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Canadian Brooke Henderson just misses completing Cinderella LPGA story

Brooke Henderson impressed the golf world at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic on the weekend. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Brooke Henderson impressed the golf world at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic on the weekend. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Brooke Henderson did not complete the storybook finish she was writing this weekend.

But although the 17-year-old Canadian came up short after leading the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic heading into Sunday's final round, she did complete the first chapter in what promises to be the story of a great golf career.

Heading into Sunday's final round at Merced Golf and Country Club in Daly City, Calif., the Smiths Falls native was in good position to claim her first LPGA victory after turning pro in December. But bogeys on the first and third holes set the pace for a day that saw her finish third, one stroke behind New Zealand phenom Lydia Ko and American Morgan Pressel.

Ko defended her title on the second playoff hole, sinking a birdie putt as Pressel settled for par.

Ko, who just turned 18, now has seven LPGA titles.

Henderson is hoping to follow in Ko's footsteps and is certainly off to a good start. Despite shooting a 74 on Sunday, her poorest round of the tournament, she impressed her fellow competitors and observers with both her talent and composure.

Even though she faltered when it counted, recording five bogeys on her final 18, at no time did she look like a novice. When she fell three strokes off the pace, she roared back by holing out for an eagle on the 14th.

She still had a shot at making the playoff a three-way affair on the 18th, needing to sink a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole. But she missed on the low side and had to settle for third place.

"It was one of the least nervous putts I had all day," Henderson told the Associated Press. "I could see it going in in my mind, but it didn't happen in real life."

Trying to become the third player in history to win on the LPGA Tour before turning 18 and the first Canadian to win on the tour since Lorie Kane did it in 2001, Henderson lost her slim lead early on Sunday. She hit her opening tee shot into trees and had to punch out and eventually settle for a bogey. She lost the lead on the par-3 third after coming up well short off the tee.

Regardless of the finish, Henderson left California holding her head high as she headed to Texas in hopes of qualifying for the next LPGA event.

Henderson wasn't the only Canadian putting up some good numbers on the pro tour over the weekend. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot a 67 and 68 in the final two rounds of the rain-delayed Zurich Classic of New Orleans to finish 18-under, good enough for a sixth-place tie. He was only four strokes behind winner Justin Rose, who recorded his seventh PGA Tour victory.