Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., has won the 2013 Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Club de golf Beloeil in Beloeil, Que.
After a four-day back and forth battle with Anne-Catherine Tanguay, 22, of Quebec City, Henderson,15, carded the best round of the championship after firing a 5-under 66 on Friday. As the 15th ranked amateur in the world, Henderson finished at 9-under (69-70-70-66), six strokes ahead of Tanguay who stumbled on the back nine with three straight bogeys.
“It was just a fun day overall,” said Henderson. “I have a lot of high expectations for myself and I played up to them today.”
The wins marks the Team Canada National Squad member’s third win this season and second victory at Club de Golf Beloeil – she also won the CN Canadian Women’s Tour Quebec title at Club de Golf Beloeil in 2012.
Overnight leader, Tanguay finished in second place at 3-under 281 after a final round 2-over 73. Henderson and Tanguay have known each for quite some time, as Tanguay used to golf with Brooke’s older sister Brittany and is a former member of Team Canada.
“It’s amazing to see how far she has come,” said Tanguay. “She used to be a little kid running around on the course and now she is just a young prodigy. Amazing.”
Gabriela Lopez, 19, of Mexico, finished in third place at 1-under 283 (69-75-71-68) after carding a 3-68 under in her final round.
Casey Danielson, 18, of Osceola, Wis., Kelly Shon, 21, of Flushing, N.Y., and Vivian Tsui, 19, of Markham, Ont., finished tied for fourth at 5-over 289.
In the Mid-Amateur division (25+ years), Christina Proteau, 30, of Port Alberni, B.C., successfully defended her title winning her third consecutive Mid-Amateur division title. Proteau carded a 4-over-75 in her final round to finish at 16-over 300 for the tournament, seven strokes ahead of runner-up Stefi Markovich, 38, of Welland, Ont. Helene Chartrand, 56, of Pincourt, Que., took home the Mid-Master division title (40+) with a final score of 27-over 311, three strokes ahead of Leanne Richardson, 49, of Indian Mountain, N.B.
With the win, Henderson receives an exemption into the 2013 CN Canadian Women’s Open at the Royal Mayfair Club in Edmonton, Alta. from August 19-25. In addition, Henderson will receive an exemption into the 2013 USGA Women’s Amateur Championship, the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship.