Brooke Henderson's bright future may include Rio Olympics

By any measure, Canadian golfer Brooke Henderson's decision to turn professional at the tender age of 17 has been a resounding success, even before her stirring eight-stroke victory at an LPGA event in Portland, Ore., on Sunday.

• Brooke Henderson granted LPGA membership
• Henderson climbs to 17th in women's golf rankings
• Henderson earns 1st LPGA Tour win

"I've been playing great all year," said the Smiths Falls, Ont., native in a resounding understatement. 

The difference between turning high finishes — like her third-place showing in San Francisco, where she held the overnight lead heading into the final round — into a win?

"Putting," she said. "I'm usually good off the tee and I had really good approach shots that were important on that golf course… it was the putts that [made a difference] on Sunday."

Henderson's quiet confidence was reflected when she repeatedly stated during a conference call with Canadian media that, while elated with the win, she expects her success to continue.

"I'm a long way from where I want to be," she said.

So, despite being far and away the youngest Canadian, male or female, to win on one of the world's top golf circuits, Henderson struck a very business-as-usual tone. Aside from her liberal use of the words "cool" and "awesome," she sounds like an old pro. 

Much, however, has changed.

Cash, compliments rolling in

First off, at a time when most people her age are not above raiding the seat cushions in their parents' house, Henderson now has a bank balance that would be the envy of many twice her age.

The win earned Henderson $195,000 US, pushing her past $640,000 in official earnings this season, with a few more big-money events on tap, starting Thursday with the CP Canadian Women's Open at Vancouver Golf Club.

Though more difficult to pin down, Henderson will also likely now be in line for a significant bump in off-course earnings. 

When you're getting congratulatory tweets from the likes of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as well as golf legends Gary Player and Annika Sorenstam, the folks that dole out endorsement contracts tend to take notice. 

It was the tweets that Henderson received that prompted her comment about "very awesome people" reaching out to her, to say nothing of the more than 80 texts that awaited her response by Sunday night.

Now ranked 17th in the world and officially granted LPGA membership in the wake of her victory in Portland (reversing an earlier decision to make her wait until she turned 18 and qualified), Henderson no longer has to worry about where and when she's going to be playing. She'll be in France next month for the Evian Championship, where she'll turn 18 on Sept. 10 during the season's fifth and final women's major. 

Henderson's ascent into the LPGA winner's circle also confirms what most observers had thought — that she would soon have the game to compete with the very best in the world. Though her accomplishments still pale in comparison to what Lexi Thompson did at a similar age, and especially to what Lydia Ko has done to date, Henderson now deserves to be in the conversation of women chasing world No. 1 Inbee Park, who last month won the British Women's Open for her second major title of the season. 

On to Rio?

Looking at Henderson purely through the Canadian lens, she could be a factor next year in Rio when golf returns to the Olympics. Henderson's LPGA win was the first by a Canadian woman in 14 years and it comes at a time when Hamilton, Ont.'s Alena Sharp, who tied for 10th in Portland, is enjoying a nice bounce-back season. 

A lot can change between now and when the Olympic field is confirmed, but Henderson and Sharp are likely to represent Canada next year in Rio.

"That's always been my goal," Henderson said, "… to win a gold for Canada."

All the positive results don't automatically mean Henderson is on the path to golf stardom. The women's game has had a number of teenagers display elite form, especially in recent years. In addition to Ko and Thompson, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Yani Tseng and, most famously, Michelle Wie all turned professional with much fanfare and piled up good results early (and often while still amateurs). 

It can be fleeting. 

Wie, her wins at the 2014 U.S. Open and 2010 Canadian Women's Open aside, has largely had an uneven career. Tseng, who has won five LPGA majors, has seen her career free-fall in recent years. 

Even Creamer and Pressel, who have both been excellent pros, have had their share of fallow patches. 

The upshot is that life as a touring professional is a grind, especially on the women's circuit, where the purses and endorsement contracts fall off quickly for all but the very best. Which is why the LPGA has rightly been so miserly in granting membership to youngsters, knowing full well they would otherwise be deluged with requests, most of them unjustified. 

For now, however, Henderson and the Canadian golf community have every reason to be ecstatic with her season to date. 

Henderson's level-headed demeanour is also a positive sign. You almost get the sense that, even at such a young age, she knows there is much more to accomplish. 

And many hurdles to clear.