Canada‘s Brooke Henderson shot a 2-under 70 on Sunday to win the first event the LPGA Tour season – the HGV Tournament of Champions – with an overall score of 16-under par.
Henderson, who hails from Smiths Falls, Ontario, was the wire-to-wire winner of the 29-player pro-am event and captured her 13th LPGA title, the most in Canadian golf history, with the four-stroke victory over Sweden’s Maja Stark and England’s Charley Hull.
Henderson entered the event with +800 odds to win the tournament at BetMGM. Roughly 12% of the tickets and 18% of the handle were on Henderson to win at the sportsbook, making her the second biggest liability behind Jennifer Kupcho, according to a BetMGM spokesperson.
Nelly Korda was the pre-tournament favourite at +400. She finished in fourth with a score of 11-under par.
Henderson won twice on the LPGA Tour last year, at the ShopRite LPGA Classic on June 12 and the Evian Championship on July 24. She finished the 2022 season seventh in the Rolex rankings and third in the Race to CME Globe rankings. With the win, she’s now holding the No. 1 spot in the CME Globe rankings on Monday with 500 points.
Retired American tennis player Mardy Fish won the celebrity side of the pro-am tournament. Other celebrities that competed in the event included Toronto Blue Jays legend Joe Carter (tied for 15th), and former Toronto Raptor Vince Carter (tied for 48th), among others.
The next event for the ladies is the Honda LPGA Thailand, which will run from Feb. 23-26. Odds are not yet available for the event.
