Henderson roars back into contention
Bob Weeks TSN August 26 2017
OTTAWA – After barely making the cut on Friday, Brooke Henderson said it might take a small miracle for her to get back into the CP Canadian Women’s Open.
Apparently miracles do happen.
The 19-year-old who it seemed would be a bit player in the national championship after finishing the first 36 holes in one over par,
fired a course-record 63 on Saturday to vault herself up the leaderboard and into contention. She sits three shots back of the lead held jointly by Mo Martin and Nicole Broch Larsen.
“I felt like I could make something happen,” said Henderson, beaming after her spectacular round, “and I made putts that I didn't even know I could make, and I made shots that were just great.”
After two rounds in which she appeared a bit tense and a tad anxious, the real Brooke Henderson showed up to the Ottawa Hunt on Saturday. She was relaxed, smiling and high-fiving kids between tees and greens. She was also looking a lot more like the 10th-ranked player in the world, seemingly more confident with her shot-making, more aggressive in her lines. And the putter that had been so balky through 36 holes caught fire in the third round. She used just 25 putts, seven less than she took on the opening day.
This was the golfer the massive galleries hoped to see on Thursday and Friday. Freed up by making the cut, she was finally able to get her game into the proper gear.
“[That] kind of gave me a little bit of a scare yesterday,” she said, “being so close and almost not even playing the weekend. So I knew I had to get going. Today is moving day, -- I moved, that's for sure.”
Indeed she did. Henderson posted eight birdies divided equally between the front and back nines. Her only real slip on the day came on the 16th where she ran her first put well past and had 12 feet for par. She calmly put that in the centre of the cup.
She followed that up with birdies on the final two holes. The first by hitting her tee shot tight on the par-3 17th and the second by dropping a slippery 15-footer on the last hole, which she punctuated with a fist pump as the gallery roared.
“Really it was just like the perfect day,” said Henderson. “Hopefully tomorrow I can match it and it will be a little better.”
The Ottawa Hunt Club member finished her round more than an hour before the leaders teed off, starting in a tie for 59th spot and finishing off solo second. By the end of the day, she was tied for sixth with five other players. Henderson was already imagining what the crowds, which will smash attendance records here this week, would be like.
“Crazy, crazy,” she stated. “But I'm super excited for it. Hopefully it does live up to the expectation, and hopefully I can play well enough to keep their interest and see what happens.”
If she somehow manages to pull off a victory, which would be the first by a Canadian in this tournament since 1973, it might not be a miracle, but it certainly would be miraculous.
Although with Brooke Henderson, it’s what we’ve come to expect.
Prev
Linear Mode
