The LPGA Tour already plays five major championships on its schedule, but for Brooke and Brittany Henderson, they have always counted the CPKC Women’s Open as a major tournament as well.
After Brooke’s big win in 2018 on home soil, she’s long talked about wanting to lift the (awfully heavy!) trophy again. Through 2025, she’s admitted a few times that her season just hasn’t been what she’s used to seeing. Of course, however, she broke through in a huge way, winning this year’s CPKC Women’s Open in August – her first win on the LPGA Tour since 2023!
Brittany, who was of course on the bag for Brooke’s win in Regina seven years ago, says the week before the event in Mississauga they had played well in Portland. Things, she says, were “starting to flow” and they were feeling a ton of confidence going into a big week.
With Brooke now having been a professional for more than 10 years, they’ve also been able to put together a great plan for the CPKC Women’s Open – a week unlike any other for them on the season!
“There is always a lot of attention and a lot of buzz. We talked about just leaning into that and allowing that to give you energy,” Brittany says. “A lot of times in sports you play so much, and we have such a long year that you try to operate at even and not let yourself get too high or too low. (CPKC Women’s Open week), we said we were just going to run with the high energy.”
With the Brooke Brigade in full force and plenty of family support, they both knew it would be a special week.
“Sometimes it’s hard because it’s a lot of pressure – but like they always say, pressure is a privilege and I think just having a different mindset of… let’s just run with his energy,” Brittany explains. “’Let’s not try to keep it even-keel this week because it’s almost impossible when you have that energy behind you. You might as well just go with it. That was really key!”
It mattered little come Sunday, but Brooke had a bit of a slow start Thursday as she sat 2 over through seven holes. But she turned things around quickly on her second nine and was 3 under for her final seven holes. They knew they had to play well on Friday – but they weren’t too far behind.
“Those closing holes (on Thursday), not that they won us the tournament, but without them we wouldn’t have won,” Brittany explains. “They were really pivotal and gave us the chance to go out Friday morning and play well with a good start and a really strong finish.”
On Friday they went 4 under for their final seven holes heading into the weekend. It was a bit of a fine line, but all-of-a-sudden they were 5 under through 36 holes and in the hunt.
The duo remained firmly in the mix through Saturday and ended with a flourish – making birdie on 15, birdie on 16, and then an eagle bunker-blast on 17.
“You turn a good round into a phenomenal round,” Brittany says.
Come Sunday, Brittany explains that they just tried to embrace the moment they had found themselves in. A chance to not just win on the LPGA Tour again, but to win their national open, is not something that comes along each year!
“Those opportunities are what we work hard for,” Brittany says. “That’s what you’re looking for all year – to give yourself a chance. To put yourself in a good position where you’ve got a chance to walk away as a champion. It would be easy to be stressed or nervous but we embraced it. ‘We have this opportunity so let’s run with it, and let’s embrace everyone’s support.’”
Brittany was quick to say how great the Brooke Brigade was all week long – especially, she says, one particular young girl. She was there every day and had a little sign, but it was an erasable white board. So, every few holes, she would write a new message for the sister duo.
“It was so cute. Friday morning it just said, ‘Good morning,’” Brittany recalls with a laugh. “Usually you’re used to seeing ‘Go Brooke’, but this was so creative. We just loved seeing all the kids out there.
“It felt like such a good environment for us to thrive in. We embraced that, and we thrived in it.”
As the duo came down to the end of the tournament, it was very much a match-play situation between Brooke and Minjee Lee – the final pairing of the day. It had been some time since Brooke was firmly in the arena with a chance to win on the LPGA Tour. Brittany says, however, a lot of things between the duo goes completely unspoken. They know each other – and their golf games – so well, that they share a singular focus of taking things one step at a time.
With the whole of the property excited for the sisters after they won Sunday night, it was time to celebrate! With so many friends and family having made the drive down the highway from Smiths Falls, they came into the clubhouse for dessert and champagne. They also were so thrilled to see that there was $4.5 million raised for the CPKC Has Heart campaign through the week at Mississauga.
“There is a lot for Brooke to do, so we were celebrating without her for a while,” Brittany admits with a laugh. “I think that was the first win where we had so many family members and friends from home there to enjoy it with us. It was a really cool experience in that regard. A lot of the time you’re getting congrats from afar, but this was in person.”
The win, Brittany says, has made the duo feel rejuvenated for the rest of the year. It firmed up their spot in the CME Group Tour Championship (the LPGA Tour’s season finale) as well as the Tournament of Champions in January for the next two years. Brooke will also be part of the new World Team and the International Crown competition in Korea next month.
“Brooke is so good and so capable that we just needed one good week! We needed things to go into place and start clicking for us and get that one good week. We knew we could, but it was a matter of actually doing it.”
Do it they did! It was a magical week in Mississauga, and now Brittany can’t wait for the rest of the season.
Well Done