Brooke Henderson battles to even-par start at CPKC Women’s Open
“Not really the hot start that I wanted to get off to,” Henderson said. “But it felt like we fought pretty hard. We were in some tough spots on some holes, so it was nice to battle it out, get it to even-par. It’d be nice to get a couple birdies early tomorrow and really climb up.”
At 8:31 a.m., exactly one minute before Brooke Henderson was set to blast her opening drive at the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open, five juniors were sprinting through the trees toward the tee-box, an adult trailing behind with a child-sized backpack stuffed with supplies. In matching red shirts, with ‘Brooke’s Brigade’ stamped on the back in block letters, this crew was hard to miss.
Henderson, after her first swing of the day, even picked them out of the crowd and waved.
On a hazy and blustery morning at Earl Grey Golf Club, with the LPGA Tour back in Calgary for the first time since 2016, the scene was exactly what was expected — fans set alarms, streamed through the entrance gates, snagged a course map and all asked the same question: ‘Where’s Brooke?’
The 26-year-old slugger from Smiths Falls, Ont., completed her first lap at even-par 72, mixing two birdies, two bogeys and a whole bunch of pars. The low score in the morning wave belonged to Lauren Coughlin of the U.S., who signed for a 4-under 68. “Not really the hot start that I wanted to get off to,” Henderson said. “But it felt like we fought pretty hard. We were in some tough spots on some holes, so it was nice to battle it out, get it to even-par. It’d be nice to get a couple birdies early tomorrow and really climb up.”
After three practice days in blistering temperatures, Henderson and her birdie-machine friends had to tweak their gameplans Thursday.
The temperatures hovered in the teens, somewhere between brisk and balmy. The wind was swirling, upping the degree of difficulty on a course that demands accuracy. Henderson, already a 13-time winner on the LPGA Tour, making her the most accomplished Canadian golfer of all-time, started her round on No. 11. Her drive faded just right of the fairway, and you could tell a lot by the sound of the next chop. The rough is thick.
After that opening bogey, the fan fave made 10 straight pars before finally sinking a birdie on the fourth hole. She bogeyed the next, immediately clawed back with a birdie on No. 6 and was back aboard the par train for the remainder of the day. Henderson, one of 17 Canadians in the field, will once again be the marquee attraction in Friday’s second round. She is slated to tee off at 1:27 p.m.
“I feel like I learned a lot out there and feel like I gained confidence as the rounds went on, which is a great feeling,” said Henderson, who hit 11 of 18 greens in regulation en route to her even-par opener. “And the crowd was amazing. There was so much support, even early this morning. And when I did make birdies, they were very loud and very energetic, which I loved.
“Hopefully, tomorrow, I’ll give them a little bit more to cheer about and hear some of those louder cheers again. But I’m just so grateful for all the support.”
