Brooke Henderson seems to like the Northwest. Earlier this month, the 18-year old Canadian won her second LPGA tournament and first major at the KPMG Women’s PGA at Sahalee Country Club outside Seattle, WA. Next week she will return to Portland, Oregon to defend her first LPGA victory at the Cambia Portland Classic presented by JTBC, June 30-July 3, at Columbia-Edgewater Country Club.

Henderson, who vaulted to number two in the Rolex World Rankings after her win in the PGA, won in Portland last year by eight shots after Monday qualifying for the event. She also set a new tournament scoring record in process, and became only the second player to win an LPGA event after Monday qualifying. She has used her new exempt status to steadily rise in both the Rolex Rankings as well and the LPGA Money List for 2016, where she currently ranks third.

Henderson will be joined in Portland by five other former Portland Classic Champions: Austin Ernst, Suzann Pettersen, Ai Miyazato, Mika Miyazato and Cristie Kerr. Four players who have held the top spot in the Rolex rankings will be there as well including Stacey Lewis, Yani Tseng, Kerr and Ai Miyazato. Also in the field next week are LPGA Hall of Fame members Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak as well as 20 projected Olympians.

Last week the tournament announced that Mariah Stackhouse had received a sponsor’s exemption for the event. Stackhouse, a recent Stanford grad, will be making her professional debut in Portland. The second exemption for the event was won by Naomi Ko, a Victoria, British Columbia native, in the Cambia Portland Classic Amateur Open, held June 1st.

“We are happy to have Brooke back to defend her title,” said Tom Maletis, President of Tournament Golf Foundation, “along with a great group of former champions, Olympians and Hall of Fame members. The fans in the area are in for a great week of golf.”

The 72-hole Cambia Portland Classic features a purse of $1.3 million and will be broadcast on the Golf Channel for all four rounds to 170 countries. 2016 marks the 45th year of the LPGA in Portland, a history only matched by one other LPGA tournament.

Tickets to the Cambia Portland Classic are available now at www.portlandclassic.com.

Tournament Golf Foundation is a local Portland area group of volunteers who donate their time and provide the primary operations for the annual event. Begun in 1972, the group is now comprised of more than 50 local individuals and has raised over $18 million for local children’s charities.

World #2 Brooke Henderson Returns to Defend Title at Cambia Portland Classic

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