Henderson’s putter lets her down late as Ko makes history in women’s Olympic golf

Brooke Henderson had a real chance at a medal. A real chance to add to Canada’s record-setting total. She kept giving herself scoring opportunities and certainly didn’t leave Le Golf National frustrated with her tee-to-green effort. An ice-cold putter on her back nine, however, left Henderson short of the podium at the women’s golf competition while New Zealand’s Lydia Ko made history — winning gold to complete her Olympic-medal collection, and with the first-place finish, earn a spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame at just 27.

Esther Henseleit of Germany won the silver after a tremendous 6-under 66 in the final round, while Janet Lin of China won the bronze. Ko, who won the first event of the LPGA Tour season to get within one point of the Hall of Fame, topped Henseleit by two and Lin by three. “It’s definitely a life peak for me here. I don’t think I’ve experienced this kind of adrenaline before, and to do it here, it really can’t get any better,” said Ko, who confirmed Saturday she would not compete in another Olympics.

“To win the first event of the year… that took the pressure off, and I knew that if I worked on the right things, that one tournament could happen at any point. Did I imagine that I was going to do it at the Paris Olympics? Probably not. But this is definitely the coolest way to do it.” Ko, who earned her first two Hall of Fame points at the CPKC Women’s Open, has been beaten by just three golfers at the Olympics over a span of eight years. Her first LPGA Tour win came when she was just 15 – and it happened in Canada.

“Watching Lydia Ko do ‘Lydia Ko’ things and get this well-deserved gold medal was amazing to witness. We are so proud of the career she has had and now is a deserving Hall of Famer,” CPKC Women’s Open Tournament Director Ryan Paul told Sportsnet. “To have three of her Hall of Fame points come from our National Open is something Golf Canada and CPKC is proud to celebrate. She is a true legend on and off the course.”

Henderson, herself a CPKC Women’s Open winner and someone who has had duals with Ko down the stretch at other LPGA Tour events, ended up tied for 13th after shooting a 1-under 71 in her final round. With six holes left, Henderson was just two shots back of a two-way tie for second. She had made three birdies on her front nine and went on a run of three in a row from Nos. 8-10. But Henderson couldn’t buy a putt with five holes remaining, missing a par attempt from seven feet on No. 13, a birdie try from six feet on No. 14, another six-footer for par on No. 15, and a 10-foot birdie try on No. 16.

It’s not as if her putting was poor for the week. She finished 31st in strokes gained: putting – essentially at the halfway mark in the field of 60. She displayed the grit we’re used to seeing from the native of Smiths Falls, Ont., after she started the Olympic competition with over-par rounds of 74-73, and her elite ball striking on a windswept Le Golf National allowed her to be in position to climb the leaderboard. But after finishing four back of bronze, Henderson will have to wait until Los Angeles in 2028 to find the Olympic podium.

“Gave myself a lot of good opportunities. I feel like if I had made two or three different putts throughout the rounds, I feel like momentum would have been more in my favour and might be a different story standing here,” Henderson said. “But overall, I feel like it was a good fight the last two days and nice to be kind of back in the action.” With the Olympic competition just barely in the rearview mirror, there’s still plenty on the LPGA Tour calendar over the coming weeks including the final major of the season – the AIG Women’s Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

Henderson’s season has been solid, and very nearly spectacular. She has seven top-10 finishes to her name, including a tie for eighth at the CPKC Women’s Open just prior to Paris. Henderson hasn’t yet found the winner’s circle, but this week was – once again – one that proved how close she is to breaking out for a big one. She was third in strokes gained: off the tee and tied for fifth in greens in regulation at Le Golf National.

With a smile, Henderson said she felt like she “played really terrible” but was still under par for her finale. “It was kind of a mixed bag,” Henderson admitted. “I feel like I hit a lot of great shots, and sometimes they just didn’t turn out as well as I thought they were going to. Overall, I feel like I’m right there and I’ve been saying that for a little while – but I feel like I’m right there. “A couple breaks, a couple putts and I feel like I’ll be in contention in the coming weeks.” Fellow Canadian Alena Sharp shot a 1-over 73 in the final round and finished tied for 42nd. Sharp and Henderson are set to walk in the closing ceremonies Sunday in Paris.