MISSISSAUGA — Two-time LPGA major champion Brooke Henderson has some advice for fellow Canadian Savannah Grewal as she prepares for a hometown start at the CPKC Women’s Open: Have fun with it.
The 23-year-old Mississauga native will tee it up at Mississaugua Golf and Country Club when the national women’s championship comes to town next month.
Henderson knows the pressure of playing close to home, having twice competed in the national women’s championship at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, about an hour from her hometown of Smiths Falls, Ont.
“She’s a great player and she has been playing well on tour,” Henderson said Monday at a press conference to promote the 51st edition of the CPKC Women’s Open, Aug. 21-24. “It will be fun for her.
“But it is really different playing at this tournament so close to home. I was about an hour away, and Savannah will be even closer. But it’s such an amazing opportunity to have your friends and family out there, to feel the crowd and the energy as the hometown person. It’s really, really special.”
The 27-year-old Henderson claimed the 2018 CPKC Women’s Open, the first Canadian to accomplish the feat since Jocelyne Bourassa won in 1973.
Henderson’s results at Ottawa Hunt were mixed, with a tie for 12th in 2017 and a tie for 49th in 2022.
“(Playing at home) definitely comes with you wanting to perform well, there’s a little bit extra pressure and things like that. But if (Grewal) can really soak it in, really enjoy the moment, and focus on what she’s really trying to accomplish, I think that’ll help.”
Grewal, 23, is in her second season on the LPGA Tour. She’s currently ranked 289th in the world, while Henderson has slipped to No. 44 after years as a perennial top-10 performer.
Henderson has made the cut in 10 of 14 events this season, with just one top-10 finish — back in early April — and hasn’t won since January 2023.
She’s also still adjusting to life after eye surgery last fall. Henderson now wears contact lenses instead of glasses on the course.
The 13-time LPGA Tour winner has 83 career top-10 finishes but has slipped to 57th on the LPGA money list.
She hopes to save her season with significant results at the final two majors of the season in the next five weeks at the Evian Championship in Switzerland and AIG Women’s Open in Wales.
Henderson also has her past experiences in Canada to look forward to next month.
“That trophy is special to hold, and I’d like to do it again,” the three-time Canadian Olympian said.
Golf Canada also announced that world No. 1 Nelly Korda will be part of the tournament field, as will three-time champion Lydia Ko.
Ko and Henderson performed and won this event as teenagers. There will be two Canadian teenagers making their LPGA debuts in Clara Ding, 14, of White Rock, B.C., and Shauna Liu, 16, of Maple Ont.
The two youngsters won She Plays Golf Championship series events to qualify.
Mississaugua will become the 17th course to host both the men’s and women’s Canadian Opens, having staged the men’s championship six times.
Like the RBC Canadian Open, there will be a hockey-themed rink-hole. Will Henderson dare to wear an Ottawa Senators jersey to show her colours?
“I might sneak it in,” she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2025.
Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press
