Henderson makes history at Meijer LPGA Classic, Moriya at tied 9th

Not only is she the first multiple winner in tournament history, but with her ninth LPGA Tour victory, she became the winningest Canadian golfer, male or female, in the history of the LPGA and PGA Tours, one win clear of Sandra Post, Mike Weir and George Knudson.

“That's so special and so incredible,” said Henderson. “Earlier this year to get my eighth win was a huge deal for myself and I felt like the whole country as well, and to kind of break that record now is really exciting. I just look forward to the rest of the summer and hopefully a lot more wins in the future.”

Henderson had a two-stroke advantage at -19 heading into Sunday’s final round and made three birdies through her first 13 holes. However, a bogey at No. 16 dropped her to -21 and into just a tenuous one-stroke lead. By the time Henderson made it to No. 18, Nasa Hataoka, Su Oh, Lexi Thompson, who for the second consecutive tournament eagled the final hole, and Brittany Altomare were all tied at -20. But with a three-putt par, Henderson celebrated her third win on Father’s Day, joining the 2017 Meijer LPGA Classic and the Symetra Tour’s 2015 Four Winds Invitational.

“I was just trying to make some more birdies out there and I just seemed to be rubbing edges all day,” said Henderson. “Then I looked at the leaderboard and it was really cramming up, getting packed. Coming down here I figured after I heard that roar on the tee I would need eagle or birdie, so I was sort of surprised when all I needed was par. I'm glad that's it because I was really shaking on those couple putts there.”

Starting the day tied for ninth, Hataoka made six birdies through her first 14 holes to jump up the leaderboard and closed with a chip-in eagle at No. 18 for a final-round 65. Oh returned a bogey-free 66 on Sunday. Altomare carded a 4-under 68 and capped off her round with a birdie on No. 18, while Thompson, who struggled with muscle spasms in her right shoulder, rode that closing eagle to her third consecutive top-two finish.

Morgan Pressel finished in solo sixth after a final-round 70 and her fellow Americans Nelly Korda and Annie Park tied for seventh.  

Thai No 2 Moriya Jutanugarn, after a 70, settled at joint ninth.

BROOKE HENDERSON CELEBRATES DAD FOLLOWING FATHER’S DAY WIN

Brooke Henderson has one coach in her life – her father Dave Henderson, who has been his daughter’s golf instructor her entire life. She was beyond thrilled to celebrate her ninth LPGA Tour victory with her dad this Father’s Day, as well as with her mother Darlene and sister/caddie Brittany.

“He's my coach and he's always helped both Brit and I to get better and to improve,” said Henderson. “Before the tournament starts, we're always talking through strategy, practice rounds, trying to make good decisions and hit the ball in the right places. As the tournament goes on, we talk about the pin sheets before the rounds, try to get a good strategy again. If we make mistakes out there, he's just trying to correct them so we don't make them again. So we owe a lot to him and we're happy when he's able to join us at tournaments. Both mom and dad are here today and this is my third win on Father's Day; won Symetra and then two on the LPGA Tour, which is really cool. It's just fun to be able to celebrate and get a win, especially on a special day.”

SU OH GOES LOW TO STAY IN CONTENTION

Su Oh tied her career-lowest round on Saturday with a round of 64 that featured nine birdies against a lone bogey. On Sunday, the 23-year-old from Australia returned a bogey-free 66 to finish in a four-way tie for second place, one stroke shy of winner Brooke Henderson.

“With how Brooke played like the first two rounds, you can go low,” said Oh, who shot her lowest round of the 2019 season on Sunday. “So I told myself to go low, but because I was so far behind, I had to go low to be in contention. Luckily, the greens were soft enough that I could be quite aggressive to straight at pins. It wasn't running too much.  But yeah, I mean, I tried my best and I don't know what the situation is out there, but I think I'm going to fall a little short.”

Oh made five birdies on the front nine and made six straight pars before making her final birdie on No. 16, coming up just short of her first career victory.

