A player from Canada is aiming for a repeat at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

A player from Canada is aiming for a repeat at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

Resuming her ride on the LPGA Tour is something that Brooke Henderson is very excited about.

The LPGA Tour kicks off its 2024 season on Thursday at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, with Henderson from Smiths Falls, Ontario, the lone Canadian in the field. In addition to a celebrity tournament, the elite women’s circuit champions from the previous two seasons are competing in the invitation-only event.

Even if the remainder of her year didn’t go as planned, she qualified for it as the 2022 and 2023 Tournament of Champions winners and two-time champion.

Henderson said during a press conference, “There are a lot of highs and lows, and you just have to keep riding it out and be patient. “Starting out with a win here last year, definitely a huge high and then I did have some lows throughout the year.”

After winning the Tournament of Champions on January 22, Henderson failed to make the cut five times in the previous season. Not until July 27 at the Amundi Evian Championship, when she finished second, did she place in the top 10.

From then on, she performed better, placing 12th on Nov. 16 at the LPGA Tour’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. Then, at the non-sanctioned Grant Thornton Invitational, which brings together players from the men’s PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour, she finished second with partner Corey Conners of Listowel, Ontario, to round off a fantastic year.

Henderson, who began the season ranked No. 13 on the Rolex Rankings and ended 15th in the Race to CME Globe standings last season, said, “I feel like near the end of the season, I was starting to climb my way back up.” Near the close of the season, I just started to see a lot of positives, so I made an effort to carry that momentum into the off-season.

“I’m excited to be playing here this week, playing next week as well (at the LPGA Drive On Championship), couple weeks off and go to Asia, which I always really look forward to playing those events over there.

Henderson has also made a fresh start, having spent the last few months working in a completely different set of clubs. The 26-year-old changed her putter, driver, and fairway woods after replacing her irons in the fall.

She first used her new Qi10 driver during a TaylorMade picture session, and it has her really excited.

Henderson stated that the additional power was helpful since the LPGA Tour reduced the allowable length of drivers from 48 inches to 46 inches two years ago. “I had to use it that day for some photos and I used it on the range and I was like, ‘Wow, I love this!’ so it went immediately into my bag,” Henderson said.

“What a wonderful change (the new driver) has been. I feel like I’m hitting it much straighter and have gained a little distance, which gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”