Coming into the final round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship, Brooke Henderson was in the last group, a few shots back of the lead, and feeling confident about her chances.
“Hopefully I’m within striking distance going into tomorrow, and just keep doing what I’ve been doing all week— try it make as many birdies as possible and get off to a fast start,” Brooke Henderson told reporters after the third round. “There’s a lot of birdie opportunities, especially the first five holes. So just get off to a quick start and see what happens after that.”
Brooke, a Golf Town athlete, did just that—making birdie on her opening two holes to sit just one shot behind leaders Danielle Kang and Nelly Korda. Henderson made two more birdies on the front nine to put herself in a strong position to win in Singapore, but no one expected the stunning play of Michelle Wie. Wie, a past U.S. Open winner who was often regarded as the face of women’s professional golf until injuries and putting woes derailed her, made seven birdies for a clean 65 to better Henderson by a shot. While Brooke played strongly on the back nine all week, she could only make a single birdie in the final nine holes on the last day, shooting 67 and falling a shot short of Wie in a tie for second.
“I just kind of wanted to get revenge after last year a little bit,” Wie said. “I kind of came with a slight chip on my shoulder in the morning, and I knew that I had to shoot low to even have a chance, and everyone played great today. You know, everyone was really clustered up there on the leaderboard. I’m just really proud of myself for making a lot of birdies and keep going, and never really getting out of my head, which I’m really proud of doing today.” It was Wie’s first victory since 2014.