Patience Is Key For Henderson
What a difference a year has made for Brooke Henderson.
One year ago, Henderson entered the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship as a non-member, non-winner and 70th ranked player in the world. This week, the Canadian returns to the season’s second major as an LPGA member, first time winner and now No.4 ranked player in the world. It’s been a whirlwind and a dream come true.
“Every week, every month, every year, I'm just continuing to improve and continuing to get better,” said Henderson. “I am starting to feel a little bit more of those expectations. And I have more media attention. I have more attention from fans. Right now it's really cool. And I'm just trying to enjoy it as much as I can and just continue to get better as a person and a player and really soak all the extra things in.”
But the year hasn’t been without its adjustments, the biggest for Henderson being her ability to stay patient when the putts haven’t dropped. She notched nine worldwide top-10’s in a row this season but hasn’t been able to pick up her second win on Tour.
“I've had a very solid season. I haven't played as well as maybe I would have liked. And there's a couple of tournaments, I think four, that I haven't finished in the top-10 where I was kind of kicking myself and that was one last week,” said Henderson about her T-45 finish at the ShopRite LPGA Classic. “I think to have the nine top-10s that I had this season it took a lot of patience. Because I wasn't necessarily in the top-10 right from the start of the week, starting on Thursday. I kind of got a couple of good rounds in and then was able to stay patient and wait for my game to kick in and then finally make some birdies on Sunday to climb up the leaderboard.”
Patience may come more easily for Henderson his week on a track that suits her eye and isn’t that dissimilar from where she won her first event at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland.
“Yeah, and I think being in the Northwest is really cool. And I love the surroundings. I mentioned the tall trees and the green grass before, but it's just such beautiful views and the hills and the mountains. I have good vibes, winning in Portland. Portland is a little bit similar, not quite the same course but very close. I'm looking forward to a good week.”
Henderson tees off at 9:00 a.m. alongside Haru Nomura and Ai Miyazato.
Click here to watch Henderson's pre-tournament press conference.
Park Determined To Defend
It’s been a difficult few months for Inbee Park.
The three-time defending champion of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship has battled an ongoing left thumb injury, which forced her to withdraw from multiple events, including her last two starts on Tour. But Park said she's turned a corner this week and is starting to feel improvement in her thumb, as she remains determined to defend her title this week at Sahalee Country Club.
“Obviously yesterday was the first 18-hole I’ve played since Michigan. So I haven’t played that many holes. And I played yesterday and I was fine until probably like No.9 and 10. The back nine got a little shakier,” Park said about the practice round she played this week. “But I think I’m in a much better shape than I was in the last couple of weeks. And one good thing is that I see an improvement, that’s really the important part.”
Upon the completion of her first round on Thursday, Park will qualify for the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame, having earned the requisite points necessary at the 2015 CME Group Tour Championship when she clinched the season’s Vare Trophy, leaving the ten-year membership requirement as the final criteria she needed to meet this season. Reaching that moment is now even more sweet for Park, who says the injuries she’s battled have made the accomplishment that much more meaningful.
“I’m thankful for every moment that I had the last ten years, whether it’s a struggle, whether it’s successful moments. And that’s why that I’m here. And maybe this is happening for a reason. I really do believe that everything happen for a reason,” said Park. “If I was just successful all the way through, start of my career, and if I didn’t have any obstacles or hard tests, I probably wouldn’t appreciate where I am right now.”
Despite having to withdraw after the opening rounds of her last two Tournaments, Park remains determined to complete as many holes and rounds as possible this week at Sahalee.
“I know there is pain and I know it’s not easy, not easier than before, but you’ve just got to overcome that challenge. I’m not going to die because of the thumb pain. That’s the good news,” Park joked with the media. “I’ve overcame so many other obstacles in golfing life. And I really believe that I can overcome this.“
Park tees off at 1:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon alongside Ariya Jutanugarn and Paula Creamer.
Click here to watch Park's pre-tournament press conference.
Thompson To Take Advantage of Length At Sahalee
Coming off back-to-back top-10 finishes, Lexi Thompson is looking to pick up her second win of 2016 and second career major victory. Thompson won her first major at the 2014 ANA Championship with a three-shot victory over Michelle Wie. The 23-year-old is in the midst of another great season, notching seven top-10’s in 11 events.
“I feel great about my game. I’ve had a lot of good tournaments in the past year, this year in general. So just going to go out there, just stay positive, and not get ahead of myself,” said Thompson. “It’s a major week, so it will be a long, grueling week, so just got to stay in it.”
Thompson currently leads the LPGA Tour in driving distance with an average of 284.3 yards off the tee. This week at Sahalee Country Club she plans to use her length to her advantage.
“Length is actually important, because the greens are very firm. So you want was short of a shot as possible. You don’t want long irons coming into the greens, especially if they start tucking pins.”
The No.3 ranked player welcomes the challenge that comes with a major caliber course like Sahalee, which will test her game from tee to green.
“Some of these tee shots just right off the tee, you can’t start it right or left, or you’re hitting a tree off the tee box to begin with. It’s a very demanding tee shot golf course. That’s good. That’s what a major should be, and I think that’s what we see in our major championships overall on the LPGA.”
Thompson tees off at 8:30 a.m. alongside world No.1 Lydia Ko and No.7 Stacy Lewis.
Click here to watch Thompson’s pre-tournament press conference.
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