When Brooke Henderson gained the Evian Championship in July, her place in Canadian golf lore was cemented.
The 24-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., became the first Canadian pro golfer to ever collect multiple majors.
Henderson’s first major title came at the Women’s PGA Championship in 2016, when she was just 18 years old.
She owns 10 other career tour wins, counting at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in June. Her 12 total titles are more than any Canadian pro golfer in history.
She’s twice competed at the Olympics.
By the numbers — and here’s where we place the caveat that you can’t compare eras, or that it’s impossible to weigh Henderson’s two majors against, say, Mike Weir’s Masters victory — Henderson is the greatest Canadian golfer of all-time.
“If she did nothing else in golf, if she walked away tomorrow, which isn’t going to happen, she’s already had a tremendous career,” said Lorne Rubenstein, a longtime golf columnist for the Globe & Mail who now writes for ScoreGolf.
On the contrary, Henderson will dive right back into another major at the Women’s British Open at Muirfield in Scotland.
Henderson’s ninth title at the Meijer LPGA Classic in June 2019 put her in sole possession of the Canadian record, surpassing Weir and Canadian golf icons George Knudson and Sandra Post.
“I truly believe that records are made to be broken,” Post told The Canadian Press after Henderson’s 2019 win. “My last win was in 1981, which was another century. I think it’s long overdue. No matter who came up after me, I always wished they would do better than me.”
Not only is Henderson among Canada’s golf greats, she’s also one of the most successful individual Canadian athletes currently plying their trade. Tennis, given its format, is probably most comparable to golf — 22-year-old Bianca Andreescu’s one major among three titles falls short of Henderson.
Two other Canadian superstars emerged in 2016: Penny Oleksiak and Andre De Grasse. Their resumés are comparable to Henderson’s. Oleksiak is Canada’s most decorated Olympian, but her seven medals include just one gold; of her nine worlds medals, none are gold.
