20 April 2019: Brooke Henderson took a march on the field with a determined 70 in the final round of the Lotte Championship. The Canadian emulated her compatriot Sandra Post by successfully defending the title, her eighth victory on the LPGA. Post is the only other Canadian golfer to have collected as many trophies as Henderson. Interestingly, George Knudson and Mike Weir, also have eight career victories, the maximum for a Canadian on the PGA TOUR.
At just 21, Henderson is only into her fourth year on the Tour and she is well on her way to become the most successful golfer from the country, in the years to come.
Henderson’s final round 70 helped her score an emphatic four-stroke victory over Eun-Hee Ji. The Korean scored 73 in the final round, her 12-under 276 good for second place. Eun-Hee Ji was dominant through the first two rounds, posting 64 and 65. But then she couldn’t carry the form into the weekend, signing on cards of 74 and 73.
India’s Aditi Ashok showed good temperament, yet again. After beginning the week with a promising 70, she had conceded scores of 74 and 75 in the middle rounds. The Ko Olina Golf Club was a breezy place, all week, making it difficult for the golfers. Working from the bottom of the leaderboard, Aditi did well to post 71 on Saturday and finish the week tied in 54th place. She finished at 2-over 290.
Ariya Jutanugarn also made a 73 as she wound up her week at 11-under 277. Minjee Lee was tied in third with her, scoring 74 in the final round.
The tension of chasing history as a Canadian must have left Henderson tight at the start. He got off the ground with a bogey six on the opening hole. But she did well to put that aside quickly.
Henderson added birdies at the 3rd, 5th and 11th holes before coasting home to victory on seven straight pars to account for an overall score of 16-under 272.
George Knudson and Mike Weir share the Canadian mark on the PGA Tour, also each winning eight times.
Ji shot a 73. Ariya Jutanugarn (73) and Minjee Lee (74) tied for third at 11 under.
Nelly Korda, tied with Henderson for the third-round lead, finished with a quadruple-bogey 8 for a 77 that left her seven strokes back at 9 under.
