Canada’s Brooke Henderson leads after three rounds of CP Women’s Open
REGINA – Canada’s Brooke Henderson feels most comfortable with her game when she’s on top of the leaderboard.
A solid third round has left her in that very position as she prepares to take a run at history at the CP Women’s Open.
Henderson moved into the lead Saturday with a 2-under-par 70, leaving her at 14-under 202 and one shot ahead of Japan’s Nasa Hataoka (69) and American Angel Yin (71).
“It’s a lot more fun (on top) and I feel like I can kind of go off the crowd a little bit more,” Henderson said. “It’s just really exciting and I feel like when I have a lot of confidence in my game, that’s when I tend to make a lot of birdies and I tend to play really well.”
After back-to-back scores of 66, Henderson had to deal with windier conditions at the Wascana Country Club.
Her length off the tee was impressive but her short game was inconsistent at times. Henderson did manage to hit some big putts when she needed to and spent most of the afternoon alone in first place.
On Sunday, she’ll try to become the first Canadian since Jocelyne Bourassa to win this tournament. Bourassa was victorious in 1973 in Montreal.
Yin missed an eight-foot birdie putt on her final hole that would have given her a share of the lead. Defending champion and world No. 1 Sung Hyun Park of South Korea (70) was two shots back.
Australia’s Su Oh (69) and American Austin Ernst (70) were three strokes off the lead.
The 6,675-yard course sets up well for Henderson’s style. She’s one of the LPGA Tour’s longest hitters and is not afraid to go for it.
If Henderson can attack the par-5 holes and stay consistent on the greens, she’s got a great shot of winning the event.
“I definitely do play better when I’m aggressive,” she said. “I play smart but aggressive and when I’m kind of chasing birdies, I feel like that’s kind of where I’m playing my best. But it just kind of depends on the conditions.”
Play will begin earlier than usual in an attempt to avoid the wet weather that’s expected to arrive by lunch hour. The fourth round will start at 7 a.m. local time and the last group will tee off at 9:01 a.m.
Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., started the day one shot behind second-round leader Amy Yang, but the South Korean bogeyed her first two holes to give the Canadian the outright lead.
They were joined in a group with Yin, who hovered near the top of the leaderboard for most of the day.
With a vocal group of supporters cheering her at every turn, Henderson opened with four straight pars before a drive on the par-4 fifth hole found the rough and led to a bogey. She responded by rolling in a 12-foot birdie putt on the sixth.
She was aggressive after the turn with birdies on Nos. 12 and 13. Henderson nearly eagled the 14th hole, but her chip from the rough hit the back of the cup and bounced out for a tap-in birdie.
She ran into some trouble on the 16th hole but recovered nicely. Henderson pulled her drive and her second shot landed in the rough beside a greenside bunker.
Standing in the sand, she flopped a wedge that came up short but she hit a 20-footer to save par.
“To be able to get up and down when I kind of ran into a little bit of trouble there on 16 I think was really key and just (helped me) keep my composure a little bit,” Henderson said.
Henderson and Yin both struggled on the 17th green. Yin had an eagle putt but settled for par while Henderson missed a four-foot par putt.
Yang, meanwhile, struggled to a 75. She was in a five-way tie for seventh place at 10-under 206.
Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (70) and Anne-Catherine Tanguay (70) of Quebec City were nine shots off the lead.
Henderson, 20, has one victory this season and six wins over her LPGA Tour career. Her best career finish at this event came last year in Ottawa when she tied for 12th.
“She’s gritty and determined and aggressive,” Sharp said. “I think that is a huge thing to have out here, especially with the wind.”
The winner of the US$2.25-million tournament will earn $337,500. The runner-up will pocket $209,358.
Canada’s Brooke Henderson moves one shot off clubhouse lead at CP Women’s Open
REGINA – Sung Hyun Park emerged from the scorer’s tent after a masterful round of 64 at the CP Women’s Open to a swarm of golf fans.
Few seemed to notice the defending champion and world’s best women’s golfer as she strolled undisturbed down the path, fresh from tying a course record at the Wascana Country Club.
This crowd had only one person on its mind. Canadian star Brooke Henderson is the star of this show, especially after a second straight 66 left her just one stroke behind clubhouse leader Amy Yang of South Korea.
“Brooke is almost like Canada’s Tiger Woods,” said Park, who played with Henderson and Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist. “I was really surprised at how many fans came out to support Brooke today. To witness that was pretty awesome.”
