Canadian 11-year-old girl shows her skills at Augusta
Brooke Henderson had just finished up the final round of the first major of the LPGA Tour season when she returned to her hotel room in California to watch the finale of the drive, chip and putt competition.
What she saw was, perhaps, the second coming of herself.
Vanessa Borovilos, an 11-yearold from Toronto, captured the title for girls ages 10 and 11 at the annual junior golf competition’s championship final at Augusta National, the host club of the Masters.
Borovilos, the back-to-back U.S. Kids Golf World Champion, gave Henderson cause to get excited for the future of Canadian female golf.
“I was able to see Vanessa win the drive, chip and putt last night and was so proud of her,” Henderson said on Monday.
Borovilos said Henderson is one of her favourite golfers. She loves the way Henderson stays focused on the course and tries to bring some of that to her own preparation.
“I know every shot counts but for those shots that really count, (Henderson) really focuses, and she plays really good,” said Borovilos by phone from Augusta, Ga.
Henderson said it was an honour to hear Borovilos looks up to her.
“She had a great quote after the victory about how important practice is in order to succeed in competition. If she sticks to that advice, she’ll be able to follow her dreams on the golf course,” said Henderson. “Who knows, maybe I will see her out here on the LPGA one day.”
Borovilos, who was one of three Canadians to make the finals of the drive, chip and putt competition, attends Hollycrest Middle School in Toronto, where she is part of an elite athlete program that allows her to finish school each day before noon.
She spends most afternoons at Peak Performance Golf — an indoor practice facility in Vaughan, Ont. — or at Mississauga’s Credit Valley Golf and Country Club, where she works under coach Doug Lawrie.
Lawrie, who has coached Borovilos for the last five years, said he is impressed by Borovilos’ work ethic, and that her game continues to get better. She weighs just 77 pounds, for example, and she swings her driver at 130 km/ h.
“All of a sudden, boom. This young lady is thrust into the limelight of some pretty amazing stuff. It doesn’t hurt that she’s got the game to back it up, because it’s not like she’s just a drive, chip and putt person that’s been able to get through the qualifier and win,” Lawrie said.
“She has the ability to take ( golf ) to wherever she wants.”
Borovilos’ father Dino was on hand at Augusta National. He said his daughter is committed to succeeding in the classroom as well and is a straight-A student.
Borovilos needed to roll her final putt closer than 2.1 inches to win the title, and the putt finished up two inches away from the hole, giving her the victory by the slimmest of margins.