With a two-under-par 70 in the final round, Brooke Henderson completed a wire-to-wire victory at the LPGA's season-opening Tournament of Champions in Orlando.The 25-year-old Canadian was the solo leader after each round, owning a four-shot edge after just two rounds and cruising to the finish line on 16-under at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club.FINAL LEADERBOARDIt marks her third career wire-to-wire win and her 13th LPGA title.
She placed second at this event last season.Henderson finished four strokes better than Sweden's Maja Stark and England's Charley Hull, each of whom shot a final-round 69 to tie for second on 12-under.Leona Maguire finished with a fine three-under 69 to sign off on six-under overall, in a tie for ninth."I always try to win a couple times each year, so to get one right away right out of the gate takes a little bit of pressure off," Henderson said on NBC. "I just love playing out here on the LPGA Tour against the best in the world every week."Henderson birdied the par-five second hole by setting herself up for a short putt with a long chip across the green.
Her only bogey of the day came at the par-three sixth, but she bounced back with birdies at the par-five ninth and 15th.Henderson struggled with back pain last season but still won two events, including the Evian Championship, the fifth and final major of the season.
She also had her wisdom teeth removed over the winter and swapped out all of her equipment."There definitely was a lot of patience involved, especially early on in the off-season," Henderson said. "A lot of big changes, a lot of things, but it couldn't have worked out any better."The No 7 player in the world rankings was not seriously threatened Sunday.