Dozens of fans – many clad in red and white and waving small Canadian flags – let out a roar when Henderson chipped in on her opening hole and they were just as vocal when she capped her round with another birdie.
The 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., was at 12-under-par 132 and right in the mix for what could be a very exciting weekend.
“I hit the ball in good spots and made birdie putts when I had them,” Henderson said. “I feel like I made the most of today’s round, which is always a great feeling.
“To be close to the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend is awesome, especially when you’re here in Canada.”
Henderson has managed to score in different ways over the first two rounds. She took advantage of her impressive length on Thursday and had her short game working when the wind picked up Friday.
Highlights from @BrookeHenderson’s second-round 66 at the #CPWO pic.twitter.com/8oB7WVXWwG
— CP Women’s Open (@cpwomensopen) August 24, 2018
Yang shot a 65 to move into top spot at 13-under-par 131. American Angel Yin (67) joined Henderson in second place with several groups still on the course.
“I was hitting it pretty solid out there,” Yang said. “But I gave myself a lot of good chances and I think I made most of them out there.”
Park, from South Korea, was three shots off the lead after her 64, a score that three players attained a day earlier. She was joined at 10 under by first-round co-leader Nasa Hataoka of Japan (70) and Maria Torres of Puerto Rico (66).
Starting on the par-4 10th hole, Henderson had four birdies over her first six holes before missing a three-foot putt on the 16th for a bogey.
She started to spray the ball a little bit after that miscue, but the six-time winner on the LPGA Tour had some luck on her side too.
Her drive sailed well right on the 18th hole, hitting a grandstand post on a bounce before settling in the rough. Henderson found the green with her next shot and two-putted for par.
Five pars followed after the turn before Henderson found a late groove. She hit a tricky four-foot downhill putt on the sixth hole and drained a 22-footer from the fringe for another birdie on the seventh.
“Definitely have a lot of confidence in (my putter) this week, which is always amazing when you can depend on that club,” she said. “But I think overall, everything is kind of going really well.”
The 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., closed her round by going up-and-down from the side of the ninth green for birdie to the delight of the partisan gallery.
Americans Mariah Stackhouse (69) and Austin Ernst (69) were at 9-under-par 135, one shot ahead of Nordqvist (66) and several others.
It was hot and sunny again on the 6,675-yard course and the wind really started howling later in the day. First-round co-leaders Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe had late tee times.
Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City (71), one of 16 Canadians in the field, was a good bet to make the cut at 3-under 141. The early projected cut line was 2 under.
Play continues through Sunday at the US$2.25-million event.
Three way tie for first round lead at CP Women’s Open; Henderson two shots back
REGINA – An early bogey may have been a good thing for Canada’s Brooke Henderson at the CP Women’s Open on Thursday.
She attacked the Wascana Country Club course with a vengeance after the early hiccup, firing six birdies over seven holes at one point en route to a 6-under-par 66 that left her two shots off the first-round lead.
“It was really solid today,” Henderson said. “I got off to a little bit of a shaky start with a bogey on the first hole but I made a ton of birdies today and that’s always a really good sign.”
Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe, Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka shared the course record by opening at 64. American Angel Yin and Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Denmark were one shot back.
Henderson was joined at 66 by three-time CP Women’s Open champ Lydia Ko of New Zealand, Australia’s Minjee Lee and several others. Victoria amateur Naomi Ko was in a group at 68.
Uribe was in one of the opening threesomes and set the early tone by trimming a shot off the course record.
“It’s nice to start with a bogey-free round to actually see my golf game getting to where I know it is,” Uribe said. “It’s going to be a good week.”
Jutanugarn matched her score about an hour later. The world No. 2 opened with four straight birdies and had just one blemish with a bogey on the par-4 16th hole.
“Today my goal was (just) don’t worry about the future too much,” she said. “Don’t think about what I’m going to shoot today. Just try to focus on things I can control.”
Several players went low in the morning as they took advantage of ideal weather conditions. Hataoka and Henderson were two of the afternoon standouts.
Preferred lies were in effect on the 6,675-yard course. Greens were playing firm and fast and there was only a light breeze in the heat and sunshine.
Henderson was hitting the ball long off the tee and left a few strokes out there. She missed a seven-foot par putt on the 11th hole and settled for par on the 12th after missing an eight-footer.
https://www.facebook.com/cpwomensopen/videos/1807037606031530/
Playing in a group with top-ranked Sung Hyun Park and Anna Nordqvist, Henderson moved back up the leaderboard with back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th. She saved par on the 17th hole after a nice up-and-down from the sand and just missed an eight-foot birdie putt on No. 18.