“I felt like on the back nine my putts just, you know, probably the nerves and just got some reads wrong, but holed a bomb on 16,” said Oh, who made her birdie putt on No. 16 from 60 feet. “That was like the first time I like hit it and I just got goosebumps all down my body.”

THOMPSON AGAIN EAGLES NO. 18

Lexi Thompson was six strokes behind the lead after a birdie and two bogeys before making the turn on Sunday at Blythefield Country Club, dealing with a pesky muscle spam on the front nine that she just couldn’t shake.

“I hate to make excuses, but I've never had my shoulder spasm like that,” said the 11-time LPGA champion.
“I've always had it go away sometimes when I do get spasms like that, but it just kept on going. I mean, over putts and your arm's like shaking, it's kind of hard, but it is what it is. I didn't know how to deal with it. I'm not blaming it, but it also didn't help.”

Thompson turned it around with four birdies on No. 10, 12, 13 and 15, closing in on the lead. After a misstep on No. 17, Thompson eagled the tournament’s final hole of the week for the second consecutive week. Last week, Thompson captured the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer with a closing eagle.

“I had about 197 into the last hole and a little into the wind, so it's a perfect number for a full 4-iron. So I just committed to it, aimed a few yards right and just tried to hit a hold-off shot,” said Thompson. “I hit two great shots on that final hole and it was a putt that I liked the looks of, so I was like, ‘Just make it, just get it to the hole,’ and it went in.”

Rolex Rankings No. 8 Brooke Henderson (64-64-69-70)

• She hit eight of 13 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 28 putts
• Henderson is in her fifth season on the LPGA Tour; she is an eight-time winner on the LPGA Tour and is tied with Sandra Post, Mike Weir and George Knudson for the most victories by a Canadian player in LPGA and PGA Tour history
• This is Henderson’s 13th event of the 2019 season; she has six top-10 finishes this season, including a win at the 2019 LOTTE Championship
• This is her fourth Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give; she tied for 44th in 2018, won in 2017 and tied for 21st in 2016

Rolex Rankings No. 7 Nasa Hataoka (68-68-67-65)

• She hit 10 of 13 fairways and 18 of 18 greens, with 30 putts
• Nasa is in her third season on the LPGA Tour; she has three victories, most recently the 2019 Kia Classic
• This is Hataoka’s ninth event of the 2019 season; she won the Kia Classic and has another top-5 finish including T2 at the Pure Silk Championship presented by Visit Williamsburg
• She is competing in her third Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give; she missed the cut in 2017 and finished in a tie for 58th in 2018

Rolex Rankings No. 4 Lexi Thompson (70-68-62-68)

• She hit six of 13 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 29 putts
• Thompson is in her eighth season on the LPGA Tour; she has 11 victories, most recently at last week’s 2019 ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer, and has a seven-year winning streak (2013-19), the longest active streak on Tour
• This is Thompson’s 11th event of the 2019 season; she won the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer and has four other top-10 finishes, including a tie for second at the U.S. Women’s Open
• She is competing in her sixth Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give; she won in 2015 and has top-10 finishes in 2016, 2017 and 2018

Rolex Rankings No. 54 Brittany Altomare (66-65-69-68)

• She hit 12 of 13 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 87 putts
• Altomare is in her sixth season on the LPGA Tour; her career-best finish is second at the 2017 Evian Championship and the 2018 Buick LPGA Shanghai
• This is Altomare’s 12th event of the 2019 season; her best finish was a tie for 12th at the LOTTE Championship
• She is competing in her fourth Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give; she missed the cut in 2018, tied for 48th in 2017 and finished 75th in 2016

TOURNAMENT SCORING RECORD

18 holes: 62 (-10), Ariya Jutanugarn, fourth round, 2018; Lexi Thompson, third round, 2019

36 holes: 128 (-16), Brooke Henderson, 2019

54 holes: 197 (-19), Brooke Henderson, 2019

72 holes: 197 (-21), So Yeon Ryu, 2018; Brooke Henderson, 2019