After two canceled editions and three years of waiting, Canada's LPGA Tour event is finally back.
And it seems fitting that after such a long delay, the CP Women's Open is returning to Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, just an hour from the hometown of Canada's most successful golfer.
"It's great to be back at the CP Women's Open, and I'm very excited to have another opportunity to play on home soil," Brooke Henderson told theScore in an email interview in partnership with Golf Town. "It's always special to play in front of the 'Brooke Brigade.'"
Golf Town announced Tuesday a three-year extension of its partnership with Henderson. It also signed her sister and caddie, Brittany, as a brand ambassador.
Henderson grew up in Smiths Falls, Ontario, southwest of the Canadian capital. She found success early in her golf career, winning both the Canadian Junior Girls Championship in 2012 and the Canadian Women's Amateur Championship in 2013.
She claimed her first LPGA Tour title in 2015 at the Cambia Portland Classic - winning by eight shots at only 17 years old. She won her first major at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship a year later, joining Sandra Post and Mike Weir as the only Canadian professional golfers to win a major championship.
Today, Henderson stands alone. After winning the Evian Championship in July, the 24-year-old is the only Canadian golfer to win multiple majors.
"The victory at the Amundi Evian Championship felt great, and holding the designation as the first Canadian golfer with multiple wins is still surreal to me," Henderson wrote. "There are so many great Canadian golfers throughout history, and to be mentioned in the same sentence as them is truly a dream come true."
Henderson holds the record for most wins by a Canadian on a professional tour, which she set with her ninth victory at the Meijer LPGA Classic in 2019. She's since won three more events - including her second major - to bring her total to 12.
That historic dozen also includes the 2018 CP Women's Open. Henderson won by four strokes, becoming only the second Canadian to win the country's lone LPGA Tour event.
She came close to defending her title in 2019, finishing tied for third. The tournament returns this year for the first time since then after it was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"It's always nice to be close to home," wrote Henderson, who's currently ranked No. 5 in the world and No. 2 in the LPGA's Race to CME Globe standings. She also ranks fourth on the LPGA Tour for greens-in-regulation percentage and third in strokes gained: total.
But Henderson won't be the only star at this year's CP Women's Open. Nelly and Jessica Korda are both in Ottawa this week, as is defending champion and World No. 1 Jin Young Ko.
Six-time LPGA Tour winner Danielle Kang also made the trip north, returning to the Tour after taking time away following a spinal tumor diagnosis.
Also in the field are Augusta National Women's Amateur winner Anna Davis, who won at Augusta earlier this year at only 16, and Lydia Ko, who first won the Canadian Women's Open in 2012 at 15. All four of the season's other major winners also made the journey to Ottawa.
Despite all the star power, most of the crowd's attention will be focused on the Canadian prodigy, who enters the tournament during one of her best recent seasons.
"Their support gives me that extra confidence and motivation on the course," wrote Henderson of her "Brooke Brigade."
"I know they'll be out in full force again this year, and I'm looking forward to giving it my all and making them proud."
Henderson will tee off Thursday alongside Ko and Jennifer Kupcho at 1:04 p.m. ET.
