Ko extends lead at PGA Championship

Henderson has been poised for a breakthrough all year, and her play-off against Ko showed that she has what it takes to compete at the game’s very highest and most pressure-filled level.

Sunday’s victory, the first major by a Canadian woman since Sandra Post did it at this event in 1968 – and only the third major by a Canadian golfer, period – was a close and dramatic as sporting theatre gets. “Knowing that all I had to do was make this little putt to beat Lydia Ko in a playoff to win my first major championship, my hands were shaking so badly”.

“It was an unbelievable day today”, said Henderson.

Not only did Henderson win her first major title, she became the youngest champion in this tournament’s 62-year history (18 years, nine months), eclipsing Yani Tseng (19 years, four months), who won in 2008.

In the playoff on the par-4 18th, Henderson hit her second shot from 155 yards to 3 feet, while Ko’s second from farther back in the fairway left her with 20 feet.

But time is on the side of these talented two young women’s players who look set for more duels down the line. “I’m just going to have to sit down with my team and discuss it”. She played a near-perferct final round at 4-under but was outdone by the brilliance of Henderson on the day. Ko, in fact, shot a bogey-free 67.

The hours after the win were filled with media interviews.

Henderson hopes it’s the beginning of many celebrations to come.

“We ate Chipotle, hopped in the auto and came here”, Henderson said.

“It’s really been an incredible journey”, Henderson said Monday on a conference call.

“He really changed golf in Canada for everybody, and growing up knowing that he had won that definitely gave me confidence. It’s a lot of fun to be able to represent Canada”. After being well over 200, she’s now No. 2 at age 18, a Canadian hero in the vein of 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir, and could soon become one of the faces of the sport.

Henderson had been waiting for a victory. “I don’t know if I ever thought it would come true”. “You can try to plan things, but sometimes things just happen for you”.

She hasn’t been a pro yet for two years, isn’t old enough to order a drink and can’t even rent a vehicle.

And if not, how about her ode to her love of hockey with this celebratory pose? “We’re best friends, and it just works for us to have a player-caddie relationship”. On Monday, Brooke said she would also pay the taxes on the vehicle.

“I knew it was possible”, she said.

“There were a lot of good signs early in the week, especially with the hole in one (in the first round)”, said Post, who won nine tournaments during her LPGA career.

“My daughter jumped about a foot in the air when she made that”, Jim Day of Vancouver, B.C., said of the putt that vaulted Henderson out of a bunched field to challenge frontrunner Lydia Ko.

Starting the 2015 LPGA season without exempt status, Henderson used weekly qualifiers and sponsor exemptions to carve a spot for herself on tour, and the native of Smith Falls, Ontario, won the Cambia Portland Open.

Brooke Henderson kept hearing the roar of fans echoing through the trees, leaving her to wonder what was happening elsewhere on the golf course. “It’s hard to believe that 18 months ago, I was ranked way over 200th in the world, and now I’m No. 2”.