Henderson Back To Defend
Things are a lot different than they were just a year ago for defending Cambia Portland Classic champion Brooke Henderson. As a Monday qualifier in last year’s tournament, Henderson cruised to an eight shot victory over the closest competitor and finished at 21-under par, a new tournament scoring record.
Henderson’s win made her the second player in history to win an LPGA event after Monday qualifying, joining Laurel Kean who won the 2000 State Farm Classic in the same fashion. Following the victory, she was also granted membership to the LPGA Tour by commissioner Mike Whan in Category 7 on the 2015 LPGA Priority List, reserved for players who have won an official LPGA event as a non-member in the current or previous calendar year.
“It was such an amazing week for me and kind of set up my whole career,” said Henderson of last year’s win. “Gave me LPGA membership, first win on tour, and everything kind of just fell into place, which it’s truly incredible. The journey over the last 18 months turning pro and winning here and just a few weeks ago, everything is kind of like living the dream. Just trying to enjoy every moment and soak it all in.”
The 18-year-old has climbed up 30 spots in the Rolex Rankings and now sits at No. 2 in the world. Henderson also became the youngest ever winner of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship when she captured her first career major championship earlier this month at Sahalee Country Club.
The pride of Smith Falls, Ontario will look to continue her success in the Pacific Northwest as she hopes to grab her third career LPGA victory and second at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. Henderson says she likes everything about this tournament, from the tree-lined layout to the climate of the area.
“Coming here last year the course really fit my eye and I was able to play really well,” Henderson said. “I think that gave me a lot of good momentum and good vibes knowing I was playing in the Northwest just a few weeks ago at Sahalee.”
“Then I am just hoping to continue the momentum here this year.”
Playing For A Cure
Brooke Henderson didn’t arrive to Portland until Tuesday evening, as she spent Monday and Tuesday playing in the CVS Health Charity Classic in Rhode Island. Henderson was paired with fellow Canadian and two-time world long drive champion Jamie Sadlowski in the tournament, which has raised more than $19 million for Southern New England nonprofit organizations since it began in 1999.
“They put so much into giving back into the community and giving back all around the nation,” Henderson said of the event. “Just being a part of it and playing with some of the pros and seeing everything they do, it was an amazing experience.”
Award Nominee
Brooke Henderson was one of four LPGA players nominated for the 2016 ESPY Award for Best Female Golfer. Joining Henderson on the nominee list are 2015 winner and world No. 1 Lydia Ko, No. 3 Inbee Park and No. 7 Ariya Jutanugarn.
“Yeah, I saw it on Twitter just a few days ago,” said Henderson. “I’m very proud to be even recognized as one of those players and to be nominated. One of my best friends, she texted me and was just so crazy about it. She thought it was unbelievable. It is definitely something that I’m very excited about.”
Professional Debut
For Stanford graduate Mariah Stackhouse, the Cambia Portland Classic represents her first LPGA event as a Tour professional. It’s something that Stackhouse says she’s looked forward to her entire life.
“Actually, for Father’s Day I was looking through some old picture books looking for some younger pictures of my dad and I, and I ran a cross a couple pictures of me playing golf when I was little,” said Stackhouse. “It just kind of hit me. Wow, I’ve been doing this for so long. I started playing when I was two and now this week I’m playing in my first-ever professional event.”
Stackhouse is coming off of a decorated career at the college level. As a four-time All-American, she helped lead the Cardinal to the 2015 NCAA Championship as well as an appearance in the 2016 NCAA Finals last month in Eugene. Her college teammates have been sending her messages wishing her good luck all week and will certainly be watching as she tees it up in Portland.
“The camaraderie I’ve shared with my teammates the past four years, especially these last two with such good performances all the way through post season, it’s a lot of fun,” Stackhouse said. “I think those are the memories that I’ll carry with me from my college golf experience.”
History Maker
To put it bluntly, Mariah Stackhouse’s amateur career has been downright historic. Stackhouse set a NCAA low scoring record by shooting 61 in a round as a freshman. In 2011, she also became the youngest African American woman to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open at the age of 17. Three years later, she became the first African American woman to compete on the United States Curtis Cup team.
Despite experiencing so much success and being in the spotlight so early in her career, Stackhouse admits the butterflies are still there as she gears up for this week’s tournament.
“There is definitely nerves,” said Stackhouse. “Not the bad nerves, just this is a very exciting week. It’s something that I’ve looked forward to my whole life.”
Gearing Up For The Real Thing
Rising North Carolina State sophomore Naomi Ko earned her way into the Cambia Portland Classic after shooting a 1-under par 71 at Langdon Farms Golf Club for a one-shot victory in the Portland Classic Amateur Open on June 1. The 19-year-old will play in the U.S. Women’s Open next week, but this week she’ll get her first taste of what it takes to compete on the LPGA Tour in her first career professional event.
“I knew I was going into the U.S. Open obviously, but this is kind of a really big tournament to start off with, especially because I haven’t played any professional tournaments before,” said Ko. “I think it’s just as big for me. Being able to play in this event gives me on an opportunity to get a feeling of what it’s like.”
Ko and defending champion Brooke Henderson were teammates on the Canadian team at the 2014 World Junior Girls. Ko has yet to see her old friend this week, but is looking forward to following her footsteps in the future.
“Definitely that’s my No. 1 goal, is turning pro and making it onto the LPGA Tour and hopefully play with Lydia and Brooke and just the best players in the world.”
Early Experience
Mariel Galdiano was the low scorer in this week’s local Monday qualifier, shooting 69. The 18-year-old who will be attending UCLA in the fall will be playing in her fifth LPGA event at the Cambia Portland Classic and has already competed in three U.S. Women’s Opens as a teenager.
“Definitely I’m not as nervous as I was at my first LPGA event,” said Galdiano. “Still nerves on myself rather than all the other factors, like the crowds and hoopla, everything. I just have pressure on myself to play my best and show that I can compete with the best in the world.”
The Hawaiian will look to follow in Brooke Henderson’s footsteps and win on the LPGA after Monday qualifying for an event. She has seen the success of her young peers so far in 2016 and gets the sense that she could do some of the same things the Tour’s best have done.
“Past winners or winners this year include like Ariya Jutanugarn, and she would play junior tournaments that I would be entering,” Galdiano said. “Same with Lydia Ko and Brooke obviously. So, yeah, definitely shows how young the game is getting and how close we are as junior golfers, how close our dreams are and how good we can become.”
Numbers To Know
22 - Number of rookies who are in the field this week out of the 29 total in the 2016 class
4 - Number of African American players in this week’s field (Ginger Howard, Sadena Parks, Mariah Stackhouse, Cheyenne Woods)
3 - Number of amateurs in this week’s field (Mariel Galdiano, Naomi Ko, Sydney Maluenda)
-21 - Tournament scoring record set by Brooke Henderson in 2015
8 - Margin of victory by Brooke Henderson here last year, the largest in 2015
2013 - The first year the tournament transitioned to a 72-hole event (previously 54 holes)
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