Shawn Pankow, the Mayor of Smiths Falls, is at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference this week. He arrives at his hotel late Sunday and turns on the television to see his town’s favourite daughter, Brooke Henderson, winning by nine shots on the LPGA Tour.
The 17-year-old, whose name adorns the ‘Welcome to Smiths Falls’ sign (along with her sister Brittany) would go on to win the tournament by eight. She earned $195,000 US for the victory, pushing her yearlong total north of $600,000.
“Holy s***,” said Pankow. “There are some people in our community who wouldn’t make that kind of money in a career, let alone a couple of months.”
Hyperbole aside — the median income for Smiths Falls is actually approximately $42,000 — Henderson’s accomplishment Sunday was not just a triumph for Canadian golf, but Canadian sport as a whole.
Her win, and the fashion in which she did it — she won a qualifier on Monday just to get into the field, and ended up beating the tournament record for low-score by two strokes — should be in the conversation for the biggest individual accomplishment by a Canadian in sports on an international stage in 2015.
Jonathan Toews and Andrew Wiggins had incredible seasons, but they did so as part of a team. Andre De Grasse’s sprint into the record books at the Pan American Games comes close, but you could argue that Henderson’s win trumps all that.
Only two others have captured LPGA titles before their 18th birthday: Lexi Thompson and world No. 1 Lydia Ko. Henderson has moved up to No. 17 in the Official World Golf Ranking after her victory.
Despite the accolades — even the Prime Minister took notice of her win Sunday — the bubbly teenager with a megawatt smile is still as down-to-earth as they come, and that’s why her win means so much for her little town on the Rideau River.
“Everyone in the community knows who she is,” said Pankow. “The community has rallied around her, but she’s still a humble young woman. She’s a great ambassador.”
At Smiths Falls Golf Club, where Henderson started playing at age three in an attempt to be just like her older sister Brittany, general manager Al Feeley says everyone has been so excited for her. As it happened, her uncle captured the Smiths Falls Club Championship that very day.
A few weeks ago, Henderson made a rare trip home and went out for a quick round in the morning with her sister and father, Dave Henderson.
“It was just like when they were kids,” said Feeley.
Henderson admits that she owes a lot to her parents for the sacrifices they’ve made for both her and Brittany.
“My dad has been my coach and always will be. He’s been my caddy some weeks and my manager other weeks, but he’ll always be my dad,” she said. “Watching my older sister play growing up, I wanted to be just like her. It drove me to be a better person and a better golfer.”
Off the golf course, Henderson was just as committed to school as she was to golf, according to the acting principal at Smiths Falls District Collegiate, David Fisher. He bestowed Henderson’s diploma to her at an event at the Smiths Falls Golf Club in mid-June.
“It was the first high school diploma in Ontario that walked nine holes of golf before being presented,” Fisher said with a laugh.
Fisher said Henderson was a tremendous role model at school and in the community.
“She’s showing that if you put your mindset on your goals, then you go out and achieve them,” he said. “As far as people saying, ‘Oh, you’re 17, you’re too young,’ well, look at what she’s accomplished already. She’s a very talented and bright and generous individual.”
And now, despite her young age, her status in Canada is bordering on hero, according to Golf Canada’s Women’s National Team head coach, Tristan Mullally.
There hasn’t been a Canadian winner on the LPGA Tour since Lorie Kane in 2001, so Henderson’s victory has the potential to inspire a whole new group of female golfers in the country.
“[Golf Canada’s] objective is to help players to win a tournament and become a hero for the next generation,” Mullally explained. “We’re going to see the fruits of this over the next couple of years.”
For Henderson, her win doesn’t signify a changing of the guard for women’s golf in Canada — there was no guard in the first place.
Behind her are numerous others fighting for their time in the spotlight, many of whom are winning or competing at a high level. But for right now, they’re out of the light, and into Henderson’s shadow.
But the only thing that’s changed for Henderson — minus the money and sudden spotlight, of course — is one line in her biography.
She’s Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ontario. LPGA Tour winner.
