The golf course continues to be a classroom for Brigitte Thibault and Brooke Rivers, two of Canada’s up-and-coming players.
Thibault and Rivers were two of the 20 players named to Golf Canada’s men’s and women’s teams last week. Both of them are growing on the second-tier Epson Tour and will play in this week’s IOA Golf Classic.
The 27-year-old Thibault, who turned pro in 2022, said that if she could give her younger self advice, it would be to trust her own judgement.
“This game is really about knowing yourself and being comfortable with yourself because you get tossed into a pool of competition, which is fine, because it drives the game, but it’s also just a game,” said Thibault on Wednesday. “If you can really dial in who you are, how you want to go about it, and really kind of protect that I would have told myself, maybe to invest more in the relationship with myself first, instead of pleasing a lot of people around me.
“There’s no regrets on that, and I’m very open minded, and I love to kind of be a sponge and learn and be open to new ideas but there’s also a part of me that has to follow my gut and what I feel inside, and see if I feel like it is aligned with what I’m feeling or not.”
The 20-year-old Rivers, entering just her second season as a pro, said that figuring out the logistics of her job was one of the biggest lessons of her rookie season.
“I definitely have to learn how to manage my travel, what works for me and what doesn’t work for me, whether I like to practice in the mornings or the afternoons, when do I get a good workout in?” said Rivers. “Just how to really lay out my week to set me up for the best possible golf on the weekend.
“I just learned how to be a better pro golfer, how to practice better, how to play the pro-ams better and make connections where I need to. I just really learned on what works for me and what helps me play the best golf that I can play.”
Thibault, from Rosemere, Que., made the cut in five of her 12 Epson Tour starts last year after a serious head injury in December 2024 derailed her off-season preparation. Her best round was a 67 and her best finish was a tie for 31st at the Four Winds Invitational on Aug. 1.
“I’d say my biggest goal, especially this these next few months, is really building my own recipe of what’s efficient to me,” said Thibault. “I think the last few years, I’ve kind of explored a lot of different things and trying to find my recipe.
“I think I’ve really touched on the right string at the beginning of this year, so I’m really dialing in, just building whatever my recipe is that creates efficient, consistent, repeatable swings more from tee to green.”
Rivers, from Brampton, Ont., made the cut 11 times in 20 starts in her rookie Epson Tour season. She had five top-10 finishes, including finishing third at the Casella Golf Championship on July 18.
She was within range of earning an LPGA Tour card toward the end of the season as she finished in a tie for eighth at the Dream First Bank Charity Classic on Aug. 22, tied for 25th at the Guardian Championship on Sept. 12, and tied for 10th at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout on Sept. 19.
“It felt great to have some great finishes and to play some great golf, but I try not to be too focused on the end goal,” said Rivers. “I’m just trying to get better every day and last year I proved to myself that I can do it and I’m capable of playing at the highest level.
“It just gives me a lot of confidence going into this year, and I just had so much fun last year, and I enjoy my life as a pro golfer. I’m excited for what’s next.”
Both missed the cut at last week’s Atlantic Beach Classic, the Epson Tour’s season opener, but are eager to start playing at Alaqua Country Club in Longwood, Fla., on Friday.
There are six Canadians in the field at the IOA Golf Classic, with Maddie Szeryk-DiBello of London, Ont., Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont., Megan Osland of Kelowna, B.C., and Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont., joining Thibault and Rivers.
PGA TOUR — Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is the top ranked Canadian teeing it up at this week’s Players Championship. Taylor is 48th in the FedEx Cup standings. He’ll be joined at TPC Sawgrass’s Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., by Taylor Pendrith (58th) of Richmond Hill, Ont., Sudarshan Yellamaraju (67th) of Mississauga, Ont., A.J. Ewart (70th) of Coquitlam, B.C., Mackenzie Hughes (89th) of Dundas, Ont., and Corey Conners (91st) of Listowel, Ont.
LIV GOLF — Toronto’s Richard T. Lee will tee it up on Thursday as LIV Golf arrives at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore. Lee is a wild card in the team-based league, playing as an individual.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2026.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
