ORLANDO, Fla. — Brooke Henderson enjoyed the opening day of a fresh LPGA season a whole lot more than the tough, waning days of last season.
Her balky back feeling stronger and swinging a club more freely than she’d been able to since October, Henderson attacked Lake Nona on Thursday with six birdies for a 5-under 67 to take a one-shot lead at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
Henderson, who finished third in the Race to the CME Globe last year, started fast with birdies on three of her first eight holes. She added three more against one bogey on her inward nine to take a one-shot lead over Nelly Korda, who at No. 2 is the highest-ranked player in this week’s winners-only field.
“It does feel really good, to get off to a hot start, that’s always a great feeling,” said Henderson, who won twice last season — including her second career major, at the Evian Championship. “Hopefully I can continue it the next three days, a lot of momentum, and lots of birdies. You really need to go low here if the conditions are going to stay as nice as they are.”
A year ago, players were in wool caps and layers in unseasonably cool Florida weather. Thursday was kinder, a sunny day with temperatures climbing into the 80s.
Despite most players coming out of a brief offseason, few exhibited rust. Seventeen players broke par from the 29-player field of LPGA winners in 2021 and 2022.
Korda, who won the Gainbridge LPGA at Lake Nona in early 2021, nearly matched Henderson, making five birdies against a lone bogey in an opening 68.
She played alongside former MLB pitcher Derek Lowe, the defending champion from the celebrity-athlete division in the mixed field. There is a division for LPGA pros and one for the celebrities, each with its own prize fund. She and Lowe, paired together for three rounds in this event a year ago, spent the day spurring each other on to keep making birdies.
Highlights: Hilton Grand TOC, Round 1
“I’m more rooting for her,” Lowe said. “It’s such a blessing to play with her. I hope she wins.”
England’s Charley Hull and first-time winners Gemma Dryburgh (Scotland) and Ashleigh Buhai (South Africa) opened with 69s. Defending champion Danielle Kang played her way onto the leaderboard early, but bogeys at 12 and 13 left her at 1-under 71, tied for ninth.
Henderson’s 2022 campaign ended with a whimper: She withdrew from her second-to-last start in November and gutted out a tie for seventh at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida, where she lives. After that, it was time for some needed rest, then rehab for the back.
Henderson had a bag full of new clubs Thursday (so did Korda), and swung aggressively. Her lone blemish was a bogey at the par-3 17th, where she fanned an 8-iron short and failed to get up and down, but she got that shot back immediately with a birdie at the 388-yard 18th. She piped a drive into the fairway (she missed only two fairways), then hit pitching wedge to 15 feet, converting the putt for one last birdie.
As for the back? No pain.
“Today it was good, yeah, nothing, not even thinking about it,” she said. “I just make sure that I do the right things tonight (getting treatment) and tomorrow and hopefully the same moving forward.
“It’s great to be aggressive and be able to after shots again.”
Leading the celebrity division was a familiar name to all — 72-time LPGA champion Annika Sorenstam, a Lake Nona resident. A runner-up in 2022, Sorenstam amassed 39 points in the Modified Stableford scoring system, two points better than 2021 champion Mardy Fish, a former tennis standout.
Her husband and caddie, Mike McGee, told her when the round ended it was her first bogey-free round in some time.
“Which wasn’t on my mind, but I am obviously very pleased to play here without a bogey,” Sorenstam said.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
