Brooke Henderson Struggles on the Greens
The fans came out in droves for their hometown hero Thursday, but Brooke Henderson couldn’t deliver.
Henderson made just one birdie Thursday, and hit her tee shot on the par-3, 13th into the water en route to a double bogey, and a 3-over-par 74.
“It was a little bit of a mixed day. I hit the ball for the majority extremely well and just the putter kind of let me down at times. One birdie, that's the real problem,” admitted Henderson.
Henderson was buoyed by the crowd support all day, despite the fact that she had a handful of missed opportunities on a golf course she has played innumerable times – as she was granted membership to the Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club a year ago.
“8:00 a.m. on a Thursday (the fans) aren’t normally lining the fairways,” said Henderson. “It was pretty special, and I can't thank them enough for coming out and supporting and just hopefully tomorrow I can play a little bit better for them.”
Henderson pointed to her putter as the culprit for her struggles Thursday, but said it was the putter she’s had in her bag since she won earlier this year.
“I hit the ball really well. I hit a lot of fairways, gave myself a lot of opportunities for birdie, and they just didn't fall today,” she said. “I won with (the putter), finished second at a major, so it works. I just need to maybe teach it a lesson this afternoon.”
Henderson sits tied for 106th heading into Friday.
Brittany Lincicome Thriving After Solheim
After a nice week at the Solheim Cup, and being part of the victorious American side – where she notched a 2-1-0 record, Lincicome, who captured the CP Women’s Open in 2011, was all smiles.
Despite a bogey on the par-5, ninth, her final hole of the day, she still sits at 3-under and just two shots back of the lead.
“I think (my day went) pretty well, especially coming off such a high last week. I was trying to get through those holes in the afternoon. I've slept in the last couple mornings, so by the last couple holes I felt like I got pretty tired. But drove the ball really, really well, which is pretty key on this golf course,” she said. “It's nice having some wedges in my hand. If I can keep it in the fairway, I think we'll be pretty good for the weekend.”
Lincicome said she felt like she putted the best she had in a while last week at the Solheim Cup, made evident by the run of six-straight birdies she had during Saturday’s second day, and those good vibes continued north of the border.
“It's nice to have this big event this week, and nice to play good the first day. My dad always says you can't win it after the first round, but you can shoot your way out of it,” she explained. “So it was nice to shoot a little bit under par, and hopefully it will keep moving through the weekend.”
In Gee Chun Enjoying Canada
A few months ago In Gee Chun lost in a playoff at the Manulife LPGA Classic, one of her four runner-up finishes in 2017. Thursday, back in Canada, Chun fired a 4-under-par 67 and continued her fine play north of the border at the CP Women’s Open.
“I always feel comfortable to play in Canada,” said Chun.
The 23-year-old went bogey free on Thursday, and notched four birdies, on No’s 4, 6, 12, and 16, despite the fact that she said the greens were rolling quick.
“Really quick,” she stated. “Also, greens are very consistent here, so I really like the fast greens. I really enjoy playing here.”
And she’s enjoying the Canadian fans too, after a week off in South Korea where she visited her parents.
“All the spectators… Canadian people like sports. They are so kind. They're really fun,” said Chun, who sits tied for second heading into Friday’s second round. “I'm always happy to play in Canada.”
Marina Alex Adjusts After Weeks Off
Despite the wind picking up after Marina Alex’s blistering start, her 5-under-par, 66 set the pace early at the CP Women’s Open, and she leads by one.
“It started to get tough definitely the second nine, so I kind of just held in there the best I could,” said Alex, who made six birdies and just one bogey on the day. “Putted unbelievably well today. I rolled it so good. So I hope I can just carry that into the next couple days and just tidy up the ball-striking a little bit.”
Alex has four top-10s on the year, but hasn’t quite been able to string four good rounds together yet for to crack the top five, or snag a victory. She’s looking to change that this week, and said last week was a nice opportunity for her to reset.
“I had a couple weeks off, so it's always odd when you take two weeks off. It's not that it kills momentum, but you just have to kind of get restarted again. But I guess the break was really helpful,” she said. “I feel refreshed mentally, which is nice.”
Although Alex is off to a great start, she doesn’t want to yet get ahead of herself.
“I've definitely had rounds where I've been near the lead after the first day or the second or the third, so it’s good…to have a little bit of that experience under my belt,” she said. “There's still so much golf left. Just one day at a time."
Brittany Marchand, Maude-Aimee Leblanc, Augusta James Are Low Canadians
Brittany Marchand has won her last two professional starts – once on the Epson Tour an then the following week at the PGA of Canada’s National Women’s Championship – and comes into the week riding a big wave of momentum.
It was no surprise to see her play well enough early Thursday to sit as Low Canadian at the country’s national championship.
“It feels good to be home, obviously, and to play with familiar faces watching and everybody cheering you on, it's always fun doing that,” she said after a 2-over-par 73, despite hitting the ball ‘pretty awful.’
“I saved a lot. I made a lot of up-and-downs, which was really good. It could have been a lot worse, so I'm pretty happy with the way I kind of held in there. I know it probably wasn't the easiest conditions today with the wind and the greens are pretty quick. So I was happy with kind of pulling it together with what I was working with.”
Leblanc, meanwhile, will look to make her first cut on the LPGA Tour since May, at the Citibanamex Lorena Ochoa Match Play presented by Aeromexico and Delta.
James, whose brother Austin just turned professional last week, has notched one top-10 finish on the Epson Tour this year and is a member of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Program.
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