Henderson made things interesting, shooting into medal contention in final round
Brooke Henderson’s putter went cold at the wrong time.
Chasing Canada’s first ever Olympic medal in women’s golf, Henderson was in contention for the podium on Saturday after shooting a front-nine 34.
After three consecutive birdies on holes 8, 9, and 10, Henderson was in a tie for fourth place and was within striking distance of New Zealand’s Lydia Ko.
However, a bogey on hole 13, and a missed seven-footer for birdie on the par-5 14th put Henderson’s hopes in jeopardy. On 15, a bogey pushed her out of medal contention for good.
She finished the day with a one-under 71, and placed in a tie for 13th on the final leaderboard.
Brooke Henderson, of Canada, plays on the 14th fairway during the final round of the women’s golf event at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, at Le Golf National, in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Henderson shot over par in the first two rounds at Le Golf National, scoring a 74 on Wednesday, and 73 on Thursday.
She put herself in position to medal after she scored a four-under 67 on Friday.
“It was a good fight,” said Henderson. “And after yesterday’s round, (it) was great to be somewhat back in contention with an outside chance of medaling.”
“Going into today, I tried to have similar energy and just give myself a lot of good looks which I did, and I feel like a few putts could have gone my way.”
Henderson is Canada’s winningest professional golfer, having won 13 times on the LPGA Tour.
In her Olympic debut at Rio 2016, Henderson finished tied for seventh, which still stands as Canada’s best result since golf’s return to the Olympic program that year.
With her 13th place finish in Paris, she improves on her placement from Tokyo, where she finished in a tie for 29th.
“I mean, I feel like it was every round. I kind of fought back at some point,” she said. “So it was cool to kind of see that I did show that toughness and that grittiness when I needed throughout this week.”
Once again, Henderson has finished as the top Canadian in the Olympic field of women’s golf.
Brooke Henderson, of Canada, taps hands with Canadian fans as she walks to the 1st tee prior to starting her final round of the women’s golf event at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, at Le Golf National, in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Alena Sharp, playing in her third Olympic Games, finished tied for 42nd after shooting nine-over par for the tournament.
On Saturday, the 43-year-old shot her best round of the tournament with a one-over 73.
“I started making putts on number nine, found something out there and got into the line and I don’t know, I just made a lot of good rolls and all week I hit it well,” she said.
Possibly playing in her last Olympic Games, the 19-year LPGA pro said she took time to soak in the moment on the final hole.
“I just took a deep breath on 18 and took it all in just like, well, this is my might be my last hole… and maybe my last Olympics.”
Meanwhile Henderson, already through three Olympic Games at the age of 26, will be looking to continue her push for another medal in 2028.
“It stings a little bit right now for sure,” said Henderson, reflecting on her final round performance. “But I feel like I played good golf and I did my best out there.”
