Brooke Henderson Finally Lands Second Major at Evian Championship

ON A roller-coaster day that saw 13 players lead at one point or another, Canada's Brooke Henderson holed an eight-foot birdie putt on the final green to win the Evian Championship and secure her second major title after a six-year wait.

Henderson was soaked in champagne by fellow players on the 18th green after an even-par round of 71 that saw her finish on 17-under 267 and ahead of Sophia Schubert, an LPGA rookie who was one of many to make a run at Henderson at Evian Resort Golf Club.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Five players were tied for third a further shot back: Mao Saigo (64), Lydia Ko (66), Charley Hull (67), Hyo Joo Kim (67) and Carlota Ciganda (68).

Henderson, who won the Women’s PGA Championship in 2016 at the age of 18, started the final round with a two-shot lead over So Yeon Ryu. It was wiped out after the first hole thanks to a birdie from Ryu and a bogey from Henderson.

So began a wild final round of the fourth major of year, featuring four-putts from Henderson and Ryu, a spectator picking up a ball that dribbled into the rough and landed by her feet and — at one stage on the back nine — a seven-way tie for the lead.

In total, there were 13 changes of leader, with Henderson only knocked out of it — briefly — when Schubert (68) made birdie at No. 12 to move onto 15 under.

Henderson held herself together and managed to keep pace with Schubert with birdies at Nos. 14 and 15. The pair were tied for the lead after reaching the 18th, with Schubert playing in the group ahead of Henderson.

Schubert’s birdie putt came to rest barely an inch from the cup just after Henderson had a wild hook off the tee, only for the ball to ricochet off the trees and back out to the rough.

Henderson laid up and, from 107 yards, sent her third shot to 8 feet. The birdie putt never looked like missing and Henderson bent her knees as the ball fell into the cup. She was a major winner again.

It was definitely an interesting day. Not the day I wanted but I stayed patient," added Henderson.

"The saying is majors are won on the back nine on Sunday, so I kept that in mind."

Who is Brooke Henderson

Henderson was born in Ontario in September 1997. She won her first major at the 2016 KPMG PGA Championship at the age of 18, becoming the event's youngest winner.[ With 12 LPGA wins as of June 2022, Henderson has the most victories of any Canadian golfer on major professional tours. In November 2019, she was named the winner of the 2019 Founders Award by a vote of fellow golfers on the LPGA Tour as someone "whose behaviour and deeds best exemplify the spirit, ideals, and values of the LPGA.

Henderson won the Canadian Women’s Amateur in 2013, and finished runner-up at the 2014 US Women’s Amateur. While still an amateur, she won three events on the Canadian Women's Tour and finished tied for 10th place in the US Women’s Open aged just 16.

She averages 269.33 yards from the tee and hits 77% of fairways and 75% of greens in regulation. Henderson averages 29.68 putts per round and her scoring average in 2022 is an impressive 69.79 - only two players rate better. She began the Evian in in fourth place in the Race to the CME Globe. This is her second victory of the year.