Brooke Henderson joins exclusive club with win at home
20-year-old becomes just 4th Canadian to capture major national title
Brooke Henderson joined an exclusive club on Sunday.
By winning the CP Canadian Women's Open in Regina, the 20-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont., native became just the fourth Canadian since 1954 to win on home soil on one of the world's top golf tours.
Here is a look at the three previous triumphs:
Mike Weir — 1999 Air Canada Championship
Weir's first of eight PGA Tour wins came at the Northview Golf & Country Club in Surrey, B.C.
The native of Brights Grove, Ont., shot 7-under 64 in each of the final two rounds to finish at 18 under, two strokes better than Fred Funk.
"Right now, I'm even in a bit of a daze," Weir said afterward. "Obviously, it's unbelievable to win. I couldn't create a better scenario."
The highlight shot was an 159-yarder with an eight-iron for eagle on No. 14 in the final round. The B.C.-based tournament's seven-year run came to an end in 2002.
Weir returned to his hotel after hiking in southern Utah on Sunday to the news that Henderson had won the CP Women's Open. That put the 20-year-old Henderson at seven LPGA wins, just one back of the record for most victories by a Canadian at a top-level tour held by Weir, George Knudson and Sandra Post.
"I hope it makes a difference in Canadian women's golf," Weir said in a phone interview. "She's such a young person herself, so hopefully that means young girls and teenagers will take up golf and we get the women's game growing even more."
Weir said Henderson's strong mental approach complements her athleticism.
"The way she swings the club and how dynamic her movement is with her swing, she may be the most athletic woman out there from what I've seen," said Weir. "But it's the mental side. A girl makes three birdies on her and she makes four? That shows something not only with her athleticism but what's inside, and what she thinks about the game, how she's able to handle herself in a tough situation."
Weir said he still remembers the roars from his Air Canada Championship victory, and outside of the Masters it was as loud a crowd he's ever had cheer him on. He called it an incredible feeling.
"When I won in Canada, it wasn't the Canadian Open but it felt like a major because the crowd is so big and so behind you. The energy feels like a major," he said. "I'm sure [Henderson] felt that."
Pat Fletcher — 1954 Canadian Open
The head professional at the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club posted a four-shot win over fellow Canadian Gord Brydson and American Bill Welch at Point Grey Golf and Country Club in Vancouver.
Fletcher finished the 72-hole event at four-under 280.
Fletcher was born in England, but raised in Victoria after moving there as a young child.
For his victory at the event, Fletcher took home $3,200 US. Dustin Johnson, the winner of this year's Canadian Open, earned $1.16 million.
No Canadian has won the men's national championship since Fletcher, one of the most prominent droughts in Canadian sports.
Henderson snapped a 45-year Canadian dry spell at the women's championship with her victory.
Watch as Henderson ends Canada's bad luck at home:
Jocelyne Bourassa — 1973 La Canadienne
One year after capturing the LPGA Tour's rookie of the year award, Bourassa won in her home province.
The native of Sherbrooke, Que., won the tournament now known as the CP Women's Open in its first year at the Montreal Municipal Golf Club.
Bourassa beat out Judy Rankin on Sandra Haynie in a playoff after reaching that stage with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th.
All three shot 5-under 214 in the three round tourney.
It was Bourassa's first and only LPGA win.
Bourassa earned $10,000 for the triumph. Henderson got a cheque for $337,500 after winning Sunday.