CANADA’S FUTURE STEPPING TO THE TEE
Role model Lorie Kane knows the future of Canadian women’s golf is bright, JOANNE IRELAND writes, thanks in part to a round of golf this week with 15-year-old Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls.
Brooke Henderson, other phenoms ensure great years ahead, Lorie Kane says
When the conversation turned to the state of Canadian women’s golf, as it so often does when the LPGA Tour is on Canadian soil, Lorie Kane quickly teed up an anecdote to explain her view of the next generation.
Earlier this week, Kane, whose rookie season was back in 1996, was playing with 15-year-old Brooke Henderson, who is also in Edmonton for the CN Canadian Women’s Open, which starts Thursday at Royal Mayfair Golf Club.
“I kept thinking to myself, ‘OK, anything I can do she can do better.’ I’d hit it in six feet, she’d hit in five,” Kane recalled. “(Kane’s caddy) Danny Sharp said: ‘You got dusted by a 15-year-old.’ “I think we’re in a real healthy position.” Henderson, from Smiths Falls, is one of 20 Canadians in this week’s field. So, too, are Nicole Vandermade and Jennifer Kirby, both of whom were also singled out by Kane.
Vandermade, of Brantford, Ont., honed her game at the University of Texas and is a regular on the Symetra Tour, a feeder route to the LPGA. After graduating from the University of Alabama, Kirby, of Paris, Ont., won her professional debut in a CN Canadian Women’s Tour event in Quebec in June, which earned her a ticket to Edmonton.
“I think the national team program has definitely helped a lot,” Vandermade said. “All the girls know each other now and we all see each other out here and you do keep tabs on what everyone’s doing. I’d say it pushes everyone to get better.”
Henderson will this week be playing in her third tournament with pros this year and her fourth overall, including two rounds of last year’s Canadian Open at Vancouver.
She made the cut and tied for 59th in the U.S. Women’s Open in June and tied for 35th in the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic at Waterloo, Ont., in July.
She qualified for this week’s tournament by virtue of her third-place finish in the points standings of the affiliated CN Canadian Women’s Tour.
“I’ve had the opportunity to play with Lorie in the final round of the Manulife,” Henderson said Wednesday. “It was a pleasure, for sure. She’s a great player and definitely a huge role model for all of us, being Canadian and the amazing player that she is. She has taught me so much and given me a little bit of advice here and there. It’s awesome to be able to know her well.”
In 2003, Golf Canada launched year-round men’s and women’s programs to further the development of amateur golfers. The Team Canada program has fostered the likes of Henderson, Vandermade, Sue Kim (Langley, B.C.) and Sara-Maude Juneau of Fossambault-sur-le-Lac, Que.
Juneau, who earned her LPGA card last year, is another of the Canadian golfers who opted to take the university route, studying at the University of Louisville.
The next step now is settling into life as a pro.
Juneau has made the cut in four of 13 LPGA Tour events she has competed in this season.
“There is a transition period,” said Kane, who has registered 99 top-10 finishes in her career and is $76,000 shy of $7 million US in career earnings.
The 48-year-old from Charlottetown collected her first victory in 2000, four years after she made her LPGA Tour debut, and registered her fourth and most recent victory in 2001.
“I’m an example of a late bloomer. Mike Weir is the same. I do think with the opportunities that the younger players have now they need to take advantage of all of them and not be afraid to ask for help when they need it.
“Some players need to understand what balance means when jumping to the pro ranks. This is a tough game and you need to have time away from it to learn to grow, to make a step forward. I don’t think there’s any missing link other than that. It just takes time.”
The last top-10 finish by a Canadian was a ninth-place result by Hamilton’s Alena Sharp in 2011.
“I’ve been looking forward to this event all year,” said Henderson, who last month won the Canadian women’s amateur championship for the first time. “Highlight of my summer was playing in the Manulife, Canadian Open this week and U.S. Open. It’s such a great atmosphere here with the pros and the beautiful golf course. … I’m really looking forward to it.”
“If Brooke is 15, I think the average age of our national team is maybe 19,” Kane said. “Those kids are going to go to college, I hope, get some college experience, and then, if they choose to, turn pro, I think we’re in a real healthy position.
“We’ve got some very talented young Canadians who are on the rise.”