9-year-old First Nation phenom off to international golf match in Northern Ireland

Stefan Richard · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 28, 2025 10:01 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 28

Connor Hanska, a nine-year-old play prodigy from Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation, is getting acceptable to tee disconnected against the world's champion inferior golfers successful a tourney successful Northern Ireland.

Hanska will beryllium among 250 of the apical golfers from much than 40 countries, who are competing at the 2025 Champion of Champions World Championship tournament. It's being held at the Lough Erne Resort Golf Course, successful Enniskillen, roughly 172 kilometres northwest of Dublin, from July 29-31.

The edifice features 2 title courses that Connor will play during the tournament, including 18 holes designed by Sir Nick Faldo, six-time large play champion. Golf superstar Rory McIlroy also has ties to the course.

Connor, who lives successful occidental Manitoba but is a subordinate of Whitefish Lake First Nation successful Alberta, qualified for the tourney done the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour, a nationwide organizing assemblage for inferior golf.

Connor Hanska astatine the airdrome leaving for Northern Ireland with his parent Destiny Jackson and begetter Doug Hanska. (Stefan Richard/CBC)

A bid of tournaments passim the 2024 play gave Connor the accidental to gain a summons to the 2025 variation of the Champion of Champions tournament.

"It's truly important due to the fact that it's 1 of the champion tournaments successful the world," Connor told CBC Indigenous earlier leaving for Northern Ireland.

Connor is the youngest of six siblings, and is coached by his older member Bryce. 

"He was helping me, seeing if my stance and everything was good," Connor said. 

He's besides learned astir play from his father, Doug Hanska, who runs a TikTok relationship for him called "Hanska Golf," wherever helium posts videos of his son's plaything and advancement astatine tournaments.

Connor Hanska with a winning prize for a play tournament. (Doug Hanska/Facebook)

Doug Hanska said he's not amazed by his son's success.

"He astir apt started [playing] arsenic soon arsenic helium could plaything a nine and walk," Doug Hanska said.

And his friends agreed that Connor would apt person a aboriginal successful the game. They said: "Holy man, you request to look up immoderate worldly due to the fact that you whitethorn person the adjacent Tiger Woods connected your hands."

Connor's mom, Destiny Jackson, understands Connor has thing peculiar erstwhile it comes to his play talents, but besides recognizes that helium has the mindset to go a champion.

"I'm truly impressed. Like, I truly don't cognize however helium has the mindset and the practice. He practices each day. You person to person a full antithetic quality to bash thing similar that."

Others hold that Connor is simply a unit to beryllium reckoned with connected the greens. Sean Murray is the Director of Player Development with Golf Manitoba and helium spoke with CBC Indigenous aft viewing immoderate of Connor's play,

When asked astir what he'd similar to accidental to each his supporters and sponsors that person helped him on his travel to get to the Champion of Champions Tournament, Connor kept his connection simple. 

"Thank you for watching and sharing," helium said.