Teen Brooke Henderson’s breeding ground for a life in golf naturally came with a driving range, putting green and golf course.
It also included an ice rink.
Born and raised in hockey-mad Canada, Henderson followed in her father’s footsteps and was a goalie for the Smiths Falls Cubs in Ontario. Just as her father, Dave, did for the University of Toronto hockey team, Henderson donned all the protective padding and a large mask, clutched an oversized hockey stick and squatted for long periods of time, all the while with hockey pucks flying at her and the team depending on her.
With each puck off her face, with each of her glove saves, Henderson’s body, mind and competitive fire were sharpened.
“I loved playing hockey,” said Henderson, one of the favorites in the U.S. Women’s Open that begins Thursday at CordeValle, 30 minutes south of San Jose. “It was a pretty tough decision to stop playing. But I saw a longer future in golf for me. I was going to be too busy playing both.”
While she hung up the skates when she made Golf Canada’s national women’s team at 14 — she took up golf at 3 as she followed her older sister’s footsteps — hockey remained in her blood.
From her time between the nets, Henderson, who is now 18, said she learned “you are either the hero or far from being the hero” for your team.
“Hockey helped make me who I am,” she said. “You remember getting hit in the face, you remember the ones that got by you. As a goalie, you are there for your team, and that’s a lot of pressure. Just like in golf, bad things happen and you just have to keep fighting and fighting. ...
“It made me physically stronger and mentally stronger.”
Henderson is still making saves, however, none bigger than the one on the 72nd hole at Sahalee Country Club in Washington in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June. In a tense final-round duel with world No. 1 Lydia Ko, 19, who had won the last two majors, and No. 7 Ariya Jutanugarn, 20, who had won all three LPGA events in May, Henderson came to the final hole needing a par to preserve her chance at victory.
Forced to lay up after an errant drive, she had 75 yards to the pin. Calmly, she hit wedge within 12 feet and canned the putt to save par and earn a spot in the playoff. After signing for a tournament-low 65, Henderson capped her brilliant day with a birdie from 3 feet after a laser from 155 yards to beat Ko on the first extra hole.
“People talk about being in a zone; I was in the zone,” said Henderson, who is the second-youngest player to win a women’s major behind Ko. “I was nervous on just a couple shots, the third shot on 18 in regulation and the 3-foot putt in the playoff. My hands were shaking quite badly. But all the other moments I was enjoying the moment.”
The win was her second and moved her to No. 2 in the world. It earned her a tweet from the prime minister. And it gave her even more confidence.
“Moving forward I know that I’ve done it before,” she said.
Her competition this week in the 71st U.S. Women’s Open is stout, led by Ko, who has three wins this year and two majors on her résumé. Other top contenders include Jutanugarn, No. 4 Lexi Thompson and veteran major winners such as Stacy Lewis, Suzann Pettersen and So Yeon Ryu. But no one is playing at a higher level than Henderson, whose hockey background built up her legs, forearms and fast-twitch muscles to a point where she’s one of the longest hitters on tour and has great hands for her short game.
Last week, she joined Kathy Whitworth and Annika Sorenstam — icons and members of the World Golf Hall of Fame — as the only players to win the Cambia Portland Classic in back-to-back years. She won her third LPGA title by four shots. Last year, after she was denied an exception to the minimum-age rule of 18 to join the tour, she qualified on a Monday in Portland, won her first LPGA title by eight shots and earned tour membership.
Golf Channel on-course analyst Jerry Foltz said he saw what makes Henderson a great player last year in Portland.
“Her mind. Her heart. The intangibles that you just can’t teach,” he said. “Her swing is good but not technically perfect. She has a lot of Sergio Garcia in her swing, a lot of lag, and the club’s in a position halfway down on the downswing that you couldn’t and wouldn’t teach to anybody. Ball-striking wise, you wouldn’t think that swing could produce the shots it does. … But her dad is her only coach. And she’s been left alone and kept away from gurus, and that has made her swing repeatable and reliable, and it’s plenty good enough to rise to the best in the game. ...
“As sweet and nice and lovable as Brooke is, she has this killer instinct that is extremely well hidden but every bit there in prevalence. And that’s the intangible you can’t teach. That’s the intangible Tiger had. That’s the intangible Jack Nicklaus had. They want to really stomp their opponents. And Brooke does it with a smile.”
Henderson is playing for the eighth consecutive week but isn’t about to stop her roll. Her game is on point. Her confidence high. And she has her best friend and sister, Brittany, by her side. Brittany, who is six years older, is a professional golfer but took the year off to caddie for her sister.
“I’m living my dream,” Brooke Henderson said. “At the end of the day I love competition, especially at a high level on the LPGA tour. I have big goals and big dreams I’m chasing. Hopefully get that No. 1 spot one day. ...
“I’m trying to soak it all in and enjoy it. I know that I can’t play on the LPGA tour forever. So I want to make the most of it. I want to be the best player I can be, and every single day I’m trying to make a little improvement and hopefully be something special.”
She already is.
