Brooke Henderson overcame an early-round four-putt to drain the one that mattered most – a 9-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to win the Amundi Evian Championship, her second major championship title and first in six years.
“To be sitting here a two-time major championship is just an unreal feeling,” said Henderson, who won her first major title in a playoff against Lydia Ko at the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA.
Henderson, 24, stayed patient throughout a difficult day, reminding herself of the saying that majors are won on the back nine. Even the closing birdie proved somewhat stressful after a pulled tee shot forced her to lay up on the closing par 5, which plays as the easiest hole on the course.
“I was playing poorly and I was still in it,” said Henderson, who was three over through 11 holes. “That was really an important message to get through my head.”
The winningest Canadian player in history, Henderson is a two-time winner this year and now boasts 12 career LPGA titles. She started the week with record-setting back-to-back 64s and held on to finish at 17-under with a final round of even-par 71, good for a $1 million payday.
The hectic Sunday saw six players tied for the lead on the back nine. Rookie Sophia Schubert, playing in only her second major as a professional, pulled away with a one-shot lead deep into the round but was caught by Henderson, who birdied three of the last five.
The Cinderella — 26-year-old Schubert — started the week with a double-bogey on the first hole Thursday. Her second-round 65 was her lowest round on the LPGA and her third-round 66 was the second lowest of her career. She came into the week ranked 283rd in the world with $82,796 in earnings. On Sunday, her second-place check totaled $586,262.
“You know, I want to cry,” said Schubert. “I want to cry tears of happiness. I’m proud of myself, proud of everyone that’s helped me get to this point.
“It came just short, but I know that I’ll be back, so I’m really happy.”
The 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion cruised around Evian like it was a Tuesday practice round. Schubert said she avoided leaderboards until the finish, where she narrowly missed a 9-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would’ve forced a playoff.
“I think the last few holes coming in actually I just had the sense of like peace,” said Schubert, “so I just hit every shot and kept going.”
Five players finished in a share of third at 16 under, including past Evian champions Lydia Ko, Hyo Koo Kim as well as Charley Hull, Mao Saigo and Carlota Ciganda.
Both World No. 1 Jin Young Ko and Nelly Korda carded a 69 in the final round to finish in a share of eighth. Korda will not play in next week’s Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, as she’ll be visiting family in Prague.
Ko, however, will be playing the next two weeks in Scotland. She took 32 putts in the final round, not making her first birdie until the 11th hole.
“Well, I was angry,” said Ko when asked about her patience. “I really wanted to cry, but lots of fans out there so I couldn’t cry.”
Henderson’s four-putt came on the par-4 sixth hole, immediately after playing competitor So Yeon Ryu four-putted the previous hole.
“I tried not to let it bother me too much,” said Henderson, “but obviously that does shake you up a little bit.”
She did manage to immediately bounce back, however, with a birdie on the seventh.
“When I was 3 over through 11 holes I guess it was kind of like, OK, if I want to be at the top of the leaderboard again, and if I want to contend, I really need to get it in gear here and hit as many good shots as I can and get as many birdie looks coming down the stretch,” said Henderson.
“To make three of those in the last five holes or so was really big. It felt really nice to have the patience kind of pay off and then to make the comeback.”
Earlier this year, Henderson was forced to to switch drivers, shelving her faithful 48-inch model to one that’s 46 inches to conform to rule change. After she got that worked out, Henderson made changes on the greens, switching to a left-hand low putting grip.
“The left-hand low move was huge,” said Henderson. “Also we worked a lot, my coach and my sister, have worked a lot on just green reading, being more confident over it, trying to clear the mind a little bit.
“Those steps have really made a huge difference.”
With the AIG Women’s British Open being contested at Muirfield in two weeks, Henderson said her links game is still a work in progress. She has yet to finish in the top 10 at the British.
While the AIG marks the official end to the major season, for Henderson, there’s still one more. The CP Women’s Open will be contested at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, about an hour from where Henderson, the 2018 CP champion, grew up in Smiths Falls.
She’s an honorary member of the club and remembers the atmosphere being “phenomenal” the last time her national open was held there. The CP Women’s Open hasn’t been staged since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Thursday morning there is usually not a ton of people,” said Henderson, “and I walked up to the first tee at 8:00 and it was lined. I was like, ‘Wow this is really cool.’”
The homecoming awaits.
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