Brooke Henderson Storms to Victory at LPGA Tournament of Champions

Brooke Henderson started the 2023 LPGA season with a bang at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. 

The Canadian looked steady all week, and didn’t waver one bit on Sunday while winning in wire-to-wire fashion for the third time in her decorated young career.  

Henderson’s commanding lead of the pro-am-format event was highlighted by her bogey-free round of 66 on Friday. On Sunday, facing gusty winds that hadn’t yet been a factor at the tournament, the 25-year-old carded a masterful 2-under 70.

Henderson’s win is the 13th of her career—a number which includes two major championships. 

Two of Henderson’s rounds at the Tournament of Champions were played alongside 10-time major champion Annika Sorenstam, who competed in the celebrity division of the event. After the consecutive rounds, Sorenstam had quite a few compliments about Henderson’s level-headed demeanor.  

Coming into the week, Henderson was dealing with quite a few outside factors that left some uncertainty surrounding her game. 

She battled an upper-back injury in the off-season, which forced her to take a step back from practicing her long game and focus in on short-game repetition. Additionally, Henderson stepped on site at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club with a brand new equipment setup. Along with Nelly Korda, Henderson recently signed a full bag equipment deal with TaylorMade. 

Henderson’s ability to work through her off-season adjustments made hoisting the trophy this week all the more meaningful.

“There definitely was a lot of patience involved, especially early on in the off-season,” Henderson said. “A lot of big changes, a lot of things, but it couldn’t have worked out any better.” 

The early win will lift a weight off of Henderson’s shoulders—as it would for any professional golfer.  

“It’s so exciting, I always try to win a couple times each year, so to get one right away, right out of the gate, it takes a little bit of the pressure off,” Henderson said. 

Henderson, who finished at 16 under par for the tournament, was four strokes ahead of runner-ups Charley Hull and Maya Stark. World No. 2 Nelly Korda took solo fourth at 11 under. 

The LPGA season resumes in a month, as the world’s top players move on to the Asia swing, beginning with the Honda LPGA Thailand from Feb. 23-26.