Brooke Henderson of Canada captured her first LPGA Tour title in emphatic style, winning the LPGA Cambia Portland Classic by eight strokes at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Ore.
The 17-year-old Henderson, who unsuccessfully petitioned Commissioner Michael Whan for LPGA membership earlier this year, showed again that she belongs by closing with a 3-under-par 69 and was in control all the way while extending her five-shot lead.
“I was just trying to play my game all the way through,” said Henderson, who won the Four Winds Invitational on the Symetra Tour and tied for fifth in the U.S. Women’s Open, one of her three top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour earlier this year. “I relaxed on the last couple holes a to make a birdie on 17 made it even better. I’m so excited.
“My attitude is even better than it was a couple of months ago. Once I got going, that allowed me to push it even further under par as I went along. This is just awesome.”
Whan probably won’t be able to ignore her any longer after she joined Lexi Thompson and Lydia Ko of New Zealand as the only players to win on the LPGA Tour before the age of 18.
Thompson and Ko both received waivers to the LPGA’s age minimum of 18.
Candie Kung of USC and Fountain Valley shot 70 to tie for second with Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand, who had a 68, and Ha Na Jang of South Korea, who finished at 70.
Mo Martin of Pasadena and UCLA closed with a 69 to tie for fifth with defending champion Austin Ernst, who totaled 68, and Azahara Munoz of Spain, who came in at 70, while Alison Lee of Valencia and UCLA carded a 71 to tie for eighth with Jaye Marie Green, who finished at 70.
Cristie Kerr posted a 71 to tie for 10th with Alena Sharp of Canada, who also had a 71, and Morgan Pressell, who struggled to a 75.
