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Hot putter gives Henderson lead at LPGA major – TSN

Published

8 months ago

July 22, 2022

Harry Miller

Brooke Henderson is playing crêpes golf at the Amundi Evian Championship in France this week.

Through two rounds, the Canadian golfer leads the LPGA Tour’s fourth major of the season by three shots after a second consecutive round of 64 on Friday.

The reason for her fast start?

“I’ve been having a lot of crêpes in France,” she said, a smirk punctuating her comment. “To keep the momentum going, I’d better have some more.”

As she did in the opening round, Henderson got off to a fast start, making birdies on her first two holes. She bookended the day well, closing out her round with birdies on the last three holes as well. Overall, she had eight birdies against just a single bogey on her card.

“It feels really nice to get off to a fast start in a major championship. Feels like it’s been a while. To get it this far under par is really awesome,” said Henderson. “And I feel like I’m hitting the ball really well, which is nice. Making some putts. So, two solid days, and I’m just really looking forward to the weekend.”

Henderson leads Nelly Korda by three shots. Sei Young Kim and So Yeon Ryu are five shots off the pace in a tie for third.

This marks the second time in Henderson’s career that she’s fired back-to-back 64s. The last time was at the 2019 Meijer LPGA Classic, which she went on to win. While she’s giving lots of credit to the French delicacy for her play, it’s more likely her putting that is the reason for her 14-under-par score.

Over 36 holes, she’s averaged just 27 putts per round. Normally the putter is the weak link in Henderson’s otherwise stellar game. Two months ago, looking for some help on the greens, she elected to change her grip, reversing the position of her hands so her left hand is lower. That’s proved successful as she earned a win at the Shoprite LPGA Classic in June and has been inside the top 16 in her last four starts.

When the 24-year-old putts well, she is usually in the hunt for a win. In her 11 victories on tour, Henderson has averaged 28 putts per round. So far this week, she used her putter 26 times on Thursday and 28 on Friday.

“The putter has been hot for me the last couple months,” said the 24-year-old, “and it’s a really great feeling. It’s nice to have a little bit of momentum. I won a couple months ago, had some nice top finishes in majors again a few months ago. Had nice time off. I’m ready, back here, and looking forward to the rest of this week and the following two weeks. First time at the Scottish and then the British.”

Henderson has made it clear that she has targeted the majors on her calendar. Despite being one of the game’s top players, she’s only managed a single major title in her list of accomplishments. She’s hoping she can change that this week.

“It would be amazing to get my second major championship, and hopefully I get a few more before my career is over,” she stated. “I feel like this is a great position after two days, and it’s only half over, so see what happens.”

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Maple Leafs @ Islanders 3/21 | NHL Highlights 2023 – NHL

Published

7 hours ago

March 22, 2023

Harry Miller

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Japan's Shohei Ohtani named WBC MVP after historic performance at plate, on mound – Sportsnet.ca

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8 hours ago

March 22, 2023

Harry Miller

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Need to Know: Bruins vs. Senators

Published

18 hours ago

March 21, 2023

Harry Miller

BOSTON – The Bruins will be back on home ice on Tuesday night as they return from a lengthy five-game road trip to host the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden. Boston has bounced back to win three straight after a brief lull in its record-breaking season produced a stretch of three losses in four games.

“Hold ourselves accountable,” Matt Grzelcyk said of how the Bruins have rebounded quickly from the downturn. “And I feel like that Winnipeg game, we got a huge goal second shift, I think that just kind of starts getting things going the right way – and having that more attacking mentality offensively, defensively, taking time and space away from them. And I think it was a good transition and that’s when we could kind of overwhelm teams.”

Here’s everything else you need to know ahead of the 7 p.m. ET puck drop on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub:

On the Injury Front

Derek Forbort did not take part in the morning skate and is unlikely to play again before the postseason, per coach Jim Montgomery. The blue liner suffered a lower-body injury after blocking a shot on March 16 in Winnipeg.

“We do not expect him back before the end of the regular season,” said Montgomery, who added that Forbort does not require surgery.

Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno, both of whom have been out for nearly a month with lower-body injuries of their own, have resumed skating. Foligno took the ice on his own ahead of Tuesday’s morning skate, while Hall joined his teammates donning a maroon non-contact jersey.

“They’re checking boxes and are progressing well, but there’s no timeline for them yet,” said Montgomery. “I still think they are a ways away. It’s not at the point where I’m starting to think about lines and stuff.”

When they do return, however, Montgomery is eager to have plenty of options up front.

“I don’t think it’s a problem. It’s a great situation,” he said. “You’ll get to see when they get back who plays with who, and a deep lineup is going to get even deeper. So, it’s a great problem to have.”

After sitting out Sunday’s game in Buffalo, David Krejci (soreness) and Dmitry Orlov (defense rotation) will be back in the lineup. A.J. Greer and Jakub Zboril will be the healthy scratches.

Opposing View

The Senators, on the second end of a back-to-back, snapped a five-game losing streak on Monday night with a 2-1 win over Pittsburgh. The recent downturn has pushed Ottawa (34-31-5, 73 points) six points behind Florida for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

After winning the first two games against the Bruins this season – both on home ice – the Senators fell to Boston, 3-1, on Feb. 20 at TD Garden.

“I think they won [on Monday night], so they’re probably feeling pretty good about themselves,” said Grzelcyk. “Every game probably feels pretty close to a playoff game and they haven’t been there in a few years. They’ve got a lot to prove and they’ve got a lot of young talent…a good power play.

“We’ve got to stay disciplined, something we’ve lacked in a little bit recently. I’ve got to be mindful of that and I don’t want to give them any easy opportunities. And they played last night, so get on them early and make them work for it.”

Ottawa is paced by Tim Stutzle, who leads the club with 35 goals and 78 points in 66 games. Brady Tkachuk (30-42-72) has also hit the 30-goal, 70-point plateau, while Claude Giroux (28-30-68), Alex DeBrincat (21-35-56), and Drake Batherson (21-34-55) have reached the 20-goal mark.