Brooke Henderson’s (Smith Falls, Ontario) whirlwind week is showing no signs of slowing down. This past Sunday, she capped the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with a 2-under 70 to finish in tenth place. On Monday, she hosted a pro-am event at her home course to raise money for charity and then on Tuesday and Wednesday she played in a Canadian Women’s Tour event. She arrived in South Bend on Thursday and after a pedestrian even-par first round, Henderson dashed past the competition with a 7-under 65 to move into second place.

The 17-year-old, who started on the back nine, made birdie on hole 11 and then reeled off three straight birdies on 14, 15 and 16 to make the turn at 4-under for the tournament. Henderson picked up where she left off on her back nine with birdies on holes two and three. After a slip up bogey on hole seven, she closed with back-to-back birdies on eight and nine.

“It was a lot of fun, my ball striking today was a lot better than yesterday and that was a big key,” said
Henderson. “I didn’t give myself a lot of long birdie putts and the short ones I was able to make, which is awesome. My putter has been a little off and on the last couple weeks and today it was definitely on.”

“I missed a short par putt on seven that I would like back, but it gave me motivation to finish birdie-birdie.”

Henderson has two top 10 finishes and five top 25 finishes on the LPGA Tour in seven events played. She has earned $317,470, the equivalent of 20th on the LPGA money list.

“My game is feeling pretty good, but I know I have a lot of work to do and I’m far from where I want to be,” said Henderson. “Rounds like this are really confidence boosters. There is a lot of golf left and a lot of great players up there on the leaderboard. I know I’ll have to post another really good round tomorrow to come away with the win.”

Henderson is playing this week as a non-member on a sponsor invite so her money earned on the Epson Tour does not count towards the Volvik Race for the Card money list. However, she still wants a victory.

“I would love a win on the Epson Tour, I think it would be a great thing to put on the resume,” said Henderson. “This would be a great event to have my name on the trophy.”

Henderson has had little time to rest over the last two weeks. This past Monday, the sisters helped raise money for Lenark County Support Services and Doefstrong, a charity in support of Brooke’s friend Neil who suffered a serious spinal cord injury.

“It has been very, very busy, but a lot of good has come out of it. I think we raised a lot of money on Monday,” said Henderson. “Having the Golf Canada event at home was strange, but a neat experience. Coming off the T5 finish in the second major was a lot of fun and I definitely learned a lot about myself.”

She will aim for her third win as a professional on Sunday. She has two wins as a professional on the Suncoast Ladies Series mini tour. Henderson won her first professional golf tournament at age 14 on the Canadian Women’s Tour.

“I believe my parents have done an amazing job of raising both my sister and I,” said Henderson. “My dad has been my coach, my manager, my caddie and my everything. I’m very grateful for everything my mom and dad have done for me.”

Brooke Henderson Cards 7-Under

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