The Day

Brooke Henderson wins Meijer LPGA to break the Canadian victory record

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Brooke Henderson won the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sunday to break the Canadian record for tour victories with nine.

The 21-year-old Henderson led wire-to-wire for her second victory in three years at Blythefiel­d Country Club in Grand Rapids, Mich., closing with a 2-under 70 in chilly conditions to hold off Lexi Thompson, Nasa Hataoka, Su Oh and Brittany Altomare by a stroke.

Henderson broke a tie with Sandra Post for the Canadian record on the LPGA Tour and also moved ahead of George Knudson and Mike Weir for the overall country mark.

"That's really cool," Henderson said. "Earlier this year to get my eighth win and to tie that record was a huge deal for me. To now to kind of breakthrou­gh that is awesome. I'm just really excited for the rest of the summer and hopefully many more wins in the future."

With caddie/sister Brittany and mother Darlene looking on, father Dave sprayed her with champagne to celebrate.

"It's really special," Henderson said. "I'm so happy that both my mom and my dad can be out here to watch my sister and I win this. It's always special when they're here, especially on Father's Day."

Also the Lotte Championsh­ip winner in April in Hawaii, Henderson matched the tournament record of 21 under that she set in 2017 (when the course played to a par of 71) and also was tied last year by So Yeon Ryu. Henderson opened with consecutiv­e 64s, playing 30 holes Friday after rain delayed the start Thursday, and had a 69 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead into the final round.

"It's a lot like the courses I grew up playing back home in Canada," Henderson said. "I love it out here. Just trying to hit good shots and hopefully make a lot of birdies. Didn't make as many as I wanted, but just enough."

Her lead reduced to a stroke after a bogey on the par-4 16th, she three-putted the par-5 18th from 45 feet for the winning par.

"When I was walking up here I thought maybe I would have to birdie or eagle this hole to get the job done, but when I looked at the scoreboard I was sort of shocked that all I needed to do was threeputt and par," Henderson said. "I'm really grateful about that because I was shaking pretty bad on those last couple putts."

Thompson followed her course-record 62 in the third round with a 68, closing with an eagle for the second straight day. The 2015 winner at Blythefiel­d, she was coming off a victory last week in New Jersey.

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