Canada's Brooke Henderson claims 11th LPGA Tour victory with ShopRite LPGA Classic title
Canada's Brooke Henderson won the ShopRite LPGA Classic on Sunday in Galloway, N.J., for her 11th-career win on the LPGA Tour.
Henderson eagled the par-5 18th hole in a one-hole playoff with American Lindsey Weaver-Wright.
The 24-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., is the winningest golfer in Canadian history.
Henderson shot a bogey-free 7-under 64 in the final round of the three-round event, rallying from a four-shot deficit to finish at 12-under 201.
Weaver-Wright, 28, still looking for her first tour win, forced the playoff with birdies on four of the last six holes, including a long one at No. 17 and a 10-footer at the par-5 final hole for a 65.
A clutch eagle on 18 to win the @ShopRiteLPGA! ????What a performance from @BrookeHenderson! pic.twitter.com/CwzeD3676q
—@LPGA
The playoff started at the reachable par-5 No. 18, and both found the fairway. Henderson got within 10 feet of the cup with her second shot while Weaver-Wright was short of the green. Her third shot landed around the same distance from the hole as Henderson, but she was away. She missed her birdie putt and Henderson, ranked No. 11 in the world, had no pressure making the eagle to win to pocket $262,500 US.
Henderson, whose last victory was in Los Angeles in 2021, moved into the lead with a short birdie at No. 12. She stayed there until Weaver-Wright birdied the 17th.
Playing in the group in front of her, Henderson reached the par-5 final hole in two and lagged her eagle putt to tap-in birdie range.
Weaver-Wright missed the fairway with her tee shot at No. 18. Her second was played into the fairway and her third to roughly 10 feet for a clutch birdie.
No. 4 Lydia Ko also made a birdie on the final hole and finished tied for fourth with Albane Valenzuela, a Swiss resident and former Stanford star looking for her first LPGA win. They both shot 67s.
Brittany Lincicome, who is due to give birth to her second child in September, was tied for sixth with New Jersey native Marina Alex and Nasa Hataoka, who both won recently in California. Lincicome and Alex shot 67s, a stroke better than Hataoka, who opened with four birdies on the first five holes to take an early two-shot lead.
Defending champion Celine Boutier of France shot a 63 to finish in a group at 8 under.
Frida Kinhult of Sweden started the final round at 9 under with a one-shot lead over fellow non-winner Lauren Coughlin. Both struggled, with Coughlin shooting a 72 to finish at 7 under and Kinhult finishing at 5 under after a 75.
Overnight rain drenched the course close to Atlantic City and made the greens very receptive, helping the scoring.