Brooke Henderson isn’t ready to start looking ahead to next year. Not quite yet.
On Thursday at newly renamed The Annika — the final event ahead of the CME Group Tour Championship — the Canadian star shot an eight-under 62 at Pelican Golf Club in Florida, and leads after the opening round. Henderson hit all 18 greens in regulation, and is looking for her first win in 10 months.
“Up until this year ball striking has definitely been a strength of mine, and hasn’t been as sharp as I would like the last couple months,” Henderson said after her round. “I made an iron switch not too long ago … so to hit all 18 greens is kind of more what I used to be used to a little while ago.”
The tournament is named after golf legend Annika Sorenstam, and during the first round Henderson could have been mistaken for the 72-time LPGA winner as she shot a scorching second-nine six-under 29 to vault to the top of the leaderboard.
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“Yeah, today felt really great to be making a lot of birdie putts. Nice to see the ball go in the hole,” Henderson said.
“To have Annika’s name attached to it this year is really, really cool.”
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It’s been a down year for the 26-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont. native. After winning the season-opening Tournament of Champions against a limited field, Henderson has posted just two top-ten finishes in 21 events.
“There is always going to be challenges and you’re not always going to play as well as you would like,” she said. “You’re going to have to dig in sometimes. And I feel like I was able to do that today.”
Henderson showed signs of regaining her form two weeks ago with a sixth place finish at the Maybank Championship.
“I’m definitely trending in the right direction, which is really exciting,” she said. “You know, I’m trying to finish the year out strong. … This is definitely a great day and a bit of a confidence booster. Hopefully just keep going.”
Henderson won twice in 2022, including her second major championship at the Evian Championship. Canada’s most decorated golfer has 13 victories over nine years on the LPGA.