‘Family’ affair hits home for Henderson in New Zealand
Brooke Henderson’s victory at the McKayson New Zealand Women’s Open came with more than a cash prize and a trophy.
Henderson was given a traditional Maori cloak after winning her first tournament outside North America, and the young Canadian golfer counts that honour as a major highlight of her successful second season on the LPGA Tour.
“That cloak represents that I’m part of that family and it’s hard to think about,” Henderson said from her home in Naples, Fla. “I’m really proud to own it and be considered part of their family.”
The September victory at the inaugural New Zealand Women’s Open was her second of the season — her first win came at the Meijer LPGA Classic in June — and was a big part of her favourite two weeks of the year.
She said she enjoyed New Zealand more than any of the other 11 countries she played in this year and made time for a week’s holiday with her sister (and caddy) Brittany.
Although she was slow out of the gate, Henderson still notched top15 finishes in 16 of the 30 events she played in 2017. She earned more than US$1.5 million and finished sixth on the money list.
She also finished top 10 in two key statistics this year; greens in regulation and scoring average.
The 20-year-old called her season a success, even though she said it was more difficult to win this year versus 2016.
“For a while we had 16 different winners on tour and no one was really taking charge of it. I feel like the talent and the level of play was a lot stronger than it has been,” she said. “To get two wins when it was like that — it definitely gives me a lot of confidence.”
Henderson has five wins on the LPGA Tour, second to only Sandra Post (eight) among Canadians.
She will appear on some of the Golf Channel’s programming this week before returning to Smiths Falls, Ont., for the holidays, where that cloak she won in New Zealand might come in handy.
“I might wear it as my winter coat when I go home,” she said.