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Canada’s Brooke Henderson looks to bounce back at first LPGA Tour major of year
Brooke Henderson is hoping that teeing it up at the first major of the year on the LPGA Tour will be just the spark she needs to turn around a slow start to her 2025 campaign.
Brooke Henderson is hoping that teeing it up at the first major of the year on the LPGA Tour will be just the spark she needs to turn around a slow start to her 2025 campaign.
Henderson, who finished tied for third last year at the Chevron Championship, has uncharacteristically missed two cuts already this season. She does have two top-15 finishes but told Sportsnet that while the year has been steady is hasn’t yet been what she’s hoped.
The Canadian does, however, hold the course record at The Club at Carlton Woods and is eager to notch another solid result at the LPGA’s opening major in The Woodlands, Texas.
“I feel like we’re pretty close,” Henderson told Sportsnet. “We’ve been working on a lot of things and just trying to get things trending in the right direction.
“This would be a great week to start that.”
Henderson shot a third-round 64 a year ago to catapult into the final group Sunday. She needed just an incredible 23 putts that day and the score could have been even lower – she bogeyed the par-4 16th and couldn’t add another birdie on the par-5 18th.
Henderson shot an even-par 72 in the final round and finished just three back of winner Nelly Korda.
Henderson said she “gained a lot of confidence and momentum” with her result in 2024. Being in the mix at a major right until the end was something Henderson thrived on, after not being in that spot since winning her previous major title, the Evian Championship in 2022.
After a half-century of this major being contested in Rancho Mirage, Calif., rhe Chevron moved to Texas in 2023. With this being the third time around the course, players now have their game-plans dialled in.
“I feel like if your ball striking is in a good spot, you can give yourself a lot of great birdie opportunities. That’s been the key so far this week – just sharpen up the ball-striking so I can give myself those birdie looks,” Henderson said.
“The course is great, I feel like it suits my game pretty well so I’m looking forward to it.”
Henderson opened her 2025 season with a T14 at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions but missed her next cut at the Founders Cup. She had two pedestrian finishes in Asia before returning to the U.S. and the Ford Championship in Arizona where she opened with a tidy 65. However, she basically gave it all back with a 75 in the second round.
At the T-Mobile Match Play in Las Vegas, Henderson had a dream-like start, easily winning her first two matches (6-and-5 and 5-and-4) before moving on to the round of 16 after her third opponent, Jin Young Ko, withdrew due to illness. But match play proved its volatility once again, as Henderson was then eliminated 5-and-4 by Maja Stark.
Statistically Henderson is having one of her best putting campaigns of recent years, sitting 55th on the LPGA Tour in strokes gained: putting – a marked improvement from last year. But her ball-striking, usually the best part of her game, hasn’t yet hit its usual top-tier mark. She’s 74th on the LPGA Tour in strokes gained: tee to green (she was 20th last year) and is 100th in strokes gained: approach (she was 42nd last year).
But this championship – despite changing venues three years ago – has always been one where Henderson has thrived. She’s never missed the cut and has only finished outside the top 25 once in her career as a pro.
“First majors of the year – it’s always different. The atmosphere is always a little bit better than the typical week on the LPGA Tour,” Henderson said. “Everybody’s really focused. Everyone has high energy. And everyone is pretty excited. It’s always great walking out on Monday and feeling that energy and just trying to be your best come Thursday.
“Hopefully I can take some things I learned, especially from the holes I played really well last year on Saturday, and I’d really like to carry that forward this week.”
And if Henderson can draw any inspiration for a comeback this week, it would be from her beloved Ottawa Senators.
Henderson grew up following the team and signed a first-of-its-kind sponsorship agreement at the beginning of the season (she also got to do a ceremonial puck drop in January and the team gave out bobbleheads of her likeness). With the Senators down 2-0 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but returning home for Games 3 and 4 this week, the native of Smiths Falls, Ont. will be cheering them on from Texas.
“Disappointed to see them go down […] but just excited for the games the rest of the week and hopefully they can take down the Leafs,” Henderson said.
Henderson is one of three Canadians in the field this week at the LPGA Tour’s first of five majors along with Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont. and Alena Sharp of Hamilton.
Korda, who won seven times on the LPGA Tour en route to Player of the Year honours, is looking to become the first golfer to successfully defend her title at the Chevron Championship since Annika Sorenstam in 2001-02.
