Thirteen-time LPGA Tour winner Brooke Henderson did her best to defend her title at The Amundi Evian Championship but fell shot after carding a final-round, 1-under 70, ultimately finishing runner-up to champion Celine Boutier. The Canadian made two bogeys and three birdies on holes 4, 9 and 15 on Sunday to finish with a 72-hole total of 276, six shots shy of the third successful title defense of her LPGA Tour career.
"I feel like things are really coming together. It's been a little bit of an up-and-down year, so it's nice to finish strong this week," said Henderson, who hit 8 of 13 fairways and 11 of 18 greens in the final round. "I love coming here to France. The atmosphere, the people are amazing. This course is so beautiful and a lot of fun to play. I feel like we have a good strategy for it now, which is exciting. To finish (second) this year is amazing after coming off the win last year. I'm really proud of that. Celine played amazing, so really happy for her too."
Not including her victory at Evian Resort Golf Club in 2022, today marks Henderson's sixth top-25 finish in this championship in eight total starts. The solo second is her best result since winning the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and is her only other top-five finish this year. It's also the best performance from a defending champion in Amundi Evian Championship history. With the year's fifth and final major happening at the AIG Women's Open in just two weeks' time, Henderson seems to be turning a corner at the right moment, and this week in Evian-les-Bains just might be what she has needed to jumpstart her momentum for the rest of the 2023 season.
"It feels great to be back in contention on the final groups in the weekend on a major championship," said the two-time major winner. "That's all you can really ask for. I feel like the game has been trending for a while so nice to see some good results. Looking forward to an off week this week and coming back at the British and hopefully having a similar result."
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