The second major of the season on the LPGA Tour kicks off a busy summertime stretch, and Golf Town Athlete Brooke Henderson can’t wait to return to Lancaster Country Club for the 2024 edition of the U.S. Women’s Open.

Brooke finished tied for fifth the last time the U.S. Women’s Open was played at Lancaster and comes into the week having a steady season – including a tie for third at the first major of the year.

Now she’s hopeful for an even better result.

“In 2015 I finished (tied for fifth) and coming down the stretch on Sunday I had a few opportunities where it could have been a better finish even than that – so it’s really exciting to return to somewhere where you’ve had a lot of success,” Brooke said. “I know the golf course a little bit. A lot of great memories which I always enjoy that feeling when I have those at a certain golf course. Really looking forward to that week and do a little better than fifth.”

Brooke has already notched five top-10 finishes so far this season in just 10 starts. She’s eighth in scoring average, 11th in greens in regulation, and is fourth in total birdies.

Brooke said that she’s looking forward to leaning into her strengths when she tees it up at Lancaster again.

“It’s going to be a tough test and you’re going to have to bring all that you have to play well and move up the leaderboard. And I really enjoy that challenge,” Brooke said. “When things get tougher, I enjoy those moments and usually I can grind it out and move up. That’s exciting – it fits my game.

“It’s important to hit a lot of fairways, the rough is really thick. Ball striking is usually a strength of mine so going into that week it’s right on and I can take advantage of hitting lots of fairways and lots of greens.”

While Brooke has been consistent so far in 2024, Nelly Korda will head into the U.S. Women’s Open as the overwhelming favourite.

Korda is having the kind of season on the LPGA Tour that is hard to put into words, as she won for the sixth time in just eight starts at the Mizuho Americas Open. Korda was the first person to win six times or more on the LPGA Tour in more than a decade – and it’s only May.

She is the first American to win at least six times in a season since 1990.

“It’s a lot of fun. For me it’s more rewarding that all the hard work that I’ve put in, all the rollercoaster that I went through from the end of 2021 with my injuries to this year is just super rewarding,” Korda said.

As part of her incredible stretch run, Korda won the first major of the year. She finished tied for 64th at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open and said that winning that particular major was high on her priority list – as it was the first event she ever played in 2013.

“That was where I realized this is my dream and I would love to live that out one day, so obviously I have a tie to that event emotionally,” Korda said. “There has definitely been some heartbreaking times where I just haven’t competed well in U.S. Women’s Open where I feel like I put a little bit more pressure on myself, because I do love the event and I feel like out of all the events that’s like the event for me.”

Allisen Corpuz is set to defend her title after winning last year’s U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach by three shots. In Gee Chun was the last winner at Lancaster, winning the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open by one. Brooke finished five shots back.

The total purse of the U.S. Women’s Open this year will be $12 million, up $1 million from last year and more than double the prize fund of just three years ago. It’s the biggest in all of women’s golf.