

Kane was a regular member of the LPGA Tour through to 2014 and participated in selected tournaments thereafter. She won a total of four LPGA tournaments and amassed nearly $7 million in earnings. She also played in 29 consecutive Canadian Women’s Open tournaments (1990–2019). She has won five times on the Legends Tour (the LPGA tour for senior players) since 2011.

Charitable Endeavours and Accolades

Lorie Kane has been very active with KidSport Prince Edward Island, the McDonald’s Children Charities of Atlantic Canada, and the Canadian Pacific Has Heart Program. On the LPGA Tour, Kane was known for her dedication and humanity. She won the 1998 Heather Farr Perseverance Award and the 2000 William and Mousie Powell Award for exemplifying “the spirits, ideals and values of the LPGA.”

Kane was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2006. She was inducted into the Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame in 2014, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016, and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2020. She is one of only four athletes from PEI to be inducted into the latter. Kane has also received an honorary doctorate in humanities from Acadia University and an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Prince Edward Island.

See also Lorie Kane (Profile).