Golf

REGINA — Brooke Henderson became the first Canadian since 1973 to capture her homeland’s top LPGA event, firing a seven-under par 65 on Sunday to win the Canadian Open by four strokes.

The 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ontario, ran off four consecutive birdies on the back nine and closed with another to finish 72 holes at Wascana Country Club in Saskatchewan on 21-under 267.

The only other Canadian winner of the event was Jocelyne Bourassa in its debut 45 years ago.

Two weeks shy of her 21st birthday, Henderson took her seventh career LPGA title, one shy of Sandra Post’s all-time Canadian record of eight, and second tour triumph of the season after the Lotte Championship in April at Hawaii.

US teen Angel Yin was second on 271, two strokes ahead of compatriot Jennifer Song with South Korean Amy Yang, American Austin Ernst and Australians Su Oh and Minjee Lee sharing fourth on 274.

Oh, who began the day three strokes adrift, birdied three of the first four holes to grab a share of the lead with Henderson before stumbling with a bogey at the fifth.

Henderson, who made a birdie-bogey start, ran off three birdies in four holes in response to surge ahead, cracking par at the fifth and sixth and answering a bogey at the seventh with a 15-foot birdie putt at the par-3 eighth to reach 16-under, three ahead of Oh.

The Aussie opened the back nine with a birdie to close the gap.

But Henderson sealed the historic triumph with birdies on five of the last seven holes. She began her four-birdie run at the par-5 12th hole and ended at the par-3 15th.

Yin, seeking her first LPGA title, sank four birdies in five holes to remain three back but could never close the gap in the final holes.

Fans serenaded Henderson with the national anthem, "Oh Canada", after the victory.

Defending champion Park Sung-hyun of South Korea, who won last week in Indianapolis, fired a 71 to share eighth on 275 with Japan’s Nasa Hataoka, Puerto Rico’s Maria Torres, Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko.

American Mo Martin fired a bogey-free 10-under par 62 to set course and tournament 18-hole records and finish on 276 with compatriot Mariah Stackhouse and China’s Feng Shanshan. — AFP