Fast start, slow finish for Henderson at CP Women’s Open

Given the option, a golfer will always choose a big finish over a fast start.

For Brooke Henderson, that wasn’t in the cards in Thursday’s opening round of the CP Women’s Open. The headliner of the tournament that’s being played for the first time in three years made birdies on her first three holes, but slowed up coming home with bogeys on two of her last three.

It added up to a mediocre score of 69 that leaves her seven shots off the lead held by South African Paula Reto, who shot a sizzling 62. That score broke the course record set by Henderson the last time the tournament was held at the Ottawa Hunt and Country Club in 2017.

“Hot start, which was a lot of fun,” said Henderson. “Definitely disappointed with how I finished the day on a birdie or eagle-able par-5, making bogey.”

After a massive buildup and with her image plastered all over the nation’s capital, Henderson looked calm and relaxed as she stepped on to the 10th tee to begin her day, waving and smiling to the massive gallery that extended the length of the hole. She seemed to be at ease as the fans cheered her every step and every swing throughout the day.

“It was so cool to have that much love and support,” she said. “You know they’re happy even when I bogeyed the last hole. They were still cheering for me. It’s just an amazing feeling and I can’t wait for hopefully a better day tomorrow, and just can’t wait to hear some bigger roars.”

The pride of Smiths Falls, Ont., drove the ball well, missing just two fairways and blasting it past her playing partners Lydia Ko and Jennifer Kupcho on most holes. She also found the majority of the greens, failing to land on just two in regulation.

With the greens still soft from rain earlier in the week, she also went on attack mode with her approach shots and often was putting for birdie from inside 15 feet as she flew her ball at the flag time after time.

On the putting surfaces, however, is where her round stalled. Henderson used 32 strokes to get around and while that may seem high, she still seemed to have some control with the club that has confounded her most of her career, burning edges and leaving putts a half-revolution short of dropping. It wasn’t necessarily a great putting round but it was very close to being exceptional.

“I feel like I hit the ball really close today,” she stated. “Maybe the putter wasn’t as hot on the back nine. I feel like I could have gone really low, so it’s a little disappointing. At the same time, under par and I feel like things are OK and I’ll play better tomorrow.”

Henderson will need to play catch up on Friday as 50 players in the field recorded lower scores than hers as the course set-up was favourable for low scores. In her last two starts in this tournament, she opened with rounds of 66 and went on to win and finish tied for third. This year, in her two victories, she jumped out to fast starts with opening-round scores of 64 and 67.

In some ways, with the course setup, it may have been a missed opportunity for a low round.

“For the most part, they gave us an opportunity to score,” Henderson said. “Moved a couple of tees up, which was nice. I wasn’t really surprised though. They like to see us make some birdies. I’m sure it’ll be a little bit tougher moving forward though.”

Among the low scores were three Canadians representing a wide range of experience. Veteran Alena Sharp, 41, who is playing with limited status this year due to a poor 2021 campaign, fired a four-under 67 that included six birdies and a double. She attributed her success to her putter, a club that has given her trouble in the past but shined on Thursday.

“Struggled with my putting last year all year,” she said, “and came out and changed my grip, changed putter, I'm aiming it better, and I made a lot of putts today. Some of those putts that I would've been scared to putt last year, I stood up and was very assertive and made a good stroke. Nice to see them go in.”

Sharp was joined at four under by LPGA rookie Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., who carded a bogey-free round, and a shot behind them was amateur Lauren Zaretsky who had a wild day that included four birdies, a double a bogey and a hole-in-one.

Selena Costabile, who competes on the Epson Tour, was tied with Henderson at 2 under.