Having already qualified for the U.S. Women鈥檚 Open set for next month, Ko will get an early taste of the LPGA next week after the Victoria product won the Cambia Portland Classic Amateur on June 1. That one-stroke victory over Sydney Maluenda of George Fox University earned Ko the right to play in the LPGA Cambia Portland Classic.
Henderson, a former Canadian teammate of Ko through the national program, is the defending champion of the Portland Classic.
Ko, a Claremont Secondary grad who just completed her first year at North Carolina State, will reunite with Henderson, who was at times a roommate at camps or events. Henderson, now the No. 2 women鈥檚 player in the world, recently won the Women鈥檚 PGA Championship in a playoff with No. 1 Lydia Ko.
鈥淚鈥檓 really excited to be playing in the Portland Classic,鈥� said Naomi Ko, who won鈥檛 get a chance to play against Lydia Ko because she is not in next week鈥檚 field. 鈥淚 know Brooke won it last year and I look forward to seeing her.
鈥淚t鈥檚 awesome, what she managed to do,鈥� said Ko, who didn鈥檛 see Henderson鈥檚 major victory live on television two weekends ago. 鈥淚 was out practicing when she won it, but I saw the highlights. It鈥檚 nice to see golf in sa国际传媒 grow, especially with the women, with Alana [Sharp] and Brooke playing so well.鈥�
Now, Ko gets her first crack at experiencing how they compete at the LPGA level.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a week of learning. I want to perform well and I want to play well, but I think it鈥檚 important to have an open mind and watch what the pros are doing because they are the best players in the world,鈥� she said in between rounds at the Women鈥檚 Western Amateur Championship in Dayton, Ohio. 鈥淚 want to keep learning with these next experiences and learn what it鈥檚 like to be in that atmosphere.鈥�
In Dayton, Ko fired rounds of 69-76 to finish the stroke play portion of the event in a tie for 14th (the top Canadian) before defeating Mia Kness of Venetia, PA., 2 & 1, on the first day of match play on Wednesday. On Thursday she lost 1-down to Kelly Whaley of Farmington, sa国际传媒icut, in the Round of 32.
Ko also recently finished tied for seventh at the Porter Cup in Lewiston, New York, shooting rounds of 69-76-75. Quebec鈥檚 Jos茅e Doyon won the event with rounds of 73-71-66 for a 3-under 210 total, 10 strokes better than Ko.
鈥淚鈥檒l be nervous, for sure,鈥� Ko said of the upcoming LPGA events (the U.S. Women鈥檚 Open is July 7-10 at CordeValle Golf Course in California). 鈥淚鈥檓 nervous before every event. But being nervous isn鈥檛 a bad thing, especially for me because it gets the adrenalin going.鈥�
She will also attempt to qualify for the U.S. Women鈥檚 Amateur through a sectional at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell, Oregon, on July 25.
