Sometimes the way a golfer manages to find success isn’t just about birdies and bogeys. There’s always, with the sport, outside forces that play a role in a pushing a ball just a little more online. Or helping it catch a lip. Or making the impossible seem possible.
For Brooke Henderson, she is riding a familial kind of love this week with her niece being born just prior to Thursday’s opener at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. And three days into the third major of the year, the Canadian is just one shot back heading into Sunday’s finale.
Her steady play has been rewarded and she’s trending towards notching her best finish of the season – and, just maybe, her third major title.
“It's been an awesome week. Honestly, I think it's just all thanks to my niece coming into this world. I've just been really happy. I've been working really hard on myself and also my game coming into this week, so I feel like it's nice to see it pay off a bit,” Henderson said. “Thanks to my niece, I feel like we’re riding good energy and I’m just looking forward to the opportunity tomorrow to hopefully post a good round and just see what happens.”
Henderson shot a 3-under 69 Saturday at Hazeltine and trails Haeran Ryu by just one shot. She’ll be in the final group for Sunday alongside Ryu and 36-hole leader Ina Yoon, who struggled Saturday to a 3-over 75.
Henderson opened with a birdie on the par-4 2nd but gave it back four holes later. She made the turn with birdies on 8 and 9, however, and was steady through her back nine. Henderson gained more than two strokes on the field with her putter on Saturday but may rue some of the short misses from the third round. Henderson missed six putts from inside 15 feet, including four from inside of 10.
The two-time major champ said the conditions at Hazeltine were unlike any of the other days with high winds affecting everything – include the short strokes.
“On 16, I thought the wind was going to push it, so I thought the putt was going to be faster, but I ended up coming up short. I feel like it was just hard to judge all day,” Henderson said. “But overall, I feel like (my caddie) Ryan and I, we did a good job. I'm not sure what it's going to be tomorrow, but I feel like this course kind of showed how tough it was today.”
Henderson has been in the final group of an LPGA event 20 times in her career and has won 11 of those 20 including her last five – including the 2025 CPKC Women’s Open. She has also been in the final group of the final round of a major four times, winning once.
It hasn’t been, results-wise, the most notable of seasons for Henderson so far. But she knows as well as anyone that one good week could change it all, and she’s found herself in the best of positions to try to take another major across the finish line on Sunday.
“I think everyone in this field, that's where they wanted to be starting Sunday was in that final group,” Henderson said. “It was just a lot of fun and good energy, and I'm excited that I was able to put myself back in that position for tomorrow.”
It’s been a great week already for Henderson. She’s hoping to convert that good energy, pure joy, and perhaps some divine intervention into a trophy on Sunday.
