Brooke Henderson has a trio of third-place finishes among her five top-10s so far in 2024, but she arrived at this week’s U.S. Women’s Open riding a 16-month winless drought.
Snapping that streak could be difficult going up against World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who has won six of her past seven starts and tied for seventh in the other. Despite being just 26 years old, Henderson has the experience to appreciate Korda’s recent form rather than being tired of talking about it.
Now in her 11th season as a professional, Henderson has seen incredible runs from the likes of Lydia Ko and Jin Young Ko during her career. In the Canadian star’s perspective, having star power is good for the game.
“I think at certain times throughout careers, certain players really take off and they get on a run. Like Lydia was on a huge run for a long time. Jin Young a couple years ago was winning a lot,” Henderson said.
“There’s different times throughout a career when players kind of get on a run and they’re talked about a lot. There’s a lot of attention, and they’re doing a lot of good for the game.
“I don’t think we get tired of it. We’re just trying to grow the game and get better ourselves and use every day as a steppingstone to make the tour better, make yourself better, and just grow the game.”
Henderson is a two-time major winner and has 13 LPGA Tour titles to her credit. However, her best U.S. Women’s Open finish was a tie for fifth back in 2015.
Coincidentally, that came at the Lancaster Country Club, which is also the site of this week’s event in Pennsylvania.
Henderson acknowledged that several holes around the course set up well for players like herself who like to fade the ball. She expects every club in her bag to be tested, however, and said it’s a course that players can’t just bomb their way through.
The winner of the 2016 Women’s PGA Championship and 2022 Evian Championship knows what it takes to get the job done in a major. And Henderson feels like her game is in good shape despite coming off a T56 in her most recent start at the Mizuho Americas Open.
“I had a little bit of a setback a couple weeks ago at the New Jersey events, but the game is right there,” she said. “I just need a couple of things to turn it over. But I’m really excited about how this year has gone so far, and I’m really looking forward to the rest of summer because I feel like I’m right there.”
–Field Level Media