Wednesday 19 August 2015 11:15, UK
Canadian teenager Brooke Henderson has been granted special exemption in order to become a member of the LPGA Tour.
Commissioner Mike Whan announced on Tuesday that Henderson has been granted immediate membership to the Tour, two days after the 17-year-old claimed her maiden LPGA victory at the Cambia Portland Classic.
The LPGA Tour has a minimum age requirement of 18 and only Lydia Ko and Lexi Thompson had been granted exemptions previously after both won tournaments prior to turning 18.
Whan, who denied Henderson's request for a waiver last year, said: "After reviewing Brooke Henderson's petition, I have granted her LPGA Tour membership beginning immediately.
"Brooke truly earned her card, and we are looking forward to Brooke joining our Tour and our family. She is a special player and a wonderful person."
Henderson will now play on home soil at this week's Canadian Pacific Women's Open as a fully-fledged member of the LPGA Tour.
"I am so grateful for the opportunity to join the Tour as a member and play alongside so many of my role models," she said in a statement.
"Realising this dream here at the Canadian Pacific Women's Open in my native Canada is even more amazing and I am so proud to be an ambassador for golf in this amazing country."
