Henderson, Smiths Falls, Ont. held a one shot lead over the American, Lindsay Weaver-Wright. Henderson knew that a playoff was possible, as No.18 is a par-5. Weaver Wright birdied the hole, forcing an extra round at the LPGA event.
Henderson said that it was difficult because of the long wait.
“I tried to eat lots to get energy, then I went to the locker room to reflect a bit. I was just thankful for the chance to go out there.”
Henderson’s hard work paid off with an eagle on her playoff hole, again on the par-5 No. 18 at Seaview Bay Course, Galloway (N.J.) to win her 11th title in the LPGA Tour. Her latest win added to her legacy as the most successful professional golfer in Canadian history.
She began Sunday in ninth place, well behind Sweden’s Frida Knult, who was the tournament leader after two rounds. Kinhult was unable to finish Sunday’s round with a 4-over. Henderson, however, came out firing on Sunday. She had three birdies and an eagle in the front nine to close the gap. Henderson added two more birdies in the back nine to complete a 7-under round.
Henderson said, “To begin the day, if they would have said ‘you are in a playoff win’ I would have been super happy.” I tried to adopt that mindset. You only get one chance to win in playoffs so you have to be your best and give everything you have.
“I tried to hit solid shots, and I was able make the eagle there which is really cool.”
Henderson finished her round, and Weaver-Wright birdied her last two holes to tie the Canadian at 12 under overall. This forced the playoff.
Weaver-Wright said, “I was just like extremely tranquil out there the past three days.” It’s quite strange. It was strange to feel like this before, but it was refreshing not to get so stressed out.
“It was exciting to be here. It’s only the beginning, I hope.
The news of Henderson’s victory spread north of the border quickly, where Corey Conners who was the low Canadian at the Canadian Open was delighted to hear the news.
“I am blown away. She is incredibly gifted. Congratulation Brooke to all Canadians,” Conners said. Conners was Henderson’s Canadian Olympic teammate at the 2021 Tokyo Games.
“Eleven wins on the LPGA Tour was so incredible and I’m sure she is far from done with it.”
Connors continued
“She is an amazing young lady and an obviously an incredible player. Well done, congrats and have a great celebration.”
Henderson, 24, said that she won two tournaments a year at the beginning of her career. She acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed her momentum a bit and that she is eager to return to that winning pace.
She said, “This one was I think a little more than a year. But it feels like a long while I guess when your used to winning a lot more consistently.” It feels amazing. It’s great. I want to keep it going for a while longer.
“I love being part of the last groups on the weekend. This is the goal.