The course seems to set up well for the 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont. If her short game is on point, Henderson could be in the mix on the weekend.
Another hot day was in the forecast for Friday but the wind was expected to pick up.
“I think this course is meant to be windy, so I think some holes can kind of play in your favour that way,” Henderson said. “It’s just going to be a challenge for the whole field.
“Hopefully I still hit the ball in good places, give myself a lot of birdie looks and hopefully capitalize.”
Nordqvist, from Sweden, and Park, from South Korea, were at 2-under 70 in a group that included Maude-Aimee LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que., and Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City. Alena Sharp of Hamilton and amateur Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-l’Ile-Perrot, Que., opened at 71.
There are 16 Canadians in the field. Play will continue through Sunday at the US$2.25-million tournament.
Charles Fitzsimmons of London, Ont., and Todd Fanning of Winnipeg shared the previous course record at Wascana. They posted rounds of 65 at last year’s Canadian men’s mid-amateur championship.
World No. 14 Brooke Henderson leads Canadian contingent at CP Women’s Open
REGINA – England’s Georgia Hall can relate to the pressure that Canadian golfers may be feeling at the CP Women’s Open.
Hall won the Women’s British Open earlier this month at Royal Lytham to become the first British player to win the tournament since 2009. She didn’t think about any added tension during her breakout performance and instead focused on the excitement at hand.
“Just enjoy being at home and enjoy having your family and friends come and watch,” Hall said Wednesday. “That’s what I did. Don’t really worry about the outcome. Four days is a lot of golf. So just enjoy it and see what happens.”
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., headlines the list of 16 Canadians in the field this week at the Wascana Country Club. The world No. 14 has one victory and eight top-10 finishes this season.
Jocelyne Bourassa was the last Canadian to win this tournament, taking the 1973 title in Montreal.
“That’s a long time,” Henderson said. “Yeah, (there’s) a little bit (of pressure). I would love to win this tournament. I don’t know if that’s this year. Hopefully before my career is over.”
Henderson finished in a tie for 12th last year in Ottawa. She has an afternoon tee time for Thursday’s opening round with new world No. 1 Sung Hyun Park of South Korea and Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist.
“It’s kind of like the sixth major for me on the LPGA Tour,” Henderson said. “It’s very meaningful, very important to me, especially being a CP ambassador and playing here in my home country.”
Other Canadians include LPGA Tour regulars Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Maude-Aimee LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que., Anne-Catharine Tanguay of Quebec City and Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont.
Symetra Tour players include Jennifer Ha of Calgary, Saskatoon’s Anna Young, Augusta James of Bath, Ont., Elizabeth Tong of Thornhill, Ont., and Megan Osland of Kelowna, B.C. Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Lorie Kane of Charlottetown will make her record-tying 28th appearance.
National amateur squad member Naomi Ko of Victoria is also in the field with development squad players Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-l’Ile-Perrot, Que., and Ellie Szeryk of London, Ont. Amateur Grace St. Germain of Ottawa was a late withdrawal.
Vancouver teenager Tiffany Kong is playing on an exemption and Saskatoon native Bobbi Brandon earned a spot with a top-four finish in Monday’s qualifier.
“It’s about time that one of us wins it and it’d be awesome to do it this week,” Sharp said. “(I) just want to have a chance at it going into the weekend.”
Golf Canada’s national women’s head coach Tristan Mullally said it’s possible for players to treat the added pressure in a positive way.
“You can use that if you leverage it correctly,” he said. “I often say, ‘You can sit at the edge of a cliff and you can look down and be scared or you can look out and enjoy the view.’
“I think it’s that perspective. It’s got to be where, ‘These people are rooting for me. I can use that energy.”’
Second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, China’s Shanshan Feng and Americans Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer are some of the other big names in the field.
The wind was howling on a warm, sunny afternoon for Wednesday’s pro-am championship. Similar conditions are expected for the first two rounds but rain is in the forecast for the weekend.
There are opportunities to go low on the 6,675-yard course. It’s a flat track with long, narrow fairways, thick rough and fast greens.
Players who are long off the tee – like Henderson – could give themselves opportunities as the course often rewards aggressive play.
This will be Hall’s first tournament since her first major title – and first victory – on Tour. The rookie will play in a group with three-time CP Women’s Open champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand and American Lexi Thompson.
Play continues through Sunday at the US$2.25-million event. The champion will earn $337,500.
