Brooke Henderson is in full swing
Smiths Falls teen appears to be youngest ever winner of title
Smiths Falls golfer believed to be youngest ever to win Canadian women’s amateur championship at age 15.
Until Friday, only one golfer from the National Capital Region had won the Canadian women’s amateur golf title.
Alexa Stirling, later Alexa Stirling Fraser, was a contemporary of the legendary Bobby Jones in the United States before moving to Canada, and she claimed her championships in 1920 and 1934.
Until Friday, the youngest national champion appeared to be Ariya Jutanugarn, a Thai golfer who was 16 when she captured the 2012 edition of the Royale Cup.
Brooke Henderson finished fifth in that event at Lethbridge, Alta., tops among Canadians.
On Friday, the 15-year-old from Smiths Falls topped Jutanugarn’s age record with a six-stroke triumph in the event at Beloeil, Que.
She closed with the week’s best round, a 5-under-par 66, for a total of 275.
“It was a lot of fun all week and definitely an honour to be able to win,” Henderson said in a telephone interview after post-tournament ceremonies and a doping test. “A national championship is something that I have always wanted to do since I was younger.” Younger? Yes, she said it. Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay, the provincial champion at Carleton Golf and Yacht Club in early July and, compared to Henderson, a relatively ancient 22, held a one-stroke advantage when play started Friday.
However, Henderson twice made birdie in the first five holes to pull even, and the national amateur team member was ahead to stay after Tanguay bogeyed the par-3 sixth.
Henderson added four more birdies against a single bogey in the final 12 holes as she added lustre to a 2013 season in which she has: ❚ Helped Canada’s team win the Copa de las Americas; ❚ won the South American Amateur; ❚ tied for 59th in the U.S. Women’s Open at Southampton, N.Y; ❚ tied for 35th in the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic at Waterloo, Ont. ❚ finished third in points on the CN Canadian Women’s Open qualifying series, earning a spot in this year’s Open at Edmonton in August.
Next week she’ll be in Pickering, Ont., to defend the Canadian junior girls crown she claimed last year at Calgary.
That’s right. She’s still too young to drive a car, but has enough competitive drive to become Canada’s youngest amateur golf champion.
“Definitely I have expectations for myself, and I try and fulfil those,” she said.
“I just try to play my own game, but it’s pretty cool to think that, with all the other great players and how young some of them have been, coming up through Team Canada and (other) players in general, it’s pretty cool to think that.”
Mexico’s Gabriela Lopez (68—283) finished third. Vivian Tsui (76) of Markham, Ont., and U.S. golfers Kelly Shon (69) and Casey Danielson (73) shared fourth at 289.
Grace Howie (80—303), a former Kanata high school student now in Calgary, tied for 40th. Alison Murdoch (82—304), a Hall of Famer and four-time Canadian senior champion originally from Ottawa, but now in Victoria, was 70th, but sixth among 25-and-over mid-amateurs and fourth in 40-plus midmasters.
Henderson and her opening-round playing partners were each assessed a onestroke penalty for slow play, but the Smiths Falls golfer still held at least a share of the lead that day and after Wednesday’s second round.
Friday’s performance meant that the penalty’s only impact was to keep Henderson from reaching double digits under par.
National team coach Tristan Mullally, who followed the Beloeil tournament and many of Henderson’s other rounds this year, said watching her play was “a privilege, more than anything else, to be honest.
“We set an agenda very early in terms of what events she was going to play and what we are expecting in terms of performance.”
Mullally said Henderson was expected to contend for victory in junior tournaments. In open competition, such as the U.S. Women’s Open and LPGA Tour events, the goal is gaining experience that will pay off later; surviving the cut after two rounds is considered success.
“We want that attitude and those expectations to move up at all stages she plays in,” Mullally said.
After the Canadian junior championship, Henderson will play the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Charleston, S.C., on Aug. 5-11. She received that invitation because she’s 15th in the world rankings.
Then she’ll spend two weeks with family and friends before going to Edmonton.
She was the youngest competitor ever in the Open last year at Vancouver, but missed the cut in the tournament that was won by another 15-yearold, New Zealand phenom Lydia Ko.
It’s too much to expect another mid-teen triumph, but Henderson has already displayed a knack for exceeding expectations.