For years Brooke Henderson treated the championship trophy at the CP Women’s Open as her Stanley Cup.
Fitting then, that one of the hundreds of texts she received after hoisting it, was a Canadian well-versed in such celebrations.
"Wayne Gretzky texted me last night, so that was pretty cool," said the 20-year-old golfer at a corporate event in Calgary Monday morning aimed at inspiring women.
"For years I didn’t want to actually touch the trophy. I did a lot of media days where it kind of sat beside me and haunted me a little bit, so to finally pick it up yesterday was a dream come true. This is the number one tournament I always wanted to win."
Truth is, Gretzky has texted Henderson all seven times she’s triumphed, leaving her one short of the record for pro golf wins by a Canadian held by George Knudson, Sandra Post and Masters winner Mike Weir.
While one of those LPGA victories was a major, Henderson’s win at home solidified her as the greatest golfer in Canadian lore, which says plenty given how many years of success she undoubtedly has ahead of her.
Less than 24 hours after being the first Canadian in 45 years to win our national championship, Henderson was in Calgary to be part of Women’s Day at the Shaw Charity Classic where she was part of a panel discussion on how female athletes manage themselves.
Throughout the event, which saw her brave single-digit temperatures to meet all 150 golfers and voluntarily hit a few shots, the native of Smiths Falls, Ont., was all smiles.
It was in stark contrast to the game face she wore throughout her seven-under-par 65 Sunday to finish 21-under for a four-stroke win.
And that, she insists, was by design.
"It’s really fun to kind of engage, especially with the little kids because I feel like it goes a long way," said Henderson, who spent the first three rounds at Regina’s Wascana Country Club interacting with the massive galleries lining every fairway she played.
"Yesterday maybe I didn’t kind of do that as much because I wanted to stay focused and give it everything I had, and hopefully I could celebrate with everybody on the 18th hole, which I did. I still smell like Champagne, I’m sure."
Waiting for her on 18, along with the bubbly, her parents and several tour friends, was Canadian Lorie Kane, a four-time LPGA Tour winner, who supplied Henderson with some valuable advice to preserve her third-round lead.
"Lorie said to her the night before, ‘I want to see your goalie eyes,’ because she knew how much focus and hard work it was going to take to bring it across the line," said Brooke’s older sister Brittany, who wore a similar expression as her caddie.
"Brooke really took that to heart, knowing with all those good players so close she was going to have to put a special round together to even have a chance. We were enjoying it though."
It was one of the many lessons Henderson has learned over the course of playing seven national championships, at which her previous best was a tie for 12th last year in Ottawa.
The year before, at Priddis Golf & Country Club outside Calgary, she finished tied for 14th and blew off the media several times, just as she did at the Olympics, where a four-putt ended her medal hopes and prompted her to storm by reporters.
While understandable, she admitted later her reaction in Rio was regrettable, which is all part of growing up in a national spotlight at such a tender age.
"When I was 14 they started saying I was the face of Canadian golf, which is pretty crazy," said Henderson, who admits she hasn’t always embraced being front and centre.
"I felt I kind of embraced it a little bit better every year. I definitely was a little disappointed with the way I played previously, but I feel like it was all a stepping-stone leading to this. I feel like I learned valuable lessons every year and now I’m national champion, which is really cool."
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Inundated with fan, media and corporate requests every time she tees it up in Canada, she purposely slimmed down her commitments leading up to this year’s tourney, which she says was also key.
With that electric smile and a ridiculously efficient swing, Henderson’s impact on the game has already been immense. The number of Brookalikes wearing little pink Ping visors and Brooke’s Brigade t-shirts in the prairies Sunday demonstrated her impact on the game.
That will continue, especially now that she’s learned to even better embrace the attention she’s earned.
"I feel like this week was the first time ever I really did run with the energy of the crowd," said Henderson of a valuable tool she now has in her bag.
"Once I started making a few birdies and feeling the energy of the crowd I could kind of run with that. To shoot minus-7 in the final round was pretty special."
Yet, it was only after sinking her birdie putt on 18 Sunday that we were able to see that emotion viewers craved throughout her milestone march.
"After I hit my approach shot to three feet on 18, to hear the crowd go wild it was the first time all day I could kind of take a deep breath and realize I had actually just won," admitted Henderson, who choked back tears when asked after the round about how much it meant to win in a year in which she lost both her grandfathers.
"It all just came out at that time because it just meant so much to her," added Brittany, who put her pro golf career on hold to caddie for little sis.
"She finally realized, ‘I’d done it,’ and it was okay to let everything come out."
Sure was.
"Being able to let go… I wanted to win it so bad," said Henderson, who jetted off to Portland Monday afternoon to compete in a tourney she’s won two of the last three years.
"When they sang O Canada and cheered my name and all my friends and family rushed out and soaked me with Champagne… I’ll remember it forever."
So will millions of Canadians.
If only she could celebrate it like Gretzky did.
"I sort of wish we could keep the trophy for a day or two," said Brittany, laughing.
"I feel like they should do like the Stanley Cup and give it to you for a while. Maybe if we asked they would."
Um, ya. Just maybe.