Notes: There won’t be a domestic television broadcast or simulcast this year as all four rounds will air on The Golf Channel. LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said both he and Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum would like to rectify broadcast plans either next year or by 2020. … The 2019 CP Women’s Open will be held at the Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ont.
Click here to visit the CP Women’s Open website.
Canadian golf star Brooke Henderson says her game is in a ‘really good place’
REGINA – It’s a golf swing that is by no means of the textbook variety.
Brooke Henderson uses a long driver, grips down on it and rotates her body quickly, using impressive core strength to maintain the necessary stability and balance as she brings the club down.
The torque is intense, but it’s a motion that allows her to get every last bit of energy and power from her slight, yet taut, five-foot-six frame.
It can sound like a gunshot when the clubface meets the ball, which usually rockets down the fairway.
Henderson’s power game has always been there. Her short game has not been as consistent, but is showing signs of improvement entering this week’s CP Women’s Open.
“I feel it’s in a really good place right now – at least the last few weeks,” Henderson said after Tuesday’s practice round at the Wascana Country Club. “Golf is sort of weird and (the) short game is really weird. You can putt great one day and putt terrible the next.
“It’s all about energy and staying positive and kind of believing that you can make everything. I feel like I’m getting closer to that spot, so I’m excited.”
Henderson’s putter was hot at last week’s LPGA Tour stop in Indianapolis. She closed with a 9-under-par 63 to finish tied for seventh.
It was her eighth top-10 result of the season.
“(I) made a lot of putts and it was cool to make a lot of birdies and kind of get that feeling back again,” she said.
The 20-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., averages almost 270 yards per drive, good for seventh among all LPGA Tour players. Her driving accuracy is so-so at 71.79 per cent (69th overall) but she hits over 75 per cent of greens in regulation (third overall).
However, she averages 29.70 putts per round (54th) and her sand save percentage is a mediocre 40.98 per cent (104th).
Henderson will have plenty of opportunities this week on the 6,675-yard course, which plays long in spots, but can reward players who are aggressive.
That could work into Henderson’s hands as she tries to become the first Canadian to win this tournament since Jocelyne Bourassa won at Montreal in 1973.
“The way (Henderson) scores is she can go on a tear of like four of five birdies in a row,” Canadian golf legend Sandra Post said in a recent interview. “She’s not afraid to go low when she plays.”
Henderson earned her lone win of the season last April in Hawaii for her sixth career LPGA Tour victory, leaving her two behind Post for most all-time wins on Tour by a Canadian.
She has managed to maintain a solid world ranking position of No. 14 even though it has been a challenging season at times. Both of Henderson’s grandfathers died earlier this year.
“It’s been a really crazy and weird and kind of tough summer, for sure,” Henderson said. “But I feel like once I get inside the ropes I can kind of let that go and know that my two grandpas that did pass away, they’re always cheering me on and looking on from heaven. That kind of gives me that little bit (of an) extra boost.”
Henderson leads an impressive field that includes defending champion and world No. 1 Sung Hyun Park of South Korea, second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, American Lexi Thompson and China’s Shanshan Feng.
On the coaching front, Henderson works with her father, Dave, and gets tips from her sister, Brittany – who also serves as her caddie. She has also worked with Golf Canada’s national women’s head coach Tristan Mullally in the past.
Kevin Haime, a past winner of the PGA of Canada national teacher of the year award, hosts a junior golf event in the Ottawa area that has featured Henderson and her sister. He regularly uses a video demo of Brooke’s swing for his students.
“There’s about six different things that you could say don’t make a lot of sense there,” Haime said. “But she’s such a wonderful athlete with wonderful timing, she drives the ball better than (almost) anybody on the LPGA Tour.”
As strong as Henderson can be off the tee, she can really be a force when the putter is going.
“When it’s on, she really goes low,” Post said. “But she’s got tremendous spirit, tremendous desire and will. I always find that’s the one thing that can’t be taught. You have to have all those other things.
“But it’s almost like that unknown – if you’ve got that in you – to sort of step up.”
Henderson said the friendly competition with her sister – who’s now 27 – during their formative years in the sport also helped give her game a big boost.
“I was always trying to beat her, be as good as her,” she said. “She was always a lot taller, a lot stronger, so I tried to hit the ball, outdrive her, which didn’t happen for a long time. But I think that’s why I didn’t have that unique strength, because I was just trying to use every ounce of my body to get the ball out there.
