Canada's Brooke Henderson salvages first Olympic round with closing eagle

Sportsnet Staff @SportsnetAugust 07, 2024 - 12:51pm

Brooke Henderson, of Canada, plays off the 3rd tee during the first round of the women's golf event at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, at Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. (George Walker IV/AP Photo)

After a rough start to her Olympics, Brooke Henderson may have given herself a chance to stay in medal contention on her final hole on Wednesday.

Combined with Alena Sharp's solid day, Golf Canada certainly can feel good about the first day of women's play

Henderson drained a 48-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 18th, pushing her to 2-over 74 on a roller-coaster round at Le Golf National.

Meanwhile, Hamilton's Sharp shot a 1-under 71, putting her in a tie for seventh and just one stroke back of being in a third-place tie. Sharp had three birdies and no bogeys on the back nine to climb the leaderboard.

France's Celine Boutier leads the way at 7 under, three strokes ahead of South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai. Four golfers are tied at 2 under in the battle for bronze.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., bogeyed four consecutive holes from Nos. 2-5 before getting back to 1-over after 14 holes.

A double bogey on the par-4 15th and another bogey on No. 17 dropped her back to 4-over before the dramatic finish.

"The putt on 18 makes everything feel a lot better," Henderson said, per the Canadian Olympic Committee. "That was really fun to finish. Kind of saved my bacon a little bit I think. I was disappointed to go out with four bogeys in a row on the front nine, but I feel like I fought back pretty hard.

American star Nelly Korda finished at even par.

Three years ago in Tokyo, Henderson was 3-over after the first round and ended up in a tie for 29th. The Canadian tied for seventh in her Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Henderson, 26, is a 13-time winner on the LPGA Tour.

Sharp, 43, is ranked 248th in the world. She played her rookie year on the LPGA Tour in 2005 and also is in her third Olympics.

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