By Torleif Sorenson on 5/12/15

Last December 19, we told you about 17-year-old phenom Brooke Henderson turning professional. Unfortunately, the native of Smiths Falls, Ontario was denied entry into the LPGA's Q-School because she will not turn 18 years old until October 9.

But over the last couple of weeks, tournament sponsors have wised up and awarded exemptions into their LPGA events. On April 25, she set the 36-hole scoring record at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic by shooting 70-65 = 135, breaking Stacy Lewis's record from last year. Henderson finished that event T-3, one shot out of the playoff won by Lydia Ko.

At the North Texas LPGA Shootout, Henderson held another lead at the halfway point before fading to a T-13 at -6. That boosted her to 80th in the Rolex Rankings — and apparently boosted the LPGA's web traffic from up north:

Interesting stat...web traffic on http://t.co/vNAaD3Pw80 up 216 percent the weeks Brooke Henderson @BrookeH_Golf is competing. #Canadaproud

— Terry MarcotteCTV (@TerryMarcotte) May 4, 2015

Organizers of the LPGA's Manulife Classic were smart enough to invite her to play in her home province:

I am very excited to be playing this years @ManulifeClassic June 4-7th in Waterloo on a sponsor's exemption! Looking forward to the fans!

— Brooke Henderson (@BrookeH_Golf) May 4, 2015

Two days later...

The Kingsmill Championship is excited to announce that our final sponsor's exemption goes to Brooke Henderson! @BrookeH_Golf #KingsmillLPGA

— Kingsmill LPGA (@KingsmillLPGA) May 6, 2015

And now, Brooke will compete in her first major as a professional at Westchester:

#TeamCanada Young Pro Squad's @BrookeH_Golf to play in @KPMGWomensPGA Read: http://t.co/8XOzRHCfx2 #GolfCanadaGolf pic.twitter.com/3fPvZkwUBj

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) May 11, 2015

This is not merely marketing hype; Henderson had an impressive amateur career. She won the 2013 Canadian Women's Amateur. In 2014, she finished runner-up at the U.S. Women's Amateur and T-10 at the U.S. Women's Open at Pinehurst. And similar to Ko before her, Henderson has won three professional events, most notably the 2014 PGA Women's Championship of Canada — as an amateur.

The LPGA is chock-full of talented players and star power — even if some TV sports outlets and magazines don't see it. Those of us who appreciate and follow the LPGA already see it.

And we will not be surprised one bit if Brooke Henderson quickly becomes a mainstay on the LPGA — if not a tournament winner.


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Image via Twitter