“I feel like she really pushed me to be better at a younger age.”
Henderson will return to the par-72 course on Wednesday for the championship pro-am competition. First-round play begins Thursday morning.
Saskatoon native Bobbi Brandon picked up one of four final exemptions in Monday’s qualifying to boost the number of Canadian players in the field to 16.
The US$2.25-million tournament will wrap up Sunday.
Canadian Alena Sharp honours Humboldt Broncos at CP Women’s Open
REGINA – Canadian golfer Alena Sharp will be supporting the Humboldt Broncos this week.
The LPGA Tour veteran has a special golf bag and towel this week for the CP Women’s Open, featuring the Broncos’ logo.
Sixteen people were killed after the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team’s bus collided with a transport truck in April.
The Hamilton golfer said she’ll donate the bag to the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatchewan after the event.
Excited to show my support for @HumboldtBroncos and @theSJHL with my new bag for the week @cpwomensopen ! This tragedy really hit home as it did for so many. I will be donating my bag to @PattisonKids after this week. Thanks @rbc for teaming up on this and Ken Hill @jukasaradio pic.twitter.com/LuwCQArcq4
— Alena Sharp (@AlenaSharp) August 21, 2018
Brooke sits T8 heading into the weekend at British Open
LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England – Brooke Henderson, who managed a hole on 9th hole, a par 3, finished the day with a round of 70 and she finds herself tied in eighth place 5-under at the Women’s British Open.
Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand is standing out for more than just her pink golf ball.
The 97th-ranked player has yet to drop a shot in two straight rounds of 5-under 67 that will give her a one-stroke lead heading into the weekend at the year’s fourth major.
While first-round leader Minjee Lee and Mamiko Higa encountered problems down the stretch at a rainy Royal Lytham to give up two-shot leads on Friday, Pornanong played a steady hand and put her pink ball in all the right places _ explicitly, out of the many bunkers that define the course.
The 28-year-old Thai missed a 10-foot putt for birdie in front of the clubhouse on the 18th green but that didn’t get her down. She was 10 under par overall.
“I’ve had a game plan,” Pornanong said. “I try to plan every shot, every hole.”
It’s given her a great chance of winning a first major title, and claiming a first victory on the LPGA Tour. Her last win was on the Asian Tour in January 2015 and she has only one top-10 finish all year.
Pornanong’s only top-10 at a major was a tie for seventh at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2014.
She has already put some distance between many of the big names in women’s golf.
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., aced the par-3 ninth hole on her way to a 70, which put her in a six-way tie for eighth place on 5 under. Brittany Marchand (73) of Orangeville, Ont., is projected to miss the cut line.
Top-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn was seven shots back after rounds of 71 and 70, No. 6 Shanshan Feng (71-71) was one stroke further back, and No. 2 Inbee Park (76-74) missed the cut.
Only six players were inside five shots of Pornanong. They have pedigree, though.
In a three-way share of second place on 9 under is Lee, who was clear at 12 under before she double-bogeyed No. 16 and dropped another shot at No. 17 to post a 70.
Lee, the Australian at a career-high ranking of No. 8, was runner-up on the Gullane links in the Ladies Scottish Open last week.
Home favourite Georgia Hall (68) was in the tie for second place along with Higa, who was leading by two strokes on 11 under when she lost her ball in a gorse bush at No. 17 and wound up with a double-bogey 6.
Third-ranked Park Sung-hyun, who won the Women’s PGA Championship last month, is lurking in sixth place on 7 under after rounds of 67 and 70. Seventh-ranked Ryu So-yeon, a two-time major champion, is on 6 under after two rounds of 69.
Henderson Posts First Sub-70 Round at Ricoh
LYTHAM ST ANNES, England – For Brooke Henderson, learning to navigate the Ricoh Women’s British Open has been a learning process. In her three prior starts, she had yet to crack the top 40. The statistic comes as a surprise to anyone who regularly follows the major champion and six-time LPGA Tour winner. But the Canadian took a huge leap forward in her progress on Thursday, when she posted a 3-under par, 69 at Royal Lytham & St Annes. It is her first sub-70 round at the Women’s British Open.
“Every time you’re over here you learn more and the experiences that you really need,” Henderson said. “It’s very different than what I grew up playing on.”
Henderson grew up playing in Smiths Falls, Canada and found she needed to adjust her game in order to play better on the links. When she won for the first time on a links-style course in 2017 with her victory in New Zealand she was vindicated in the changes she adopted.
