It’s amazing how good news off the golf course can change a golfer’s outlook on it.
Take Brooke Henderson. Her game rose to the point where she was in contention down to the last holes for the past two women’s major championships.
Just before those two tournaments, her sister, Brittany, gave birth to a baby girl that has helped boost Henderson’s game. If that wasn’t enough, shortly after returning from those two events, Henderson’s boyfriend, Ricky Castro, got down on bended knee and proposed. To say the Canadian golfer is riding a high might be an understatement.
She’s hoping to keep that motivation as she gets set to tee off on Thursday in the year’s final major, the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes, in Lancashire, England.
“A lot of hard work the last few years and the patience is really paying off now and I’m seeing the results, which is amazing,” said Henderson. “But then just having so many amazing things happen to me off the course is very inspiring.”
Call it equal parts inspiration and perspiration.
After recording a top-10 finish at the first tournament of the year back in January, Henderson was mediocre throughout much of the season. In her next 10 starts, her best finish was a tie for 22nd.
That changed at the KPMG PGA Championship when Brittany gave birth to Sahalee, named after the course where Brooke won her first major with her sister serving as caddie.
“The Thursday round at the PGA started this progression of good play. I knew my sister’s daughter was born that day and I knew that before I teed off and I was just so happy,” Henderson stated. “Lots of times when I was doubting things, I was thinking, ‘Okay, I’m doing this for Sahalee. We’re making this putt; we’re making good things happen.’”
She ended up in a tie for third, her best finish in a major in more than two years. From there, the 28-year-old flew to France for the Amundi Evian Championship, another major, which she won in 2022.
Back-to-back rounds of 64 over the weekend – including a 72nd-hole eagle – put her into a playoff where she finished second to Haeran Ryu.
This week, Henderson has been prepping herself on Royal Lytham & St. Annes, a course best known for having 166 pot bunkers spread out among the holes. Henderson finished tied for 11th in 2018 when the Open was last held on the course. That’s one of her best finishes in this championship, which hasn’t always been kind. She’s missed the cut at the past three Opens.
“My last few years, I haven’t had my best stuff when I’ve been playing,” she admitted. “Two years ago, I was really sick, which was unfortunate timing. It’s been a bit of a mix, but I think every time you do play on a links course, you learn more. I think the big thing for me will be to just really lean into the creativity. Just know that sometimes good shots are not going to be rewarded and sometimes bad shots turn out really well and that’s just the way it is. Just going with the flow will be really key.”
Henderson will pull out the game plan that she and her sister devised for that last visit to Royal Lytham and she’s hoping being familiar with the layout will lead to a bit more confidence. Some rain and cooler temperatures in the forecast might also play a factor.
She also knows that a key to her play will come from a new niece and a fiancé, who won’t be there to cheer her on but will inspire her every swing.
