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TSN Senior Reporter

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Brooke Henderson will make the leap to the professional ranks later today.

The world’s top-ranked amateur will turn pro at the age of 17, a time when most golfers are thinking about college.  While it’s certainly exciting for her and Canadian golf fans, it’s also a risky move.

Henderson is hoping she can compete against the best players in the world. She’s showed some talent over the past few years, most notably a top 10 finish at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open, but she has not yet demonstrated she can do it consistently on a big circuit on tougher courses, while traveling the world on her own accord. She’ll also be playing against golfers who have teed it up on the Tour’s courses scores of times - Henderson will be seeing them for the first time. 

Perhaps the biggest hurdle for Henderson this year will be where to play. She was turned down in her request to play the LPGA Qualifying School as an underage golfer. Currently, the Tour requires players to be 18 or get a special exemption, as was given to Lydia Ko and Lexi Thompson. As such, she will be able to play six LPGA Tour events on sponsor exemptions and she’ll have no problem getting those. The five majors do not count in that group, so she could potentially play five of those. She is already assured of a spot in the U.S. Open. She can also play six events on the Symetra Tour, again on sponsor invites.  So, in a perfect world, she could play 17 tournaments.  There is also the Canadian women’s tour, although the future of that is very much up in the air at this point. 

Many people have compared Henderson to phenom Lydia Ko but Henderson is not at the same level as the two-time Canadian Open champion.  Ko was winning LPGA Tour events as an amateur; Henderson isn’t there yet. 

So why turn pro at this point? Why not go to a U.S. college, at least for a year and get some seasoning? 

That’s the question Henderson has yet to answer. It could be that the business side makes sense.  She will be supported by the Ottawa Senators where she will be feted during tomorrow evening’s game. And she’s reportedly inked an equipment deal with PING. 

Or it could just be that she needs a new challenge, having dominated the amateur ranks. 

Whatever the reason, the Smiths Falls, Ontario teenager is embarking on a new journey starting today.