Brooke Henderson
Brooke Mackenzie Henderson is a Canadian professional golfer on the LPGA Tour.
Henderson was named the Canadian Press female athlete of the year for 2015, 2017 and 2018. She won her first major at age 18 in 2016 at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, becoming the event's youngest winner. With nine LPGA wins as of June 2019, Henderson has the most victories of any professional golfer on major tours in Canadian history.
In November 2019, she was named the winner of the 2019 Founders Award by a vote of fellow golfers on the LPGA Tour as someone "whose behaviour and deeds best exemplify the spirit, ideals, and values of the LPGA."
Early years, family and education
Born and raised in Smiths Falls, Ontario, Henderson learned golf from an early age at the Smiths Falls Golf and Country Club. Her parents are both experienced players, while her uncle Tom Henderson competed frequently for many years at the top amateur level in the Ottawa area. Brooke's sister Brittany Henderson, older by seven years, was also a top junior and college golfer. Brooke graduated from Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute in June 2014.She won the Canadian Women's Amateur in 2013, and finished runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Women's Amateur. While still an amateur, she won three events on the CN Canadian Women's Tour and finished tied for 10th place in the U.S. Women's Open at age 16. She won numerous amateur tournaments and was the top-ranked female amateur golfer in the world before turning professional in December 2014, passing up the chance to play college scholarship golf.
Development and sponsorships
Since 2012, Henderson has been in training with Golf Canada's amateur and young professional development programs called "Team Canada".During 2015 to 2016, Henderson was signed to several corporate sponsorships:
- IMG to manage her professional affairs
- Royal Bank of Canada for banking and financial services
- Sunice Golf for golf apparel and outerwear
- Ping Golf for golf clubs, bag, hats and visors over multiple years
- Titleist for golf balls
- Skechers Performance for Go Golf footwear
Professional career
2015
Henderson set a tournament record with her 36-hole score at the LPGA Tour's Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in April 2015, at the Lake Merced Golf Club, just south of San Francisco. Her second round 65 gave her 135, breaking the record set by Stacy Lewis in 2014 by three shots. Henderson finished third, one stroke behind Lydia Ko, the playoff winner, and runner-up Morgan Pressel.At age 17, Henderson had to play her way into LPGA Tour events through Monday qualifiers, and to rely on sponsor exemptions, after her request for an age waiver to compete at the LPGA Tour Q School in late 2014 was denied. She earned a Symetra Tour card after winning her first event as a professional, the Four Winds Invitational in Indiana in June 2015. With a final round 66, Henderson tied for fifth at the U.S. Women's Open in July.
After Monday-qualifying for the Cambia Portland Classic in Oregon in August, Henderson won the event by eight shots, the largest victory margin on tour since 2012, and became the tour's third-youngest winner. Henderson was only the second Monday qualifier to win on tour, and the first since Laurel Kean in 2000. She was also the first Canadian to win on the LPGA Tour since Lorie Kane in 2001, and was granted immediate LPGA Tour membership.
2016
In June 2016, Henderson won her first major championship, at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club near Seattle. Her final round 65 propelled her into a tie with top-ranked Lydia Ko, followed by a playoff which Henderson won with a birdie on the first hole. She became the youngest to win that major, the second-youngest in any women's major, and the first Canadian to win a major in 48 years. It was Henderson's second tour win, both in the Pacific Northwest, and her first as a tour member; it moved her from fourth to second in the world rankings.With her win as defending champion at the Cambia Portland Classic in June 2016, Henderson joined Sandra Post and Lorie Kane as the only Canadians to win multiple LPGA events in the same season.
Henderson was a member of the Canadian Olympic Team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in the women's Olympic golf tournament, placing seventh.
2017
In June 2017, Henderson won the Meijer LPGA Classic. Henderson's win on 2 October 2017 at the McKayson New Zealand Women's Open was her first LPGA championship outside North America.2018
On 14 April, Henderson won the Lotte Championship – her sixth victory on the LPGA Tour – finishing at −12 to win by four strokes over Azahara Muñoz.On 26 August, Henderson became the first Canadian in 45 years – after Jocelyne Bourassa in 1973 – to win the Canadian Women's Open at the Wascana Country Club in Regina, Saskatchewan.
