BOGEYS BATTER BROOKE
Henderson falters to fall 10 shots back at U.S. Women's Open
Two days of patience and steady golf from Brooke Henderson blew up in a little over an hour on Friday at the Champions Golf Club in Texas. And with it, likely went her chances at this week's U.S. Women's Open.
The Canadian star bogeyed four of her final five holes to shoot a 2-over-par 73 at the club's Cypress Creek course, and will enter the weekend at the year's final major at 3 over par, 10 strokes off the lead.
Before her round went south, Henderson seemed well on her way to executing a time-tested U.S. Open strategy of hovering around par, diligently waiting for opportunities at this difficult championship. She birdied the par-five 13th hole to get to red numbers at 1 under and into the top 15, but then proceeded to bogey hole Nos. 14-16 as well as the closing hole.
Henderson made the 36-hole cut right on the number and didn't meet with the media after her round.
The 23-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont., native took a cautious approach to golf's restart after the COVID-19 shutdown, and is playing just her ninth tournament of the year.
“With 2020 being so uncertain my team and I said, let's just focus on the majors,” she said earlier in the week.
Henderson shot a 1-over 72 at the slightly less difficult Jackrabbit course on Thursday.
Cypress Creek was the intended venue for all four days of this championship before it was delayed six months by the pandemic. The short days of December meant each golfer had to play one of their first two rounds on the Jackrabbit course. The final two rounds will be played exclusively at Cypress Creek.
Japan's Hinako Shibuno has had the opposite U.S. Open experience through two days in Houston.
The 22-year-old followed up her first-round 68 with a 4-under par 67 in the second round to reach 7 under and will take a three-shot lead into the weekend.
Shibuno, who plays on the LPGA of Japan Tour, became an overnight sensation in her homeland last year after winning the 2019 Women's British Open.
“I turned from a normal person to a celebrity overnight, and I don't know how to explain it,” she said after her round. “In Japan, even though I was wearing a mask, people recognized me.”
Shibuno has made 10 birdies and just three bogeys through two rounds — a rare feat at any U.S. Women's Open. It's enough to give her a three-stroke cushion over her closest competitor.
Japanese golf fans are among the most passionate in the world, and a second major championship victory would undoubtedly propel Shibuno to superstardom. She said the experience gained last year at Woburn Golf Club in England has prepared for her this week.
“No pressure whatsoever,” she said. “I'm playing a major in the United States, unlike when I was at the British Open, where I feel like I was starting from scratch.”
Shibuno said she'll “by all means” join the American LPGA should she win on Sunday.
In second place is another unlikely story in Swedish amateur Linn Grant. With her father caddying for her, Grant shot matching 69s on Thursday and Friday and sits alone on the leaderboard at 4 under par.
“I'm still an amateur, and I haven't played a lot of tournaments, but I definitely think that my game is good enough to play on the LPGA,” Grant said.
Grant, 21, doesn't think her inexperience will hold her back. She believes that young players are — to steal a term from her generation — levelling up, and that the quality of golf will only continue to improve every year. Grant's drive on the 10th hole on Friday suggests her game actually might be getting better every day.
“I said out loud, `That was probably the best drive I've hit in my life.' ”
Behind the Cinderella stories at the top of the leaderboard is a group at three golfers at 3 under. First-round leader Amy Olson, Meghan Kang, and another amateur, Kaitlyn Papp, are tied for third.
The final group on Saturday will be Shibuno along with the two amateurs, Grant and Papp.
There are eight players on the leaderboard at two-under par, including a trio of two-time major champions in Ariya Jutanugarn, Stacy Lewis, and Cristie Kerr.
Kerr, 43, the oldest player in the field, is playing through injury. She was hospitalized last week after being thrown from a golf cart in a collision at the LPGA Volunteers of America Classic.
“I'm icing constantly. I don't have any fractures,” Kerr said. “It takes time for ribs and intercostals to heal, and I dislocated several ribs. So that should tell you how much pain I'm in.”
Canada's Alena Sharp bounced back after a 75 on Thursday to shoot a par 71 on Friday. The 39-year-old Hamiltonian fell short, though, finishing at 4 over and missing the cut by a stroke.