HENDERSON HUNTING FOR A THREE-PEAT
Fresh off a career-best T12 finish in her home country’s national championship, the CP Women’s Open, Brooke Henderson is back in the states and ready to defend her back-to-back Cambia Portland Classic titles.
While Henderson tries to keep her mind off of a three-peat, she can’t help but let the thought creep into her mind. “Of course I would love to win here again,” she said on Tuesday afternoon.
“The thing about wins is you can’t really force them, though. You need two get good breaks at the right moments and you need to play your best really to win out here against the best in the world. Obviously I would love to do it again, but first things first. I need to play really well on Thursday, Friday, and hopefully move up the leaderboard on Saturday and Sunday.”
Henderson has played in 21 of the 23 tournaments thus far in the LPGA season, and last week in front of her home Canadian crowds was the start of an extra busy four weeks for the 19-year-old. “Obviously last week was a huge week for me; this week, very big as well,” Henderson said after playing 18 holes on Tuesday.
“I would love to be able to perform at my best. I’m planning on playing next week and the final major of the year in two weeks. Really busy stretch, but really excited for it. I feel like my game is in the right spot to be able to compete at all four.”
Henderson was able to get her mind off of golf for a few minutes following her meeting with local media on Tuesday when she did a meet-and-greet with one of her Portland fans, a young girl named Lorien Wezchoff who presented Henderson with an early birthday card.
With four tournament titles to her name including a major championship, it’s hard to fathom that Henderson will be turning just 20 years of age on September 10th. Still, at age 19 Henderson looks to join Nancy Lopez as the only three-time winner of the Cambia Portland Classic Presented by JTBC.
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“The first year it just set up really well for me. You know, tree lined, kind of tight. I had a really good feel for the right angles and where I could hit the ball on the greens, and I felt like my strategy was really good. I was able to play my best, probably the best I’ve ever played that week to win my first LPGA Tour event. Last year I was kind of running off adrenaline. This year I’m trying to do a mixture of both.”
- Brooke Henderson on her two Cambia Portland Classic wins
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- In 2017, Brooke Henderson has racked up 11 top 15s including a win at the Meijer LPGA Classic, and is coming to Portland fresh off her career-best outing at the CP Women’s Open where she tied for 12th.
- Henderson has played in 21 tournaments and is one of just nine LPGA players on Tour to have played in 21 or more of the 23 tournaments thus far in the season. In 2016, Henderson led the LPGA by playing in 31 of 33 tournaments.
- At the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, Henderson won her fourth title and passed Ariya Jutanugarn as the youngest winner on Tour in 2017 at age 19.
- In 2016, Henderson was the youngest player to win on Tour and was the youngest ever winner of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the second youngest player to win a major championship in LPGA history (18 years, 9 months, 2 days).
- In just two appearances at the Cambia Portland Classic, Henderson has two victories to her name.
- After winning the 2015 Cambia Portland Classic as a non-member, Henderson petitioned and was granted membership by LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan.
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