“It was crazy conditions, so I think that was really a good learning curve for me,” Henderson said about the windy conditions she encountered in New Zealand. “It gave me a lot of confidence moving into links courses that if something goes wrong, like it kind of did this morning, I just kind of relaxed and was able to come back from that.”
Henderson got off to a rough start with two bogeys in her first three holes after getting caught up in the pot bunkers riddled throughout the course. She credited her caddie and sister, Brittany, for helping turn around her day and record five birdies on the back nine.
“I got into some of the pot bunker and found that they were very difficult to get out of,” Henderson admitted after her round. “But after that I kind of settled down a little bit. The back nine was great.”
Henderson put herself in contention at the season’s last major, too, at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship where she faded on the weekend with rounds of 70-74 and settled for a T6.
Henderson looking forward to switching up her approach at British Open
After a tough summer, Brooke Henderson is hoping a change of scenery will do her some good.
The native of Smiths Falls, Ont., took last week off of the LPGA Tour to prepare for this week’s Women’s British Open. The break came following a rough stretch that began with Henderson’s withdrawal from the U.S. Women’s Open in June to be with her ailing grandfather, who passed away.
Four weeks later, Henderson fell out of the lead at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship after shooting a final round of 2-over 74. She told The Canadian Press in mid-July her other grandfather is now sick as well.
But she said she feels good about her game this week after finishing third at her last event, the Marathon Classic. And she said golf is a nice way for her to stay focused and ignore outside distractions.
“Once I’m between the ropes, I can flip that switch and work towards my goals for that week,” said Henderson, who has won six times on the LPGA Tour.
Although Henderson is no stranger to having to play the type of bad weather that often accompanies the British Open, it hasn’t yet translated into a good finish at the third major of the year. Her best result at the event is a tie for 49th.
But the 19-year-old won in New Zealand last year, and it came during rough weather conditions on a links-style course. She said she’s hopeful she can parlay that into success this week at Royal Lytham & St. Annes GolfClub in Lancashire, England.
“The style of golf is different, but I’ve learned that it really is about patience and just trusting your swing over there,” said Henderson.
“As is the case with any major, you just need to stay focused and be able to bounce back through tough breaks, weather delays, and harsh conditions.”
Henderson, who’s ranked 16th in the world, said she’ll keep all the same clubs in her bag like a usual, but said the Women’s British Open forces her to use them in different ways. She may end up using a fairway wood around a green for a short shot, or will try to fly her irons lower than usual, she explained.
Henderson is one of the statistical leaders on the LPGA Tour in driving, but her putting has been her weakness this year. She said she can’t pinpoint one specific thing she’s been working on mechanically, but she’s tested a few different putter options and has stuck with one for the last two months.
She said she’s enjoyed coming up with a different kind of strategy for this week versus a normal LPGA Tour tournament.
Annika Sorenstam, who won the Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham in 2003, said it takes time to learn to play links golf. She said Henderson would need a little luck with the weather, as sometimes you can get “all four seasons in one day.” But she said Henderson’s creative game plan is a solid one.
Sorenstam said she is a “big fan” of the young Canadian.
“She has a great mind and is a true competitor. She certainly knows how to win tournaments and even majors,” she said. “It seems to me when she is driving the ball well, she gets good momentum and rest of the game falls into place.”
Henderson is just two wins away from tying the all-time record for wins by a Canadian professional _ male or female _ and is hopeful one of those wins comes in three weeks at the CP Women’s Open in Regina.
Although her main focus is on this week in Europe, she admitted she’s got the Canadian event “circled on her calendar.”
“(The course) looks like it will be set up really well for our national championship and I’m excited to see how the fans out there embrace the LPGA,” she said. “I can’t wait to get there and try to put on a show for the fans.”
Canadian Brittany Marchand qualifies for Women’s British Open
LANCASHIRE, England – Brooke Henderson will have some Canadian company at the Women’s British Open.
Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., earned the 17th and final spot in qualifying in a playoff on Monday at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club.
Marchand was one of 12 golfers battling for seven spots in a playoff after those dozen players shot 3-under 69 in the 18-hole qualifier.
It came down to Marchand and Paula Creamer for the final spot on the fourth playoff hole. Marchand parred the hole, while Creamer bogeyed, giving the spot to the Canadian.
Alena Sharp of Hamilton missed the playoff by one shot, settling for a 70. Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., carded an 80.
Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Marchand will be the lone Canadians in the field for the fourth major on the LPGA Tour schedule, which starts on Thursday.