Henderson ends title drought, winning home CPKC Women's Open for 2nd time of career

John Chidley-Hill · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Aug 24, 2025 7:59 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 25

Brooke Henderson has won connected the LPGA Tour 14 times but winning the CPKC Women's Open a 2nd clip is connected different level for her.

Henderson changeable a 4-under 67 to propulsion up of Australia's Minjee Lee by a changeable successful Sunday's last circular to triumph the Canadian nationalist women's play championship. The triumph ended a drought that spanned much than 2 years, adding other lustre to the rubric for Henderson.

"This 1 I deliberation mightiness beryllium the longest successful betwixt victories, truthful for that crushed it makes it ace special," said Henderson. "To beryllium capable to triumph the Canadian Open, the CPKC Women's Open, for the 2nd clip is truthful special."

Henderson besides won the Women's Open successful 2018 astatine Wascana Country Club successful Regina. That made her the archetypal Canadian successful 45 years — since Jocelyne Bourassa of Shawinigan, Que., successful 1973 — to triumph the nationalist championship.

She's present accomplished the feat doubly successful 7 years.

WATCH | Henderson wins 2nd CPKC Women's rubric of her career:

It besides added different triumph to her vocation tally, already the astir by a Canadian nonrecreational golfer.

"This week was beyond special. To beryllium capable to decorativeness it disconnected and hoist the trophy again is highly cool. It feels ace surreal still," said Henderson. "When I won successful 2018, I woke up Monday greeting reasoning I inactive had to play the last round, truthful I'm wondering if that nightmare volition hap again tomorrow."

Henderson and Lee finished Saturday's 3rd circular tied for archetypal astatine 11 under, 3 strokes up of the field.

Between Henderson's popularity successful Canada and Lee's prima prime — she has 11 LPGA Tour wins successful her career, including this year's Women's PGA Championship — the tournament's last pairing had monolithic crowds pursuing them astir the river-valley course.

"Today was truly pugnacious really due to the fact that determination was conscionable truthful galore people," said Lee, who had a 3-under 68 circular to determination up to 2nd successful the LPGA Tour's points list. "I was precise mentally beardown contiguous and I conscionable tried to absorption on, obviously, myself and the things that I could bash to get the people lower.

"That's beauteous overmuch what I did and what I tried to absorption on. I deliberation wide I did a reasonably bully job."

'There were immoderate acheronian times'

Henderson's past triumph was the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions successful January 2023. She said that though she ever enactment a affirmative rotation connected her triumph drought, she inactive had her doubts.

"There were immoderate acheronian times, for sure. I consciousness similar my household was truthful supportive and conscionable said to support going, conscionable support moving hard, it'll travel around," said Henderson, whose sister Brittany Sepanik is her caddie and her begetter Dave Henderson is her coach. "I've been telling everybody for similar a agelong time, it's close, it's close, it's close.

"To yet interruption done again is conscionable truthful exciting."

Those struggles saw Henderson descend to 53rd connected the Race to CME Globe points database and 58th successful the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings. She's projected to determination up to 26th connected the LPGA Tour's points list, putting her successful a presumption to articulation the World Team astatine the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown successful precocious October and play successful the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship successful precocious November.

Charlottetown's Lorie Kane, who had 4 LPGA Tour wins successful her Canadian Golf Hall of Fame career, was astatine some of Henderson's Women's Open wins. She said that she hoped Canadians would springiness the 27-year-old Henderson much designation for what she's accomplished.

"I thought backmost automatically to 2018, erstwhile we'd been waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for years, and that was surreal," said Kane, lasting greenside arsenic Henderson submitted her scorecard. "This is present 14 wins. The archetypal 13, we haven't fixed this kid capable recognition for.

"I surely anticipation that this is thing that keeps radical talking astir however bully she is, alternatively than what's wrong."

Fifteen-year-old Aphrodite Deng of Calgary had a 2-over 73 circular to decorativeness successful a necktie for 20th arsenic the tournament's debased amateur.