Hall wins, and a memorable Major for Henderson.

For Brooke Henderson, it was her best Ricoh Women’s British Open to date. But the Canadian and Golf Town athlete couldn’t gain much momentum on Sunday, finishing in a tie for 11th, 11 shots back of winner Georgia Hall.

Hall stormed up the leaderboard and held off some of the LPGA Tour’s biggest names—including So Yeon Ryu and Ariya Jutanugarn—in the final round, shooting 5-under to win by two shots. Hall, 22, from England, had never won on the LGPA Tour or the Ladies European Tour prior to winning the British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes on the English coast. She had six birdies in the final round to finish at 17-under par, ahead of Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum. Hall’s father caddied for her and her golf pedigree runs deep; her father named her after the state where the Masters is held each year.

“It’s too good to be true,” Hall said in a televised interview after the round. “I don’t think it’s all sunk in for me. It was my goal when I was nine-years old on the putting green—‘This six-footer is for the British Open.”

LYTHAM ST ANNES, ENGLAND – AUGUST 05: Georgia Hall of England poses for a photo with her trophy after winning the tournament during day four of Ricoh Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes on August 5, 2018 in Lytham St Annes, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

It wasn’t Hall’s first appearance on a big stage—she finished third at last year’s British Open and played on the Solheim Cup team. Hall said she was overwhelmed by the support of the vocal British fans. “It was so nice to see so many people supporting me,” she said. “Just hundreds and hundreds of people all cheering my name. It was so nice to have that backing behind me.”

Henderson comes away having had her best finish in a British Open. The Golf Town athlete said she’s enjoying the links golf experience: “It’s really amazing and really challenging because it is so different from what I grew up playing on. I do look forward to coming over here and playing in the Women’s British Open. I learn every year to play a bit better.”

But Henderson added the conditions, and especially the wind, takes a lot out of her over the course of four rounds. “You have to think your whole way around and it is kind of mentally exhausting more than physically,” she explained. “It’s just all the conditions—the wind and the rain and everything—takes a lot out of you.”

Henderson was steady in her final round, but was derailed by a double-bogey on the 17th, to finish 2-over par and 6-under for the tournament. The biggest moment of Henderson’s British Open came with an an ace in the second round, using a 9-iron to ace the ninth hole. The ball one-hopped into the hole for her second professional ace of her career.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

2 thoughts on “Hall wins, and a memorable Major for Henderson.”

  1. Way to go Brooke and Brittany. We are so proud of the two of you. Great hole in one. Hugs From Gary & Enid