Canadian professional golfer Brooke Henderson returns to the site of her 2022 victory this week with gratitude for the mentor who shaped her career. As she prepares for the 2026 ShopRite LPGA Classic, the golfer credits a veteran for laying the foundation for her LPGA career.

Henderson debuted at Galloway in 2015 via a crucial sponsor exemption. She achieved three top-10 results and three top-25 results at the same venue in the later outings. During that pivotal 2015 debut week, Henderson relied heavily on fellow Canadian player Alena Sharp.

"So she was somebody that I really leaned on a lot and she really taught me a lot about life on Tour, kind of how to handle yourself and how to prepare for an event."

She started by elaborating on how she also practiced alongside Sharp.

"In 2015, I played a lot of practice rounds with Alena Sharp. She was and continues to be a great mentor for me and a great friend."

Alena Sharp is an active LPGA golfer with two Epson Tour wins, two Canadian Women's Tour wins, and four West Coast Ladies Golf Tour wins under her belt. So her word was gospel for Henderson back then.

Sharp taught Henderson how to handle herself under pressure and prepare effectively for tournament fields. This early guidance set the stage for Henderson's rise, yielding 14 LPGA titles and $15.9 million in career earnings (per Spotrac) until now.

Winning this 54-hole tourney in 2022 turned out to be a launching pad for her summer season.

She managed to carry the momentum forward to win a second major championship at the Amundi Evian Championship just one month later.

Capitalizing on Course Familiarity and Strategic Adjustments 

Now back for the 38th iteration of the tournament, Henderson uses a wealth of information from a decade of combined course data. She is familiar with the intricacies of Seaview because she has played the venue every year since 2015.

However, recent rainfalls have made the New Jersey course softer, thus creating chances for good scores. Yet, competitors will still need to cope with difficult wind conditions.

The shortened three-day tournament allows for no early mistakes, demanding an aggressive start on Friday. Henderson explained the urgency of making birdies.

"You don't really have time to be slow or to make too many mistakes."

Henderson started the 2026 season well with a third-place finish at Orlando. Since then, however, she has failed to replicate her form, with her T23 finish at the Aramco Championship being the best outing after that.

She hopes to put an end to her poor finishes at Seaview.

"So it was a great start. Has been a little bit slow since then, but hopefully it'll be a good summer starting with this event here."

People are looking forward to seeing how her familiarity with the field contributes to a new victory this weekend at Seaview.

Do you think Brooke Henderson will be able to recreate her 2022 victory at the 2026 ShopRite LPGA Classic? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Abhishek Sharma

Edited by

Surjo Ray