Brooke Henderson was playing under the pressure of the hometown crowd at the CP Women's Open in Ottawa yesterday.
Photo Credit: CP / Adrian Wyld

Brooke Henderson gets the love not the glory

Brooke Henderson, the darling of Canadian Women’s Golf, was the star of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, despite a disappointing finish in 12th place yesterday.

The crowds at the event at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club gave the soon-to-be 20 year-old, standing ovations, that left another player retreating out of the spotlight.

Sung Hyun Park, of South Korea, finished with a score of 13-under par to win the CP Women’s Open. © CP/Adrian Wyld

American Christie Kerr, stayed back on the 18th fairway to give Henderson, and her sister Brittany, her caddy, time to soak up the adulation.

Henderson felt the pressure though, with her home-town crowd from nearby Smiths Falls, Ontario, all in attendance as well.

“Well, she’s Canada’s champion,” Kerr said. “So it was fitting.”

The two players bonded this year, with the seasoned Kerr taking Henderson under her wing.

“I really wish somebody would have done that for me, at that stage of my career,” Kerr said Sunday. “She had so much pressure on her this week. More than a major, I told her. I was joking around, but it was true. Look at all the people out here for her. They all wanted her to do well and she wants to do really well for them. You could see she was tight.

“I didn’t want her to miss the cut, with all these people coming out to watch her. I just thought it would be really good for the tournament if she played better.

“So just kind of put my arm around her and said, ‘It’s time to dig, kid.’ She goes, ‘I’m digging.’ I said, ‘dig harder.’

“She played really well from then on in, and had a great day (Saturday). So it was good for the fans.”

As for Henderson, she described Kerr as  “a class act”.

“Everything she does … she inspires me,” Henderson said. “She’s a great player, a great person. She’s a role model. I look up to her. To play with her three days this week really helped me. Just things like that, letting me walk up to 18 and soak in the crowd, and all those cheers. it was just really a class act.”

With files from Don Brennan of The Ottawa Citizen

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