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TORONTO (CP) - Canada's top female golfer and the title sponsor of the country's only LPGA tournament.
It was a match so perfect neither side could ignore it. Lorie Kane and CN Railway announced Thursday that they'd reached a three-year sponsorship agreement that will see the Charlottetown native play with the company's logo on her hat starting with next week's World Cup of Golf.
"For a company like CN to think that I'm important enough to represent them gives me the big shot in the arm that I've needed," said a smiling Kane, who flies to South Africa on Sunday for the World Cup. "Just having somebody think that I'm valuable is a real nice thing."
The 41-year-old Kane felt a little like someone who'd been offered an early retirement package when Deloitte & Touche decided to remove its logo from her hat after the 2004 season.
She knew it was nothing more than a business decision, but it left her wondering about the future of her career.
Kane played with a plain hat in 2005 after wearing Deloitte's logo since 1997 - her first full season on the LPGA Tour.
"It was a little bit different playing with no branding," she said. "But I'm so happy that we didn't jump into an agreement with somebody that just didn't fit.
"(Partnering with CN) motivates me to get into better shape, to be better prepared than I have been in the past."
All this fuss over a sponsor might sound a bit strange, especially given that Kane has earned just under $6.2 million US from LPGA Tour events and is already sponsored by Bell Canada, Anheuser Busch, Titleist and The Globe and Mail.
But she insists that the support she receives from sponsors adds extra motivation and makes her feel part of a bigger team even though she's playing an individual sport.
"Every once and awhile you need a check, you need to be pushed and you need to have a reason to get up in the morning," she said. "I feel a part of all of the companies I represent.
"I'm a part of their team."
CN's interest in Kane is a little more obvious.
The company took over title sponsorship of the Canadian Women's Open in October and boosted the purse by more than 20 per cent to $1.7 million a month later.
When the event is played Aug. 10 to 13 at the London Hunt and Country Club, CN wants a top-notch field to be there.
"We could not have a better spokesperson for us than Lorie," said Stan Jablonski, CN's vice-president of sales. "We are looking to produce a premiere event.
"We have come to the table from a purse point of view and are now putting the cherry on top of the cake so to speak."
It's a role Kane is happy to step in to.
Not only is she Canada's strongest ambassador on tour, she's also one of the LPGA's most respected and well-liked players.
Plus, she thinks CN has given her a lot to work with.
"The purse they've come in with signifies their commitment to women's golf," she said. "The purse is the thing that gets girls to come to tournaments, it's as simple as that.
"And I will twist a few arms."
Jablonski said he dreams of the moment where he could see Kane and American teenager Paula Creamer come down the final hole with a chance to win the CN Canadian Women's Open.
Clearly, it's the sort of vision CN and Kane share.
It's been five years since Kane last won an LPGA Tour event and heading into 2006, career win No. 5 is the only item on her list of goals.
"We went through the whole process with me winning my first tournament and I think we're in the same process of trying to figure out how I win my fifth tournament," said Kane, who has 17 career runner-up finishes. "It's going to be fun figuring out how to get the next one.
"I'm gauging my success now by wins."
© The Canadian Press, 2006
