Brooke Henderson Is Channeling Her Inner Annika Sorenstam at Tournament of Champions

Tournament of Champions leader Brooke Henderson got some special compliments from the LPGA Hall of Famer.

Brooke Henderson can thank her stellar ball striking and consistent putting for the three-shot lead she holds going into the final round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. But the Canadian might also be getting a small boost from somewhere else: her playing partner for back-to-back rounds, Annika Sorenstam. 

Sorenstam may be a 10-time major champion, but for the second year in a row, she’s teeing it up as a “celebrity” in the event, which takes place at her home course, Orlando’s Lake Nona Golf & Country Club. Sorenstam happened to be paired with Henderson for two consecutive rounds, and after witnessing her dominate the field up close, the Swedish superstar was quick to praise her game. 

“There’s no doubt that she’s one of the very best of the LPGA players currently,” Sorenstam said of Henderson. “She drives it really well and just very solid. She has good distance control.”

When Henderson arrived at the Tournament of Champions with a brand new TaylorMade equipment set-up, it was unclear how smooth her transition would look. But the 25-year-old quickly demonstrated that the club switch was a positive change when she shot a strong opening round of 67, followed by a 66 on Friday and a 69 on Saturday. 

Sorenstam didn’t stop there with the kind words for Henderson. The 72-time LPGA winner went as far as to say that she sees some of her own strengths in Henderson—including her mental toughness. 

“She’s very steady. I think that was one of my strengths, a lot of fairways, a lot of greens,” Sorenstam said. “Maybe a little bit of a temperament, as well. She doesn’t get too over excited and she doesn’t get too mad and angry when she doesn’t do well. She’s kind of steady, keeps that momentum going, and I think it’s easier to recover that way and just kind of keep it going.”

It’s one thing to receive a compliment about swing mechanics from an LPGA legend. But Sorenstam’s comments on Henderson’s demeanor were especially meaningful for the world No. 7. 

“Well, that’s a huge compliment that she would say that,” Henderson said. 

“I think I mentioned it yesterday, we all look up to her out here and how steady she was and how consistent and how dominant she was. So if I can just take little pieces of her game and add it to mine, that would be phenomenal.”

As evidenced by her wire-to-wire lead, Henderson is well on her way to taking inspiration from the LPGA Hall of Famer. 

The Hilton Grand Vacation Tournament of Champions final round resumes at 2 p.m. ET on Golf Channel, where world No. 2 Nelly Korda will attempt to close in on Henderson’s three-shot lead.