Henderson gets her Phil in face-to-face bout with Mickelson
Ontario golfer, two LPGA rivals compete in skills event ahead of this week’s major
OLYMPIA FIELDS, ILL. Brooke Henderson took great joy smashing Phil Mickelson right in the face Monday.
The 19-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., took a crisp half swing and sent her golf ball rocketing right through a pane of glass with Mickelson’s image on it.
The two of them, along with LPGA stars Lydia Ko and Stacy Lewis, competed in a skills competition at a warm-up event for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club, some 45 minutes south of Chicago.
Henderson is the defending champion, winning her first major at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash., last year in a sudden-death playoff against Ko.
In one of the events Monday afternoon, the quartet took shots at a wall of glass about 40 yards away, divided into 16 panes with four caricatures of each player. They each tried to knock out the images of their competition with the winner the last player with their image still intact.
At one point Henderson smashed Lewis’s picture in the window below Mickelson’s. He turned to Henderson and said: “That look of disappointment on your face — I know exactly where you were going with that.”
Once all of a player’s images where smashed, they were eliminated. It came down to Henderson and Mickelson. Henderson had a chance to win after a Mickelson miss, but her shot at Mickelson’s mug sailed high and left and he nailed what turned out to be the final shot.
“I was nervous because I know how good they are,” Mickelson said. “It was fun because it gave me the opportunity to be around some of the best players in the world, the best athletes in the world.
“It’s very fun to watch. Last year’s event where Brooke Henderson shot such a low round and went into a playoff with Lydia Ko was one of the most exciting golf events all of last year.”
“I had a chance. He kind of gave it to me. I would have liked to, but it was just a little bit high left,” Henderson said. “I was so close to taking him out. Maybe next year, if I do it again, I can take him out.
“It was a lot of fun. To have him here at this event, it promotes it so much more. It was a lot of fun to compete against him, which never happens.”
Mickelson, a KPMG ambassador, took a train ride from downtown Chicago to the course to promote the ease with which spectators can get to Olympia Fields.
Monday’s event was to promote the tournament and KPMG’s Future Leaders Program. Mickelson, along with his wife Amy, made a donation through their foundation to the program, which provides scholarships and ongoing mentorship for talented young women.
Henderson’s a pretty talented young woman herself, and her rising stature in the world of golf was evident Monday. She’s one of the faces of the LPGA Tour — her picture is on the cover of the LPGA player guide along with Ko and Ariya Jutanugarn — and her name could be heard almost as often as Mickelson’s as fans called for autographs.
She’s coming off her fourth LPGA victory two weeks ago at the Meijer LPGA Classic and rightly feels good about her chances this week.
“The pressure is still the same. It’s still a major championship,” she said. “It’s really exciting to be back and have the opportunity to defend my first major championship. It would mean so much to repeat and do it again.
“I think there are 156 players in the field this week and the top 100 are the best on the LPGA Tour, so it’s going to be a tough week, but hopefully I’ll get off to a fast start and see what I can do on Thursday.”
Team Henderson wound up with a good keepsake from the event. Dave Henderson, Brooke’s dad and coach, had Mickelson sign the head cover on her driver.
“Brooke, I’m pulling for you. Phil Mickelson,” he wrote.
Given Henderson’s starring role and popularity Monday, maybe she should have signed one for him, too.