Henderson out, the field of women remains strong

World Number 9 Brooke Henderson fell ill and moved out of the ISPS Handa Vic Open on 13th Beach this week, after she had partially left her trip to Australia and returned to Florida.

Henderson, a regular visitor to Australia, was on her flight Down Under when she was forced to turn due to an unnamed illness. She would make her debut in the Vic Open.

The Canadian status for the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open at The Grange in Adelaide next week is unclear, although her management said she would stay in the field and hoped to recover on time.

Henderson, 21, won seven times on the LPGA Tour, including a major, the 2016 Women's PGA Championship.

She played all three years that the Women's Australian Open in Adelaide was disputed.

Vic Open's female field remains extremely strong, reinforced by the first year of an LPGA co-sanction, led by world number 6, Australian Minjee Lee, who has won the tournament twice and who defends the title this week.

World number 8 Georgia Hall from England, also a winner from the past on 13th Beach, is also in the field, along with all the top Australians from the LPGA, Victorian Su Oh, Hannah Green from Western Australia and Katherine Hull from Queensland.

Veteran Karrie Webb also plays for the second time on 13th Beach, although Webb is deeply grieved by the news from Townsville, where she has her Australian home. Floods have caused devastation in the city of Queensland in the north and even threaten Ayr, the birthplace of Webb's youth.

Webb tweeted today: "I am so saddened by these images of my hometown Townsville, rain is still falling 2 and flooding is getting worse, now I have grown up in the city I grew up, Ayr with the Burdekin river is also rising rapidly. praying 4 rain now it is 4 to stop Everyone safe. "