NAPLES, Fla.—Brooke Henderson turned away from the hole, looked to the sky and composed herself before hugging her playing partners. She’d hit an approach into a bunker and made bogey on her final hole of the season. The 2023 campaign was over.
The Canadian golfer took some extra time in the scoring tent to sign balls. Her head hung down. She popped a piece of gum before signing extra autographs for patients from a children’s hospital. A volunteer said his friend from Manitoba wanted to say hello.
She walked away from that scene and was about 20 steps from a throng waiting for more autographs and selfies. Then she got choked up.
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“I sort of just think it’s being out on tour for this long,” she said. “It just kind of wears you down a little bit.”
To her credit, Henderson had a year that plenty of other golfers would call a career best. She won the first event of the season, had eight top-15 results and won nearly $2 million (U.S.). Her 13 career LPGA Tour titles are a Canadian record, among 20 total wins as a professional. She is Canada’s best golfer and may very well go down in history as such.
December of 2024 will mark 10 years since she turned pro. While she kept working on her ball striking and got closer to getting dialed in as this season wore on, she told the Star on Sunday that her mental game wasn’t as sharp.
“It’s normally one of my strengths,” she said, “and I feel like I have an advantage over the field most of the time. But this year it was something I struggled with. It’s tough to play every single week and be at your best. I think it got to me a little bit. I’m excited to take time and refresh.”
Henderson ended up in 12th place on Sunday at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, finishing at 15 under par. Amy Yang destroyed the tournament scoring record at 27 under to win by three. The Canadian made 24 birdies over four rounds.
“I feel like things are going in the right direction,” Henderson said. “Maybe not today, but it was nice to see my ball striking get into a better spot. I’ll continue to try to make some small improvements (before January).”
After a busy summer, she took five weeks off to rest, mentally and physically. She hiked in Banff. She played golf at Cabot, the top-ranked course in the country. The break really helped, she said. Her best stretch of the year followed.
Henderson’s off-season won’t start quite yet, but at least her next event should be fun.
She’ll be back at Tiburon Golf Club in two weeks to play with fellow Canadian Corey Conners at the PGA/LPGA Grant Thornton Invitational. The last time Conners and Henderson competed together was in 2013 at the Copa De Las Americas, where Canada won the team title.
“He’s an amazing ball striker and a great player — and I know I am a little bit,” Henderson said with a smile. “It’s just going to be a great way to close out the year.”
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The smile came back after the final-hole bogey stung. The mental fatigue from another 12-month sprint around the globe, trying to always be your best, is a lot.’
But Henderson signed every autograph and said yes to every picture as she walked further from the 18th green. She saw family — sister Brittany, parents Dave and Darlene, and Brittany’s husband Zach Sepanik, who is from Michigan and will be cooking for American Thanksgiving this week. His mom and sister will be there, too.
After the team event, Henderson might take a trip back home for some holiday cheer.
And then Canada’s best golfer will take a well deserved break.