By finishing second in the 2018 season-ending Race to the CME Globe, Henderson was awarded $150,000 from the bonus pool purse. In December she was awarded the (Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as The Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year for the third time.
2019
On 20 April 2019, Henderson defended her title at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii. This marked her eighth victory on the LPGA Tour, tying Sandra Post, Mike Weir and George Knudson for the most victories by a Canadian golfer on the LPGA or PGA Tours.On 16 June 2019, Henderson won the Meijer LPGA Classic in Michigan for the second time – the third LPGA event where she has multiple victories. This was her ninth victory on the LPGA, giving her the most victories on major tours of any professional golfer in Canadian history.
Amateur wins
- 2010 CN du Quebec
- 2011 CN Future Links Ontario, Ontario Junior Girls Championship, Optimist Junior 13-14, Genesis Junior
- 2012 Ravenwood Junior Girls Championship, Ontario Junior Girls Championship, Canadian Junior Girls Championship
- 2013 South American Amateur, CN Future Links Pacific Championship, Canadian Women's Amateur
- 2014 Junior Orange Bowl International, South Atlantic Ladies' Amateur Championship, Scott Robertson Memorial, Porter Cup, Ontario Women's Amateur, Espirito Santo Trophy
Professional wins (14)
LPGA Tour wins (9)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
1 | 16 Aug 2015 | Cambia Portland Classic | 66-67-65-69=267 | −21 | 8 strokes | Jang Ha-na, Candie Kung Pornanong Phatlum |
2 | 12 Jun 2016 | KPMG Women's PGA Championship | 67-73-73-65=278 | −6 | Playoff | Lydia Ko |
3 | 3 Jul 2016 | Cambia Portland Classic | 65-68-70-71=274 | −14 | 4 strokes | Stacy Lewis |
4 | 18 Jun 2017 | Meijer LPGA Classic | 63-67-67-66=263 | −17 | 2 strokes | Lexi Thompson, Michelle Wie |
5 | 2 Oct 2017 | McKayson New Zealand Women's Open | 65-70-67-69=271 | −17 | 5 strokes | Jing Yan |
6 | 14 Apr 2018 | Lotte Championship | 68-66-73-69=276 | −12 | 4 strokes | Azahara Muñoz |
7 | 26 Aug 2018 | CP Women's Open | 66-66-70-65=267 | −21 | 4 strokes | Angel Yin |
8 | 20 Apr 2019 | Lotte Championship | 65-68-69-70=272 | −16 | 4 strokes | Ji Eun-hee |
9 | 16 Jun 2019 | Meijer LPGA Classic | 64-64-69-70=267 | −21 | 1 stroke | Brittany Altomare, Nasa Hataoka, Su-Hyun Oh, Lexi Thompson |
LPGA Tour playoff record
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
1 | 2016 | KPMG Women's PGA Championship | Lydia Ko | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
Symetra Tour wins (1)
Other wins (4)
- 2012 Beloeil Golf Club event
- 2014 Legends on the Niagara event, PGA Women's Championship of Canada
- 2015 Suncoast Series Tour
Major championships
Wins (1)
1 Defeated Ko in a sudden-death playoff: Henderson and Ko.Results timeline
Results not in chronological order before 2019.LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
T = tied
Summary
- Most consecutive cuts made – 18
- Longest streak of top-10s – 2
LPGA Tour career summary
World rank
Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.Year | World ranking | Source |
2014 | 221 | |
2015 | 17 | |
2016 | 8 | |
2017 | 14 | |
2018 | 9 | |
2019 | 8 | |
2020 | 7 ^ |
^ As of 10 February 2020
Team appearances
Amateur- Espirito Santo Trophy : 2012, 2014
Awards
- 2015 Ontario Athlete of the Year
- 2015 Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year
- 2017 Ottawa Person of the Year by The Athletic
- 2017 Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year
- 2018 Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year
- 2019 ESPY Award, Best Female Golfer
- 2019 LPGA Founders Award
- 2019 Canada's Sports Hall of Fame People's Choice Award