Brooke Henderson wins her first LPGA tournament at age 17 with ease

It was really just a matter of time for Brooke Henderson, and her time happened to be Sunday at the LPGA Cambia Portland Classic.

The 17-year-old rookie pro from Smiths Falls, Ont., cracked the big time with her first LPGA Tour victory after a few close calls. But there was nothing close about this one. She ate up the Columbia Edgewater course, rocketing to a 269, 21-under par finish to enter the clubhouse eight strokes ahead of the field. In doing so, she cemented her place on the tour next year and became the first Canadian to win an LPGA event since Lorie Kane did it in 2001.

That's not exactly Pat Fletcher territory, but still, ending any drought that extends more than a decade is to be celebrated.

That wasn't the end of her remarkable accomplishments on the West Coast. She became only the third golfer to win an LPGA tournament before her 18th birthday, joining Lydia Ko and Lexie Thompson. Her margin of victory was the largest on the tour this season and her 21-under score was a tournament record.

Henderson also became only the second LPGA winner to have made the tournament by winning a Monday qualifier. Such is the life of an underage golfer trying to crack the top level ahead of her time. Ot at least, it was.

She also put a big ribbon on a year that many seasoned pros can only marvel at.

"It's unbelieveable, I'm so excited," Henderson told the Golf Channel moments after tapping in to claim her initial victory, though she didn't seem all that excited.

Henderson said blowing a 54-hole lead at the Swinging Skirts Classic earlier this season taught her a few things.

``I think my attitude into today was better than it was a couple of months ago," she said. ``I was just trying to keep going low and tring to push further under par. I wouldn't have done that a couple of months ago."

While the $195,000 U.S. purse won't hurt, this victory really isn't about the money -- not entirely, anyway. Winning assures Henderson of finishing in the top 40 on the money list with $661,818 earned to date, giving her an LPGA Tour card for next season and helping her avoid the vagaries of securing her card through qualifying school.

She can petition for her tour card this year, but might wait until next season in hopes of winning the LPGA rookie of the year award with a full season of play.

What was so impressive about Henderson's victory was the way she went about it. She stared down some of the best, and most experienced, golfers the LPGA has to offer and didn't blink once.

After an impressive 66-67-65 start, she began the day five strokes ahead of Morgan Pressel, a multiple winner and a golfer Henderson has listed among her heroes.

But Henderson had been here before and had been found wanting.

She was the 54-hole leader at the Swinging Skirts Classic in April, but showed her inexperience, shot a 74 on the final day and faded away. There was none of that this time around.

She started out playing cautiously on Sunday, but with a wisdom that betrayed her youth. Then, after four holes of safe, par golf, the recent high school graduate grabbed the tournament by the throat and wrestled it to the ground.

She birdied the fifth, then the seventh and finished the front nine with another birdie. At the same time, Pressel was struggling to hang on to second place and before they made the turn, Henderson's lead had grown to eight strokes.

The back nine was basically an extended victory lap. She threw in a pair of birdies and a pair of bogeys on the back nine to coast home ahead of Pornanong Phatlum, Ha Na Jang and Candie Kung.

Henderson's victory put the icing on the cake for Canada at this tournament. Hamilton's Alena Sharp finished in a tie for 10th with Pressel, shooting 10-under 278.

The duo will now head north to Coquitlam, B.C., for this week's Canadian Pacific Women's Open.