Less than 24 hours after Brooke Henderson captured the Canadian Open, the Kingston golf community weighed in on her victory.
The Smiths Falls native became the first Canadian to win the country’s national golf championship in 45 years. She closed out the tournament with a 7-under 65 and that was good enough for a four-stroke victory at the Regina event on Sunday.
WATCH: Canadian pro golfer Brooke Henderson won her first Canadian Women’s Open to make history Sunday. What better way to soak in the glory than to be in Calgary celebrating women trailblazers at the Shaw Charity Classic’s Women’s Day, just 24 hours later. Lisa MacGregor reports.
Scott MacLeod is a teaching professional at the Glen Lawrence Golf Club. He’s also the vice-president and associate publisher of Flagstick Golf.
He’s covered Henderson for years and says his research shows she is now in a class by herself.
“When I looked back [Sunday night] and realized she was the first to win the Canadian Juvenile Championship, the Canadian Junior Championship, the Canadian Womens’ Amateur and the Canadian Open and being the only one to do that is definitely historic. Jocelyne Bourassa who did win that event [Canadian Open] in 1973 didn’t get a Canadian Junior.”
The Canadian Open victory was Henderson’s seventh tournament title on the LPGA tour. Kristen MacLaren is the associate professional at the Cataraqui Golf and Curling Club. She says it feels like everyone at the club has a vested interest in Henderson’s career.
“We’ve been watching Brooke since probably she was 12, 13 coming here to play in the eastern provinces — we’ve got a special spot in our hearts for her because we’ve seen her grow up. We’ve seen her compete. We definitely knew it was just a matter of time before she was going to start winning championships.”
Next up for Brooke Henderson is a tournament in Portland, Ore., an event she’s won twice.
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