Brooke Henderson looking to gain momentum after finishing second at the Shoprite LPGA Classic

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This article was published 06/10/2021 (1825 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After an unprecedented travel schedule this summer and golf that wasn’t producing the results she has come to expect, Brooke Henderson is hoping to ride some newly found momentum into the final stretch of the LPGA Tour’s 2021 schedule.

Henderson, Canada’s winningest golfer on either the PGA or LPGA Tour, finished tied for second Sunday at the Shoprite LPGA Classic. It was the first time she’s finished in the top 10 in four months.

The 24-year-old shot a 7-under 64 in the final round of the event — her lowest single-round score of the season — and she told the Star she turned to her sister and caddie Brittany, and said it was “great to play like us” again.

“We were aggressive and we were chasing birdies and we were making things happen,” said Henderson from New Jersey, where this week’s LPGA Tour event, the Cognizant Founders Cup, is taking place.

“On a Sunday when we were in contention and the heat was on, we were able to perform and hit good shots, so it was a lot of fun to be back in those types of moments.”

“To finish tied for second really meant a lot to both of us.”

Despite Henderson notching her 10th career LPGA Tour title in April of this year, the past five months have had her feel “disappointed” at times. But a return trip to Smiths Falls, Ont. for three weeks through early September has paid big dividends already, she said.

Henderson was able to work with her father, Dave (also her coach) for the first time in person in months and enjoyed downtime at her family cottage. It was a return to her roots after half-a-year of travelling the world.

“Definitely disappointed (with the summer’s results) but at the same time I just seemed to be going through a lot of things and I’m really proud for how Brittany and I battled through,” said Henderson. “Disappointed in the moment but looking back I think we showed a lot of grit and a lot of strength for moving forward.”

Henderson had to withdraw from an event earlier this year due to a non-COVID related illness. Plus, Brittany had to sit on the sidelines for an event as she navigated a paperwork issue (after marrying an American last year).

Despite the two instances that knocked her off her routine, she still notched five top-25 finishes in seven tournaments between June and September, though.

Henderson normally plays upwards of 30 events per year, but this year she’ll only tee it up 24 times. All the travelling she did — including back-and-forth between North America, Europe and Asia for the Olympics — still “basically equalled” the number of miles-flown in a normal year, she said.

The 24-year-old has decided to stay close to home for the most part this fall, she said, telling the Star she has decided to skip the LPGA Tour’s upcoming event in South Korea. The Tour also announced this week its event in Japan — which was set for the week after the Korean event — would be cancelled for 2021.

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With those two events out of the picture Henderson will play only twice more after this week in New Jersey. Plus, she’ll have the opportunity to sleep in her own bed at the season finale in Naples, Fla. (where she has a home), she said with a smile.

After one of her best results of the year, Henderson is now eager for a solid ending to what otherwise has been an odd year.

She fancies herself a top-10 player in the world and admitted her world ranking isn’t quite where she wants — although she sits just 11th on that list — so she’s hopeful for some more strong results to close out 2021.

“Golf is so up and down and there was definitely more ‘down’ than what I was used to (this summer), but definitely still right in there,” said Henderson. “And hopefully three solid weeks to finish will solve a lot of problems.”

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