Brooke M. Henderson, of Canada, hits her tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the Cambia Portland Classic golf tournament in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Aug. 16, 2015.Steve Dykes/The Associated Press
Click here to read The Globe's profile of Brooke Henderson from June, 2015.
In one of Canadian golf's biggest breakthroughs, Brooke Henderson won the Cambia Portland Classic with the largest margin of victory on the LPGA Tour in three years.
The eight-stroke victory makes the native of Smiths Falls, Ont., who turns 18 next month, the third-youngest champion in the Tour's history. She does not have full LPGA membership because she is under the minimum age requirement of 18. She has not decided whether to petition the LPGA for her membership now that she has won but will earn a tour card for 2016 as she's assured of finishing among the top 40 in earnings this year.
Henderson closed with a three-under 69 at Columbia Edgewater in Portland, Ore., to finish at 21-under 267, the lowest total since the event went from 54 holes to 72 in 2013.
Sunday, on the final round, she started with a five-stroke lead. She had three bogeys over the course of the week, including one on the 18th on Sunday, to go with her 24 birdies.
Neither of her final group of competitors, American Morgan Pressel (75) nor German Sandra Gal (77), made a run. By the turn, the Canadian extended her lead to eight strokes, turning the back nine into a victory march.
"It's amazing," Henderson told reporters. "It's such an unbelievable thing. 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. I came up a little bit short, but I got the win, and I'm extremely excited."
Before turning professional, Henderson was the leading amateur golfer in the world. She's the first Canadian winner on the LPGA Tour since Lorie Kane in the 2001 Takefuji Classic and the first Monday qualifier to win since Laurel Kean in 2000.
Henderson is "putting golf back on the map in Canada," Susan Flegg, a family friend and a 40-year member of the Smith Falls Country Golf Club, said as she was glued to the TV.
Flegg, who has followed Henderson to tournaments in Florida where she spends the winter, could tell Henderson was aiming for birdies. "She's always trying to better herself," she said. "A lot of us will just go out there and shoot for pars and coast a five-stroke lead – she wants a 12-stroke lead."
Henderson got into the field Monday with a 68, then shot 66-67-65 to take a five-stroke lead into the final round. Pornanong Phatlum (68), Ha Na Jang (70) and Candie Kung (70) tied for second.
Henderson never allowed an opening Sunday. She made two-putt birdies at the par-five fifth and seventh to reach 20 under, and holed a 20-foot birdie putt at the par-four ninth to take an eight-stroke lead.
She made a three-footer for birdie at the par-five 12th, then stumbled with a bogey at 13. Henderson made her final birdie at the par-four 17th, knocking in a 10-foot putt from the fringe.
Henderson hit her drive in a fairway bunker at 18, but with a large lead, pitched out of the sand, hit her approach to 20 feet and two-putted for bogey. After raising her arms in victory, Henderson was quickly doused with champagne by players and family.
Henderson's composure throughout the tournament is a testament to her game, a former coach says.
"On occasion, when Brooke gets a little nervous or when things don't go her way, things get a little faster. Things don't look as calm, as collected. It certainly didn't look like that over the past couple days," Tristan Mullally, the women's golf coach for Team Canada, said by telephone after her win. "She's been in control. She looked like a person a mission and she certainly succeeded in that," he added.
Henderson was accompanied by her father and coach, Dave Henderson, and her sister, pro golfer Brittany Henderson. After the tournament, the three made the five-hour drive to Vancouver, where Brooke will play in the Canadian Pacific Women's Open.
Her mother, Darlene, was watching from their hometown of Smith Falls.
"I'm just super proud of her," she said. "She was just herself ... what everybody saw, that's just Brooke," she added of her daughter's performance.
Flegg recalled a time when an 11-year-old Brooke stayed on the putting green hours after the other women went inside when it started to pour.
"I said to Brooke, 'Do you want a ride home.' She was on the putting green: 'Nope, I'm gonna putt.' And we stayed in and had lunch, and she was still there two hours later."
Henderson, who was denied an age petition to play in the Q-school last year, has won $661,818 in unofficial earnings in 10 events through sponsor exemptions and Monday qualifying.
With reports from Reuters and The Associated Press