‘You just saw the energy:’ Ontario fans support Henderson

Two fans from the same area as CP Women’s Open champion Brooke Henderson followed her from day one of the tournament and long before.

Scott Byrne and Terry Bootsma travelled to Regina from Carleton Place, Ontario which is about 20 minutes from Henderson’s hometown of Smith Falls.

This was their third LPGA experience.

Byrne said the two spoke with her briefly after she competed last year in Ottawa and has talked to her sister and dad.

“It’s pretty wicked,” he said. “I wouldn’t have any better person to represent Canada.”

He said since Henderson is only 20-years-old, she’s got a lot to live up to as she grows up.

“The problem is maintaining the level of maturity and how she can compete now. If she keeps up, there’s no end to what she can do. I mean, her athleticism and her ability to strike the ball right now is just unbelievable,” he said.

Terry Bootsma said they watched Henderson for all four rounds after flying in on Wednesday.

“She said that she’d be prepared for this year, and boy did she ever deliver,” said Bootsma, referencing what she told them after competing last year.

He said the crowd grew significantly for her as the tournament went on.

“On Thursday there was lots of opportunities to get front row views, on the T-boxes, on the greens, and as the week went on it got deeper and deeper along the sides of the fairways and along the Ts and along the greens,” he said. “You just saw the energy.”

“We went from the first day hearing people say well ‘Who is this Brooke Henderson person?’ to everybody knowing (her),” he added.

“She’s gonna be the talk of Canada. She’ll be on everybody’s tip of their tongue and Brooke Henderson has become a national icon today.”

Next year’s CP Women’s Open is back in Henderson’s home province in Aurora, Ontario.

At the closing ceremony, Canadian Pacific also announced it’s sponsoring the tournament for the next five years until 2023.