Brooke Henderson, the 17-year-old sensation from Canada, has received a special exemption to play in the Ricoh Women’s British Open, which begins late this month at Trump Turnberry Resort in Scotland.
Henderson, who turned pro at the end of 2014, has unsuccessfully petitioned for Commissioner Mike Whan to waive the LPGA Tour’s minimum age of 18, despite a string of successful performances.
“I am so excited to play in my first Ricoh Women’s British Open and I am very grateful to the Championship Committee for granting me this opportunity,” said Henderson, who recently won the Four Winds Invitational on the Symetra Tour, the LPGA Tour’s developmental tour, to earn playing status on that tour for the rest of the season.
“I played in the 2012 Ladies British Amateur at Carnoustie and I absolutely loved visiting Scotland, so I am super excited to be heading back there again. I really enjoyed the different challenges of playing links golf in Scotland and, now that I have gained a little more experience, I think I will enjoy it even more. I can’t wait to get to the Trump Turnberry Resort.”
Henderson, who finished solo third in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic at Lake Merced Golf Club in San Francisco and tied for fifth in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Westchester Golf Club in Harrison, N.Y., was up to No. 46 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings last week.
Mo Martin of Pasadena and UCLA will defend her title on July 30-Aug. 2 at Turnberry.
