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Canadians Maddie Szeryk, Brooke Henderson take different paths to LPGA’s first major of the year


No matter if you’re a first timer or a world beater, it’s good to be in the field of the first major of the year on the LPGA Tour.

So far this week, Canadian Maddie Szeryk has received a few player gifts, has put in a few orders at a fancy on-site coffee bar and was left wide-eyed by the “amazing” golf course.

And the real fun hasn’t even started yet.

“I’m like, ‘oh yeah, this is definitely a major week,’” Szeryk told the Star from The Woodlands, Texas, where she’ll compete at the Chevron Championship, the first of five majors this season.

This week marks Szeryk’s debut at a major championship as a pro (she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open as an amateur in 2017 and missed the cut) but she’s trying to take it all in — fancy coffees and all.

A conversation with her sports psychologist on Tuesday was focused on not getting caught up in how big the week is, Szeryk said. And it is a big one.

The purse has been increased to $5.1 million (U.S.) for 2023 and it will be broadcast on network television in the U.S. for the first time. All of the top 20 golfers in the world are in Houston this week led by world No. 1 Lydia Ko. Szeryk, meanwhile, will look to continue a trend that has seen three of the six winners on the LPGA Tour this year be first-timers.

“I’m just trying to manage this week as another week of a long year. It doesn’t have to be a huge deal,” Szeryk said. She’s missed her last two cuts and is trying to manage her expectations as best as possible.

Szeryk will have plenty of support this week and often performs her best when that’s the case. She spent her whole life in the Lone Star State (her parents are Canadian but moved there for work) and was a star at Texas A&M, about an hour away from The Woodlands.

“I’ll definitely have a bit of crowd, which will be fun again,” said Szeryk, who finished tied for seventh earlier this year in her best-career LPGA Tour result in Arizona, with friends and family on hand.

Szeryk is one of three Canadians teeing it up at the Chevron, including Maude-Aimee Leblanc and Brooke Henderson. While Szeryk his making her pro debut in a major, Henderson will once again be one of the odds-on favourites — despite some recent struggles.

Henderson won the first event of the season, but she has just one top-15 finish in four other starts so far in 2023. She’s an uncharacteristic 41st in greens in regulation this year (Henderson hasn’t been outside the top five in that stat in any of the previous three seasons) and is 99th in driving distance. However, her tie for 11th at last week’s LOTTE Championship has buoyed her confidence heading into this week’s major. Henderson finished tied for 13th at the Chevron last year.

“I saw a lot of good things in my game, which is exciting,” Henderson said of last week’s result. “I think everyone is really trying to peak for (the Chevron) and being a new venue and a lot of things different about this championship that we’ve had for a long time, I think everyone is just extra motivated.

“Hopefully I can match their energy and just go in strong.”

This is the first time in five decades the event has moved from Rancho Mirage, Calif. and the Dinah Shore course at Mission Hills Resort after Chevron took over sponsorship of the event in 2022. It hosted one last hurrah in California before moving it to the suburb of Houston, near the company’s headquarters.

The Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at The Woodlands will play host. It’s a layout that world No. 2 Nelly Korda called “completely different” than the 50-year host venue. There’s more water, it’s longer, the greens are smaller, and the grass is opposite to that in the Palm Springs desert, she explained. If Henderson taps into her usual strengths of length off the tee and accuracy with the irons, she could be poised for another big week.

“It’s a great golf course that is going to require accuracy off the tee and hopefully we can do that and make a few putts along the way,” Henderson said.

Jennifer Kupcho, ranked No. 20, is set to defend after winning her maiden major by two strokes last year. The celebrated college star and inaugural winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur hadn’t yet won as a pro until her triumph in 2022.

“I think after the win at Chevron, it really just made me comfortable that I could actually do it,” said Kupcho. “To come through and actually win was amazing.”

The Chevron Championship begins Thursday at 8:15 a.m. ET.

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