Cold putter foils Henderson
The afternoon was still young when the hope for Brooke Henderson was so high, with half of her hometown crowding the first tee and lining the opening fairway, aiming to cheer her to victory.
As many have pointed out all week, there were tournaments going on: The Henderson Open and the Rest of the LPGA Open.
Teachers Joanne James and Karen Donovan, sporting the bright red “Brooke’s Brigade” Tshirts that littered the course, along with “I’m From Smiths Falls and Proud of It” badges, arrived early.
So early that they had time to talk about teaching alongside Henderson’s father, Dave, and watching Brooke and caddy sister Brittany grow up through the school system.
“I remember that at recess and lunch, they left to go to the Lombardy Golf Course to use the driving range,” said James. “Brooke would join Brittany.” How old was Brooke then? “Oh, she was in kindergarden, four years old, I think,” said Donovan. “I remember seeing her with that great big driver, way taller than she was. Maybe that’s why she chokes up so much now.”
As reporters covering the tournament, we have the benefit of Inside the Ropes passes, allowing us to see the golfers up close and to see the difficulty the players face while trying to read the slick greens.
Yet given the endless waves of support for Henderson on Sunday, there was a compelling Outside The Ropes story going on, too.
Down the first fairway, scores of others with some small or large connection to the Henderson family had gathered, full of spirit. (And in a few cases, spirits.)
Indeed, it might have been a good day to be a thief in Smiths Falls. Nobody was home. From babies to teenagers to seniors, everybody was here, with the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club serving as the setting for a Smiths Falls community day, with friends and neighbours casually greeting each other throughout the course.
As Henderson was introduced to great applause before her first drive, some 250 yards away, the crowd was six deep.
“You don’t have to see anything to know where she is,” offered a gallery member.
And to know what’s happening.
After Henderson hit her approach shot into the bunker on the first hole and chipped on to the green, you didn’t need to see the attempted par putt to know she had barely missed it. The collective groan of disappointment took care of that.
As Henderson hit the par-five sixth, still one-over for the day, she wasn’t quite out of running just yet.
“Nobody ahead of her is going too low right now,” Bob Winter, an accountant from Smiths Falls, said optimistically. “She still has a chance.”
Winter’s objectivity, however, might be in question.
The back of his golf shirt featured a picture of Brooke and Brittany smiling together, with “Team Henderson” written across it.
“Four of us went to the Tour Championship last year (in Naples, Florida),” said Winter. “We were wearing these shirts, watching Lexi Thompson on the practice range. Then Brooke and Brittany walked right past us and said, ‘nice shirts guys, you made our day.’”
A few minutes later, though, the tournament effectively ran away from Henderson, as she bogeyed the sixth hole.
The fans stuck with her, resorting to unique methods to see over the crowd. A couple of boys climbed trees to get a peak.
It wasn’t a place for claustrophobics.
Perhaps the most courageous people on the course were Paula and Carlos Ascencio of Barrhaven, anxiously waiting up at the parfive ninth, along with their three daughters: Gabriela, six, Catalina, four, and Isabella, one. Isabella was in a baby holder wrap, strapped to Paula’s shoulders. All five of them were wearing “Brooke’s Brigade” shirts.
“We met her at Golf Town, she was so nice to everyone,” said Carlos. “The girls are very, very interested in her and golf.”
At that point, two over for the day, and six strokes off the lead, all realistic hope for Henderson winning the tournament was gone. But as she crossed over to the west side of the course, most of the pack stuck with her. Henderson says that support gave her adrenalin to close out strong.
Henderson birdied the 12th, 14th and 17th holes.
“These crowds were so incredible,” she said. “I just couldn’t have imagined this many people coming out to watch me play golf. It’s amazing. Definitely a week I’ll remember forever.”
As Henderson walked towards the 18th green, she was greeted with a standing ovation from the fans sitting in the clubhouse seats.
“I would have loved to finish a little better for them, to give them a little bit more to cheer for, but I think the birdies on the back (nine) put them in good spirits again. They were just behind me 100 per cent the whole way.”