Some of the best young golfers on the planet are teeing it up in Brampton this week for the World Junior Girls Championship.
It’s the same tournament that Brooke Henderson — Canada’s winningest golfer in history, with 13 victories on the LPGA Tour — played at the age of 14, when she placed fourth overall in the individual competition and led Team Canada to a best-ever third-place finish.
Fresh off Monday morning’s opening ceremony, which saw golfers from 21 countries welcomed to Brampton GC, Sportsnet caught up with Vanessa Borovilos, a member of Team Canada 1 and the oldest competitor on the home team, at age 17.
Borovilos, whose home course is nearby at Weston G&CC, will be one of six Canadians in the field this week. There’s both a team and individual competition, and the individual winner earns entry into next year’s CPKC Women’s Open in Calgary.
Borovilos, No. 210 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, was kind enough to tee up the action for us ahead of the tournament, which kicks off Wednesday and finishes with the final round Saturday. Spain are the defending champions.
SPORTSNET: Can you give us a sense of just how big this tournament is?
BOROVILOS: This week there are 21 countries competing — from all over the world, really. These are people we never would’ve had the chance to play with, other than this event, as juniors. Being able to see everyone, how their games differ, what everyone is good at, we can learn from them and kind of take it to our own games. I mean, just the camaraderie part and being able to meet everyone from everywhere is amazing.
How are your nerves ahead of the first round Wednesday?
Honestly, I don’t really have any nerves right now. It could change going forward, but since golf is such an individual sport, being able to play in a team event like this is definitely more fun for me. I mean, yeah, it’s a tournament, but it doesn’t really feel like one to me right now. We want to play our best, we want to do as well as we can, but being able to compete with some of your best friends, it’s definitely going to be a good experience.
What was your preparation like?
The one thing I’ve been doing differently the last month is just playing more often. Before I used to practice a lot and stay on the driving range or the chipping and putting green for hours on end, but once I started playing more and seeing the different shots I could have and putting myself under pressure situations, even playing with some of the guys at my home course, it really gets me in the mindset to focus as if it were an event. Now that I’ve done that, coming out this week it’s almost going to be like another four rounds. I’m trying not to let it mean anything more to me. Even though it’s a big event [laughs].
How did your golf career start?
I was around three years old. My dad took me out to our local course at Centennial, and they had a mini putt course there. For the first year or so, my dad would take me out every day to go mini putt. That’s all I would do. Once he started seeing I liked coming out and I had pretty decent hand-eye coordination, he bought me my first set of small clubs. We started going out to the range more when I was about four and a half, and the rest is history, really.
What are the strengths in your game today?
I think my driver is one of my strengths. I guess just because of my height, I’m able to hit it relatively far. If I can keep it in the fairway, I’ll be able to give myself some good opportunities this week.
How tall are you?
I think I’m 5’9, 5’10. I haven’t stopped growing the last two years, so I actually have no idea [laughs].
How has playing at Weston helped you develop your game?
It’s like my second home. There’s really no other place I’d rather spend my days. Not only are all the members supportive, but there’s a group of guys there I’m able to play with and they always challenge me to play from the tips, and of course I want to beat them, so they give me some good competition there and I can always learn from them.
How do you balance golf with high school?
I do online school. I’m in Grade 12, but it’s funny because I was behind in Grade 11 and I just finished my last accounting exam, my last Grade 11 exam on Sunday, so I’m really happy about that [laughs].
You played the Canadian Open earlier this year. How does that experience help you prepare for one like this?
Being able to play not only with the best pros but in a tournament that’s highly ranked and kind of learning from them and seeing what it takes to be out there week after week, it’s given me some good motivation. Every other event is still huge but now that I’ve played in that event, I can kind of take my focus and everything I’ve learned to this event and try to keep building on my game to get back to another LPGA one.
What was the big lesson that came out of the Canadian Open for you?
I realized how consistent players are … their routines, I watched them, they are almost always the same. I remember reading about Tiger Woods’ routine, it was the same every single time and that’s why he was so consistent. Seeing that in person I realized how consistent and how diligent you need to be out there to compete at a high level. I just tried to bring that to my own game, making a routine that suits me, so that when I get under pressure I can lean back on my routine. It helps you focus a bit more.
What are your goals this week?
I think a good goal as a team it would be podium, top 3. At the same time, we can’t think too much about what the result is. I know if we just play our games and play the best we can — and if we play for each other, competing as if we’re truly a team — I think we’ll get up there. We can’t wait to get started.
