Golfer Brooke Henderson is a ‘superstar’ and playing in Canada next week
Teenage golf star Brooke Henderson is getting a pass to play in next week’s LPGA Tour event in Canada.
To be super-official, it’s called an ‘exemption‘ since at 17-years-old Henderson is too young for LPGA Tour membership (you have to be 18). She can enter the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, held in Vancouver, because she won an earlier tournament on the Canadian Women’s Tour.
Henderson at the US Women’s Open in July. She tied for 5th-place and won over $141,000.
But really, the Smith Falls, Ontario golfer deserves a tee-time because her first pro season has been excellent. Henderson is currently No. 32 on the Rolex World Rankings, with three top-10 finishes in other LPGA Tour events and has pocketed $466,000 (USD) through nine tournaments played. She plays regularly on the Symetra Tour, has one win there, and steps up to the big leagues whenever permitted.
For example, she’s playing an LPGA Tour event in Portland this weekend. Next week at The Vancouver Golf Club will be Henderson’s fourth-straight Canadian Women’s Open.
The elite field includes world No. 1 Inbee Park, two-time champion, world No. 2., and 18-year-old Lydia Ko plus defending champ and world No. 4 So Yeon Ryu. Ko earned her first LPGA win by taking the Canadian Women’s Open as a 15-year-old back in 2012. Now an established pro, Ko called Henderson ‘a superstar’ in a conference call on Wednesday.
Henderson withdrew from the Pan Am Games to focus on earning LPGA Tour membership.
Henderson, who turns 18 on September 10th is battling for an LPGA Tour card for next season. Three ways she can dodge Q-School are by finishing top-10 on the Symetra Tour money list, win two more Symetra titles, or collect as much coin as 40th-place on the LPGA Tour money list.
Or…she can do it the dramatic way and win the Canadian Women’s Open next week.
There are nine other Canadians who received exemptions, and they’ll join Charlottetown’s Lorie Kane and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp who are LPGA Tour members.
