Brooke Henderson had just one bogey as she began the LPGA Tour season with a five-under 67 to take a one-shot lead over Nelly Korda at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
“it does feel really good and to get off to a hot start, that’s always a great feeling. Hopefully I can continue it the next three days, a lot of momentum, and lots of birdies. You really need to go low here if the conditions are going to stay as nice as they are,” said Henderson.
“I was three under through nine, which felt good, kind of gave the confidence a little bit of a boost. Unfortunately, I bogeyed 17, so I was really trying to make birdie on 18 to try to get it back. Happy to make the birdie there, and just hopefully go out (Friday) and make some more,” said Henderson, who finished last season with upper back pain.
“t was kind of a strange off-season for me because right after CME, I had to take a lot of time off to heal my back, so it was really weird not practicing for a while,” she said.
“Then, even after resting for two weeks after that, I still couldn’t swing full. I was just chipping and putting. It was a really strange off-season in that way. It was just like slow progress, being patient and then building up to where now I can take full swings and things,” she said.
“It was a big off-season in terms of lots of things happening, but right now, it looks like everything paid off well, and hopefully, just keep it going,” said Henderson, who joined TaylorMade in the off-season after a long association with PING clubs.
“The clubs are awesome and I feel like I was able to make a bunch of putts today, which is a really great feeling. A couple to save par and some for birdie, and it really kept my round going,” she said.
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PGA Tour
Adam Hadwin opened the American Express with a four-under 68 that has him tied for 42nd in La Quinta, Calif.
All of the scores are here.
