Brooke Henderson shot a final-round 3-under 69 at Ko Olina Golf Club to capture the LOTTE Championship by four shots over Azahara Munoz.
Following a struggle on the closing holes of the third round, Henderson clung to a one-shot advantage over playing partner Mo Martin to start the day, but the 20-year old Canadian star quickly emerged as the player to beat, after turning in 34 on a day when red numbers were a rarity.
With Martin (78) stumbling down the leaderboard, and the chasing pack stuck in neutral, Henderson cruised home with two birdies against one bogey en route to a four-day mark of 12-under par.
Afterwards, Henderson credited her performance partly to ANA Inspiration winner Pernilla Lindberg.
āYou know the wind conditions were incredible. It was so windy every single day. I think Brit and I did such as amazing job of adjusting and calculating yardages,” said Henderson.
“My sixth win on tour. I’m so happy. This is another dream come true. I really couldn’t have done it without my sister, Brit.
“Watching Pernilla Lindberg win her first major I guess to weeks ago now was a lot of motivation and really inspired me. I watched the playoff, and the grit and determination that she had, I was like, I can do that, too. So I kind of owe a lot to her this week.”
Ariya Jutanugarn, Inbee Park and Shanshan Feng, who maintained her world No. 1 ranking, were tied for third, five shots behind Henderson. Martin was 10 back after a 6-over 78.
At just the age of 20, Henderson owns six LPGA victories, including a major championship at the 2016 KPMG Womenās PGA Championship. Further, it marks the fourth-consecutive year in which she has claimed victory on the LPGA Tour.
With the win, Henderson was awarded $300,000 and 500 points, which moves her to No. 2 in the Race to CME Globe standings.
FINAL TOP 10
1 Brooke Henderson -12
2 Azahara Munoz -8
3 Ariya Jutanugarn -7
3 Shanshan Feng -7
3 Inbee Park -7
6 Lindy Duncan -6
6 Pei-Yun Chien -6
6 Lizette Salas -6
9 Daniela Iacobelli -5
10 Moriya Jutanugarn -4
THE TROPHY
WINNING STATS
Driving: 288.8
Fairways: 66.1% (37/56)
Greens: 72.2% (52/72(
Putting: 1.73
Scoring: 18 Birdies, 49 Pars, 4 Bogeys, 1 Double Bogey
VIDEO: FINAL-ROUND HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTABLE
“I love it here. It’s really amazing. The energy and the fun atmosphere and just how beautiful it is. I have played well here in the past, so I knew coming in I might have a good shot at it. So I’m really happy about it.”
– Brooke Henderson
Credit: Getty Images, LPGA Media