EDMONTON – Don’t look now, but a hearty collection of Canadian teenage talent is nipping at Brooke Henderson’s heels.
Last year it was then-15-year-old Aphrodite Deng who made a big splash at the CPKC Women's Open in Mississauga, Ont. – holding a share of the clubhouse lead at lunchtime of the first round. While Deng is back at Canada's lone LPGA Tour event, there are so many other Henderson-inspired stars waiting to also make their own mark on home soil.
There are 15 Canadians in the field this week at Royal Mayfair Golf Club, including Henderson, the defending champion, and Deng, who finished tied for 20th and was the low amateur a year ago.
Amongst the group is Clairey Lin, who, this spring, followed in Deng’s footsteps and became just the second Canadian in history to win the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. Shauna Liu is in the field after winning her third consecutive Canadian Junior Girls Championship last week. And then there are Lauren Kim and Vanessa Borovilos – both winners at the NCAA Division I level.
“The game in Canada is really growing and to see success from those ladies coming up is really cool,” Henderson said. “I feel like it's been a long time since that's been the case, or maybe ever, to have this many players playing this well, so I think the future is really bright and I think exciting this week.”
Perhaps most exciting of the bunch is 17-year-old Anna Huang.
Huang, who turned pro last year, has already won four times on the Ladies European Tour, the youngest such golfer to accomplish that feat. She comes into the week in Edmonton having outdueled world No. 6 Charley Hull in London for her second LET win of the season earlier this month.
Huang, who is ranked No. 45 in the world (the second-highest Canadian after Henderson at No. 11), said with a smile she is getting recognized “a lot more” than she thought she would so far this week and over the last few days back home in British Columbia. With classic 17-year-old parlance, she said it’s been “really cool” to see how many fans are cheering for her this week.
Winning isn’t easy, of course, and it’s getting harder in professional golf. But Huang said she’s gotten right into the mix of plenty going well all at the same time.
“Lots of hard work, determination, self-belief, and also having enough rest in. And also support from my family and my team,” Huang said. “I think that's really important to have a really good support system and it sets you up for the best.”
Huang is one of nearly a dozen up-and-coming Canadian women who are all ready to perform on the biggest stage in the sport, starting this week. It’s not like Henderson is old by any stretch – she turns 29 in September. With back-to-back major top-3s this summer, Henderson still is firmly in her prime.
But Canadians can be happy to know that this is the kind of week where the next generation will be firmly on display.
“I’ve worked really hard this year to get where I am,” Huang said, “and I’m just really excited to play amongst the best in the world.”
If Huang continues on her current trajectory, she’ll be considered one of those sooner rather than later – with some other Canadians ready to join her, too.
