Brooke Henderson goes on tear to take 1-shot lead at LPGA Tour event in Florida

Brooke Henderson was bothered by seeing so many low scores before she even teed off Thursday on the LPGA Tour. She just went out and putted for birdie on every hole, opening with an 8-under 62 for a one-shot lead in The Annika.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., made a long birdie putt on her final hole, the par-3 ninth, for a 29 on the front nine to move past a group that included Jin Young Ko and Patty Tavatanakit.

"Up until this year, ball-striking has definitely been a strength of mine, and hasn't been as sharp as I would like the last couple months," said Henderson, who switched irons recently and felt she was headed in the right direction.

"To hit all 18 greens is more what I used to be used to a little while ago," the Canadian said. "It feels amazing not to have to get up and down and give myself a lot of birdie opportunities."

One last thing! Confidence? Boosted ✅ <a href="https://t.co/0cYPl0r1aW">pic.twitter.com/0cYPl0r1aW</a>

Henderson won the season opener in Florida and hasn't won since, falling to No. 13 in the women's world ranking and coming in at No. 14 in the Race to CME Globe.

This is the last tournament for the top 60 players to reach the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship down the coast in Naples. That's not an issue for Henderson or Ko, who is No. 5 on the strength of two LPGA victories.

It's a different story for the others who were at 63. Tavatanakit, a former major champion, is at No. 61 and got off to the ideal start.

"I've been like preparing for this event. Obviously, I knew what I had to do," Tavatanakit said. "I'm pretty stressed, but at the same time, I feel like I did everything under my control. I did everything with no regrets. I'm just going to be out here and know at the back of