PORTLAND - 17-year-old Brooke Henderson is a winner on the LPGA Tour.
In what has been a season of firsts for the Canadian, Henderson added another milestone to her list of accomplishments Sunday with her first victory on the LPGA Tour at the Cambia Portland Classic. Henderson won by eight strokes at 21-under par. Henderson carded a final round 3-under par, 69 including five birdies and two bogeys.
“It's amazing,” Henderson said after her win. “It's such an unbelievable thing, and I can't really, it's not even real‑life yet I don't think. I was just trying to play my own game, and I kept trying to get it to minus‑24 all day today, and I came up a little bit short, but I got the win, and I'm extremely excited.”
Henderson now owns the 72-hole scoring record at the Cambia Portland Classic with a winning total of 21-under par, a record previously held by Suzann Pettersen who won in 2013 at 20-under par for the championship. Henderson Monday qualified for this week’s event by shooting 68 to earn one of two spots in the field. With her win on Sunday, she becomes just the second player to Monday qualify and go on to win, the first being Laurel Kane at the 2000 State Farm Rail Classic.
Henderson’s victory marks the first for a Canadian on the LPGA Tour since Lorie Kane in 2001. Currently ranked 32nd in the Rolex World Golf Rankings, Henderson is the top ranked Canadian ahead of next year’s Olympic games in Rio. She returns home to Canada next week where she is already in the field at the Canadian Pacific Women's Open.
“I think Canadian golf is really growing, and there's a lot of great players coming up. But to get that and for Canadian fans and Canadian support that I've received over the last couple months and last couple years is unbelievable, so I'm happy to bring one home for Canada.”
The victory is a historic one for Henderson who becomes just the third player to win on the LPGA Tour before the age of 18, joining impressive company with World No.2 Lydia Ko and major champion Lexi Thompson.
Henderson says she has not yet decided whether or not she will petition for membership to the Tour following her win this week.
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