Hall Of Fame: Selanee Henderson Pendleton

Drive. A word that describes Selanee Henderson Pendleton to a T - no pun intended. She could out-drive her competition by a mile and it was her drive and work ethic that led to her Hall of Fame career at UCI. 

She played on the varsity girls’ soccer team and boys varsity golf team at Granite High School. While she loved soccer, she was better at golf, a sport she started when her father took her to the driving range at age six. 

She began playing junior golf tournaments when she was nine or 10 with her dad as her caddy. Her father Bill was a wrestling coach and a teacher, the perfect person to be on her bag. 

“I appreciated that he wasn’t like most crazy golf parents. He was an athlete so knew both sides of coaching and competing. I put enough pressure on myself so didn’t need extra. He would remind me that I was putting the pressure on myself.” 

Her dad would get home after teaching and they would head to the golf course, practicing for two hours and then playing nine holes until it got dark. 

“I dreaded it. It felt like a chore. I look back now and I’m glad he made me do that.” 

Her brothers Tom and Dan were successful athletes and watching them excel made her frustrated at times. 

“I would see my brothers being successful and had no patience in trying to get there. I thought I should be good at things right away.” 

Brother Tom was a collegiate wrestler, while brother Dan is a celebrated mixed martial artist and two-time Olympic wrestler.  

“I think the reason the whole family was good was because of the time our parents dedicated to setting us up for success.” 

Since she didn’t play any American Junior Golf Association events, she wasn’t widely seen by college coaches, taking her recruiting into her own hands, she sent letters to several schools. Not wanting to leave California, she went on a visit to Pepperdine, had non-scholarship interest from USC and was recruited heavily by UCI’s Kelly Crawford. 

“Living in Newport was what got me.” 

After officially signing with the Anteaters, she would finish 10th at Junior World and fifth at U.S. Junior leaving other coaches to ask where Crawford had found the gem. 

She embraced the weightroom before she came to Irvine and spent many hours there contributing to her success. 

“At the time no one did that in golf and I think it was a big advantage.” 

It didn’t take Henderson long to make an impact with the Anteaters, winning the Nittany Lion Invitational at Penn State (220-75-72-73) as an individual and a leading UCI to the team title in October, just a month after joining the squad. 

She would finish second at the 2005 Big West Championships and helped UCI win the Big West team title and advance to its first NCAA Championship appearance. The freshman led the Anteaters at the Championship with a 27th place finish (297-76-77-71-73) on the Meadows Golf Course at Sunriver Resort In Oregon, still the second-best performance by an Anteater at the NCAA finals. UCI would place 18th among the nation’s best. 

After a great first season, most would be pretty satisfied, right – not Henderson Pendleton. She was still annoyed at her second place conference finish and that would fuel the fire for her sophomore year. 

In February, she won the Fresno State Invitational held at the Copper River Country Club in a large field of 20 teams. She shot a then-tying school record 67 on the first round followed by a 70 on the second (137). 

“I remember talking to my dad after and telling him that it felt easy. Effortless. And that’s what you strive to get too. I think that’s why that tournament was my favorite.” 

The season was capped by winning the Big West Championship at the Tijeras Creek Golf Club (219-69-75-75) by one shot over teammate Jane Chin. She is one of three Anteaters to claim a Big West individual title. 

The team won its second consecutive team title and advanced to the NCAA West Regional where they finished ninth, one place shy of advancing to the NCAA finals. 

Before her junior year, UCI had a coaching change with Julie Brooks taking over the reins of the Anteater program. 

“I knew she was a cut above your typical college player. She was strong and disciplined.”  Brooks said. “Her drives were long. She was raised in a family that valued strength and fitness and it was an advantage.” 

Her success carried over to her junior year winning back-to-back titles, the first for a UCI golfer. She captured the Spartan Invitational (210-69-71-70) and UCI’s own Anteater Invitational at Dove Canyon Country Club 216 (69-72-75) in March. She won the home tournament by eight shots, helping the Anteaters to a 30-stroke victory. 

After UCI won its third consecutive Big West title, the Anteaters finished fifth at the West Regional making its second NCAA appearance at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, FL 

Henderson made a splash on the national scene, firing a 69 on the first round to lead the tournament field, sitting in front of Duke's Amanda Blumenherst and Stanford's Lauren Todd by one stroke. She would end up placing 40th, shooting a season-best 69 three times her junior year. 

“I was so nervous going into the second round.” 

In June 2007, she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open at Lake Merced Country Club, drove back down to Irvine and took four finals, flew to the Public Links event and then went to play at the U.S. Open. Immediately after, she competed in the USA vs Japan match play.  

While her senior year was a wild ride maneuvering around some errand shots, she managed to win the Spartan Invitational for the second consecutive year, the first player to accomplish the feat. 

That victory would cement herself in UCI history for the most wins in program history at six.  

“I would always be surprised I won. It seemed confusing that I played that much better than everyone else. Looking back, I didn’t realize how good I really was and the layout of a course had also helped me to victories. Back then I was too naïve to understand if the course was a good fit for me.” 

She would end her career as one of only three Big West players to be named first-team All-Big West all four years and was named Big West Golfer of the Month five times in her career. She was also named a National Strength & Conditioning Association All-American. 

Some players went to LPGA Qualifying School during their senior year, but Henderson Pendleton waited until she finished the season and graduated with her degree in social ecology. She would then go on to play in the U.S. Amateur before turning professional.

She didn’t make it in the first round in California, so went to Florida and finished in the Top 10 moving on to the final stage of the LPGA Q School.  

While she didn’t make the final cut, moving on to the LPGA finals allowed her to play in every event on the Symetra Tour.  

Her professional career was highlighted by two second place finishes on the tour and being runner-up on the Golf Channel’s “Big Break Atlantis” in 2012. 

The show featured 12 female golfers that competed in skills challenges and golf matches, taped at Atlantis, Bahamas’ Ocean Club Golf Course. 

While she finished as the runner up, she was named Fan Favorite. 

She stopped playing professionally in 2017 and now she plays only once or twice a month. She played in an US open qualifier recently and was leading after the first 18 holes. 

“I haven’t walked 18 holes, let alone 36 in a day in a long time.” 

The birth of her son Ryker has allowed Henderson Pendleton to play with a different attitude. 

“Now that there is something more important in my life, I play freer.” 

Her husband Chris is the head wrestling coach at Oregon State and was a two-time NCAA Champion from Oklahoma State. The couple is excited to welcome their second son in June. 

Thinking back at her time at UC Irvine her favorite memories are spending time with her teammates on the road and of course the beach lifestyle. 

“I miss living in Newport, I miss studying on the beach between classes.” 

Her college roommate Lauren Duncan Rangel was another source of support. The two went to high school together and decided to room together in Irvine.   

After winning the Big West Championship, Henderson Pendleton went to class and Lauren showed up at the lecture with flowers. 

“I remember her bringing flowers into a big lecture hall and she would always come to tournaments with signs ‘Go Selanator’. I would wake up every day early for practice and she didn’t care. She knew how hard I worked and would help me study for classes since she knew I was gone a lot.” 

Henderson Pendleton is currently the head PGA pro at Epic Golf Club where she connects members across a network of private clubs allowing them access to the best courses in the country. 

With a veracious work ethic and her given athletic ability, her Anteater career ended in the ultimate, a Hall of Fame induction. 

“I had a successful career, but I never thought I deserved the Hall of Fame. My dad said I was more self-motivated than either of my two brothers which was significant because Dan was a two-time Olympian and World Champion.”