It was tied for the round of the day on Saturday, and it’s exactly what Brooke Henderson needed.

The 20-year-old fired a 7-under-par 65 in the third round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship, and it moved her from a tie for 15th to a tie for third. Henderson, who won twice on the LPGA Tour in 2017 – and nearly repeated as the KPMG Women’s PGA Champion – has had two top-10s so far this season, but missed the cut in Australia.

She’s been able to bounce back strongly since that.

Henderson birdied two of her final three holes Saturday, and the 65 is her lowest round on Tour so far in 2018.

“It was a great day out there, a lot of birdies,” said the Canadian. “I had nine putts on the back nine, which is really awesome, especially for me, so I'm really happy about that. Just a great day. I got up-and-down when I needed to and to climb the leaderboard as much as I did today… I'm very happy on moving day.”

She came into the year having won the Canadian Press’ Female Athlete of the Year award for 2017. Henderson has five career LPGA Tour wins, and she is sniffing another record – the most LPGA Tour wins by a Canadian is eight (Sandra Post) and she realistically has a chance to match or beat that total this year.

Henderson told the news wire service that her big goal for 2018 was to get back into the top-10 on the Rolex Rankings, hopefully one day toping that list. She sits 14th currently but it’s likely she will move up at least one spot after this week.

It’s usually a family affair with Henderson, as her sister Brittany has been her caddie since she turned professional, and her parents – Dave and Darlene – are awake in the middle of the night at home watching the coverage, she said.

“They stay up all night and re-watch it again in the daytime, so they are definitely my No. 1 supporters and helping me, even when they are half way around the world,” she said.

Henderson is four shots back of the lead held by Nelly Korda, who matched Henderson’s 7-under-par 65 on Saturday. She said she’s going to try to keep doing what she’s been doing all week to try to spoil back-to-back wins by the Korda sisters.

“There are a lot of birdie opportunities, especially the first five holes,” she said. “So just try to get off to a quick start and see what happens after that.”

Brooke Henderson in contention

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