Brooke Henderson won her second major title, and first in six years, two weeks ago at the Amundi Evian Championship, and then promptly pulled out of the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open to recharge.
She took the unplanned off-week to tour a couple of castles in Scotland and practice at Carnoustie, site of last year’s AIG Women’s British Open.
This year’s British Open will be contested at iconic Muirfield for the first time. Muirfield has hosted 16 men’s British Opens, dating to 1892. It was only three years ago that the club invited its first female members in 275 years. This year’s champion will join a list of 16 men who have won an Open at Muirfield, including the likes of Harry Vardon, Walter Hagen, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson.
Henderson, the winningest Canadian golfer of all-time – male or female – played nine holes at Muirfield on Sunday night and 18 on Monday and said it might be her favorite links course yet.
“I just love the way it feels and the way it looks,” said Henderson. “I mentioned some of the spectacular views of the water, which is really cool. You can see it from a lot of different holes, actually, which is pretty neat.”
With no top-10 finishes to her credit yet at the British, Henderson isn’t as high on the list of favorites as one might think, despite her recent triumph. She’ll rely heavily on older sister Brittany, who has more of an analytical mind, to help her manage her way around a course originally designed by Old Tom Morris.
“I’m very much just a feel player,” said Henderson, “so coming in, I like to see the golf course and kind of feel my way around. I feel like we make a really good team that way. The two methods kind of fit really well together.”
