Watching the Henderson sisters — golfer Brooke, ranked No. 6 in the world, and her caddy Brittany — was one of the best experiences of Celeste Dao’s young career.
She’s hoping to put those lessons into practice at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open.
Dao got to observe the Hendersons at last year’s event and is back in the field this week with Brooke. They’ll be joined by fellow Canadians Megan Osland and Naomi Ko at the Country Club of Charleston in South Carolina.
“Watching them around the greens, how they identify the chips or the second shots and where they could be, then they work on that, finding different shots and different options. They are really focused around the greens, taking notes and finding all the angles,” said Dao of the Hendersons.
WATCH (Aug. 27, 2018): Brooke Henderson makes golf history
Dao, from Notre-Dame-de-l’Ile-Perrot, Que., is still an amateur and earned herself a spot in the second major of the LPGA Tour season in a qualifying event at TPC Boston on May 6.
Osland, from Kelowna, B.C., qualified on the same day at an event at Bradenton Country Club in Florida.
Ko, from Victoria, made it in at a qualifier at OGA Golf Course in Woodburn, Ore., on April 26.
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Henderson, the 21-year-old phenom from Smiths Falls, Ont., will compete as the winner of the 2016 Women’s PGA Championship but could have qualified a number of different ways.
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“Growing up, (Brooke) was always my idol and a great model to follow,” said 18-year-old Dao. “I played a practice round with her last year. I learned a lot from her and her sister.”
Osland has been playing on the Symetra Tour since 2016, and the 26-year-old is targeting an LPGA card within the year. This will be her first appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open, and like Dao, she hopes it will be a learning opportunity.
“Just being around the best players in the world, seeing how they prepare, how they play the course and stuff like that is something I can learn from,” Osland said.
“I think, overall, it’s going to be a really cool experience playing alongside everyone and seeing how my game stacks up to everyone else.”
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Osland played a full practice round on Tuesday and described the fairways as firm and the greens as fast — perfect for her style of play. She appreciates that winning her qualifier and playing in a major are already new highs for her career.
“It’s definitely the biggest tournament that I’ve played in so far, and I would say that it’s the biggest tournament in women’s golf,” she said. “Just to play, to get out there and play at that level, I’m just really excited for it. I’m happy to be here.
“This week, I’m just going to go out and play my best and see what happens.”
WATCH (April 14, 2019): Tiger Woods claims 15th major with Masters win
Tournament notes:
- Henderson teed off on Thursday at 8:17 a.m. ET from the 10th hole, along with Nelly Korda and Danielle Kang of the U.S.
- Dao teed off at 1:07 p.m. ET from the 10th hole, along with Haruka Amamoto and Minami Katsu of Japan.
- Ko teed off at 1:18 p.m. ET on the 10th hole, along with Sarah Kemp of Australia and Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Norway.
- Osland was to tee off at 2:57 p.m. from the first hole along with Megha Ganne and Megan Furtney of the U.S.
For more about the U.S. Women’s Open, click here.
Symetra Tour: Valerie Tanguay of St-Hyacinthe, Que., is the highest-ranked Canadian competing at the Valley Forge Invitational at Raven’s Claw Golf Club in Pottstown, Pa. Caroline Ciot of Brossard, Que., Krista Fenniak of Fort McMurray, Alta., Calgary’s Jennifer Ha, Hannah Hellyer of Stirling, Ont., Casey MacNeil of Sudbury, Ont., Montreal’s Sabrina Sapone and Elizabeth Tong of Thornhill, Ont., will also be in the field.
PGA Tour: Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., are the only two Canadians in the Memorial, this week’s stop on the PGA Tour, at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
Web.com Tour: Calgary’s Ryan Yip is the top-ranked Canadian competing in the Rex Hospital Open at the Country Club at Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, N.C. He’ll be joined by Matt Hill of Sarnia, Ont., Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch and Toronto’s Albin Choi.
Mackenzie Tour: Hugo Bernard of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Jared du Toit of Kimberley, B.C., are among the Canadians competing in the Bayview Place DCBank Open at Uplands Golf Club in Victoria.
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