US Women’s Open – Sister Acts

There’s something very special about playing golf with your sister. It’s a step beyond playing golf with your best friend. Sisters know each other in a different way than girlfriends do – that Big Sister-Little Sister relationship is packed with potential snarls and snags, but also with a purity that is only rarely transferred to girlfriend relationships.

There are three sets of sisters with three different kinds of relationships going to work this week at the US Women’s Open: Jessica and Nellie Korda, Brooke and Brittany Henderson, and Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn.

Jessica & Nelly Korda

U.S. Women’s Open: The Korda Sisters Sound Off

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Nelly Korda has followed big sis Jessica onto the pro golf stage. Nelly’s playing her rookie year on the Symetra Tour and she’s playing her first US Women’s Open as a pro this week after besting the field by five shots at the Bradenton Country Club sectional qualifier in May.

Neither of the Korda sisters is a stranger to the Open. Nelly first qualified as a 14-year old amateur in 2013 and Jessica played her first Open in 2008, when she was 15.

The sisters traveled together and played some practice rounds together this year. With Nelly going out in the morning wave – she had a rough start but with a fine 2nd nine recovery managed to sign a card for even par – and Jess in the afternoon, they’ll be able to pool their CordeValle 1st round knowledge over dinner Thursday night.

Brooke and Brittany Henderson

Brooke & Brittany Henderson – Kevin Haime Kids To Golf Course Classic

Brooke Henderson and sister Brittany Henderson visit the Kevin Haime Kids To The Golf Course in Ottawa, Ontario to lend support to junior golf. Please subscribe to our channel and visit our website at www.flagstick.com

I can’t imagine a better situation than having your big sis who is also a very skilled golfer on your bag. That’s how it is for world ranked #2 Brooke Henderson.

Brittany Henderson is a pro golfer in her own right. She played her collegiate golf at Coastal Carolina (as did Dustin Johnson), turned pro in 2015 and began playing on the Symetra Tour. That was the year her little sister Brooke came to Florida and started playing her way onto the pro golf stage. They traveled together and played together and caddied for each other.

Brooke’s pro career took off in a big way when she won the 2015 Cambia Portland Classic and Brittany put her own pro career on ice and continued to caddy for her sister. When Brooke won a Kia 900 for her ace on the 13th (152 yards with a 7 iron) at the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (which she went on to win), she gave Brittany the keys. Isn’t that the way sisters do things?  Maybe not all sisters, but that’s the way the Henderson sisters operate. Theirs seems to be an equal partnership.

The dynamic Henderson duo is having a slow 1st round start at CordeValle, but let’s see if they can assess and adjust and pick up the pace in the 2nd round.

Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn

Thai Sisters | Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn | 2016 UL International Crown

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The Jutanugarn sisters have been playing golf together since they were little kids and they’re formidable and fearsome competitors.

The sisters are the leading edge of a wave of young Thai golfers who are joining the pro ranks. They’ve been playing on the big pro stages now for several years and have mastered the difficult task of being simultaneously competitive and supportive of each other. They’ll play for the second time this year on the Thai International Crown team.

When Golf Digest asked the Jutanugarn sisters who each would rather take a 4-foot putt to win the US Women’s Open, Moriya said she’s give that putt to Ariya “because if I missed it I’d be heartbroken.” Ariya, who notched 3 consecutive Tour victories in May and is riding a tsunami wave of self-confidence this week, said she’d take that putt in a heartbeat: “Whether I missed or not, I would love to have that putt.”

The Jutanugarns are both looking at red numbers after their first round at CordeValle. Let’s see what they learned on Thursday. If they can put that knowledge to good use on Cut Day at CordeValle they’ll both be staying around for the weekend action.

More US Women’s Open Coverage

• Se Ri Pak’s Victory Lap
• The Challenge of CordeValle – What to Look For From the Top Players
• A Look at the Big Four in the CordeValle Field
• US Women’s Open – Is CordeValle Too Easy?

Cover Image Via YouTube