Henderson ready for muddy U.S. Open
As he trudged through the mud on the boundaries of the waterlogged Shoal Creek Club, Dave Henderson watched daughter Brooke make her final preparations for the U.S. Women’s Open, which begins Thursday.
Tropical depression Alberto played through over the past three days, dropping close to 130 millimetres of rain on the long, tree-lined course, lengthening the layout and shortening practice rounds to just nine holes for some players.
Dave Henderson, putting on his coach’s hat, thinks the tough conditions will give Brooke an advantage because she will be undeterred.
“She’s like the Vegas Golden Knights,” he said, referring to the expansion Stanley Cup finalists who played the Washington Capitals in Game 2 of the final Wednesday night. “She doesn’t give you any room. She just keeps coming at you.”
Brooke Henderson, with a win under her belt this season and coming off a fourth-place finish, likes the look of Shoal Creek, which hosted the 1984 and 1990 PGA Championships.
“It’s the course that suits me the most out of the last four years (of the U.S. Open), which is really exciting,” the 20-year-old native of Smiths Falls said.
“It just feels a little better. It fits my eye. That’s how I feel this week which is always a good feeling to start off with.
“I think it’s going to be tough. There are maybe going to be rain delays. I think it’s mostly over now, but just with the wet lies and trying to stay patient because you are going to get some bad lies out there. You just have to deal with it.”
There’s a lot to like about Henderson’s chances:
She was hammering the ball on the range and on the course Wednesday and if her driving game is on, like it was when she won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2016, Henderson is going to have a big advantage over much of the field. The course is set up at 6,689 yards with a rating of 79.9 and a slope of 145. If the USGA keeps the course at that length, the field of potential winners is going to shrink and Henderson will be in the small group remaining.
Don’t be surprised, though, if the USGA decides to shorten the course as the tournament progresses. That would be bad news for Henderson.
Henderson has fared well in the U.S. Open in the past with three top-15 finishes in five tries. Her record:
2017, Trump National, New Bedminster, N.J.: T13
2016, Cordevale G.C., San Martin, Calif.: 64th
2015, Lancaster C.C., Lancaster. Pa.: T5
2014, Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst, N.C.: T10
2013, Sebonack, G.C., Southhampton, N.Y.: T59
There are going to be more than the usual number of bad breaks in a major.
The course, as well as it has drained, and it’s been remarkable given the amount of rain, is still going to feature bad lies and lead to muddy balls.
The USGA has never allowed lift, clean and cheat, er, place, in any of its championships and isn’t about to start now, though some players remained hopeful. The feeling is in conditions like this a lot of luck comes into play when it comes to something like a mud ball. Mud on the ball makes it difficult for the player to control.
“I think it will be a little unfair if they don’t (allow lift, clean and place), but you never know,” world No. 3 Lexi Thompson said. “I mean, if they don’t, everybody has to play it down and it is what it is, but it’s their choice.”
American Stacy Lewis said: “I know they hate to do it, but for pace of play more than anything, just play it ‘up’ and keep it moving.”
American star Brittany Lincicome believes “It’s going to be a nightmare.” Henderson has the right attitude. “Just stay positive even when things aren’t going to go your way, especially this week, just doing what I can do,” she said. “You are going to make bogeys. You try not to, but you are just going to have to roll with it.”
It just feels a little better. It fits my eye. That’s how I feel this week which is always a good feeling to start off with
Henderson, a streaky putter, is coming off a good putting tournament two weeks ago in Williamsburg, Va., at the Kingsmill Championship. She finished the rain-shortened tournament with back-to-back 65s and used 29 putts in each of those rounds to finish fourth.
Normally a player who uses a mallet-style putter, she wielded a blade, a PING Anser 2, at Kingsmill and will use it again this week.
“I started to see the line really well, which is key. Just to shoot two 6-under rounds back-to-back was a lot of fun and I just feel like it gave me a lot of positive energy with that putter.”
Henderson goes off the first tee at 2:48 p.m. Thursday with Lincicome and Hye-Jin Choi, last year’s runner-up.