Canadian Brooke Henderson strikes back in third round of U.S. Women’s Open

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/06/2021 (1926 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Saturday was very different from Friday in San Francisco, with much warmer temperatures and sunnier skies. Thankfully for Brooke Henderson, her score improved like the weather.

Now the Canadian — whose 2-under 69 on Saturday was nine shots better than her second-round number — is hoping to post a low score early Sunday at the U.S. Women’s Open and get into the heads of her fellow competitors.

“The lead is a little out of my reach now, I believe, but get a solid round in tomorrow, make a few birdies, I can scare some people,” she said with a laugh.

Henderson, tied for 12th at 2-over, will be one of many notables trying to chase down 54-hole leader Lexi Thompson, who was at 7 under par through three rounds at the Olympic Club’s Lake Course.

Thompson is playing her 15th U.S. Women’s Open at just 26 years old. She shot a bogey-free 66 Saturday, eight shots better than the third-round average.

It’s been 32 starts since Thompson’s last LPGA Tour victory, however, the longest drought of her career. Despite 11 LPGA triumphs, she’s won just won major — all the way back in 2014. She credits a renewed mental outlook on golf and life for her success this weekend.

“I’ve been working extremely hard on my game and the mental side, but seeing just the progress in my game, I’m just going to take that and run with it,” said Thompson, who signed a few autographs in the middle of her round.

“I’m just being grateful for everything in my life, and being grateful that I have the opportunity to be able to play a golf course like this — or any golf course, in general, honestly — and just being out here. Whether I play good or bad, it’s still an amazing experience.”

Thompson will be in the final group with fellow American Megha Ganne and Yuka Saso of the Philippines — teenagers, both.

Saso is looking to tie Inbee Park for youngest U.S. Women’s Open winner of all time, down to the day (19 years, 11 months, 17 days).

Ganne, an amateur, has been the talk of the tournament. At one point after draining an important bogey-saving putt on Saturday, the 17-year-old put her hand to her ear and told the small crowd to get louder.

Henderson, meanwhile, said the key for her was ball-striking, which was much improved from Friday. The 10-time tour winner also rolled in a couple of long birdie putts on the third and fourth holes — the latter came she felt she’d mis-hit her approach and finished her swing with just one hand.

The 23-year-old put in some work on the driving range after the second round with her caddy and sister, Brittany, to “get somethings sorted.” That work paid off as Henderson hit twice as many greens in regulation (14 on Saturday versus seven Friday) and 12 of 14 fairways, one of the best marks of the day.

Brittany Henderson has stepped into the pseudo-coach role as well with their father (and usual coach) Dave staying in Canada. He hasn’t been on site at an LPGA event since January 2020.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I consent to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies.

I consent to CASL agreement.

“I was definitely hitting it better. Got a lot of confidence back, which is nice,” said Henderson. “Also, it was just playing a lot easier today. It wasn’t nearly as cold or as windy as yesterday morning, and I feel like they moved some tees around, so there were definitely some birdies out there.”

Henderson said she’s looking forward to being able to play aggressively in Sunday’s final round. Even if the win is out of reach, she’s got a chance to notch her 12th career top-10 finish at a major championship. She’s eager to put herself in position early to climb the leaderboard.

“When the opportunity presents itself,” Henderson said, “then you can attack and make birdies.”

Henderson tees off at 12:59 p.m. EST alongside South Korea’s Hyojoo Kim and another amateur, Sweden’s Maja Stark.

Adam Stanley is an Ottawa-based contributor to the Star’s Sports section and the host of golf podcast Next Round’s On Me. Follow him on Twitter: @adam_stanley