Canadian golfer Brooke Henderson gaining momentum, confidence after major win

The 23-year-old Floridian had had never been in a final pairing until Sunday. The first big step came on the 11th, when she rolled in a 70-foot eagle putt to get within one.

“Definitely growing up, springtime, fall-time weather was very similar to this”, said Henderson, ranked fourth in the world.

At 18 years and nine months, she became the second-youngest woman to win a Major after New Zealander Ko, who won last year’s Evian Championship aged 18 years and four months.

The eagle got Henderson within a shot of Ko, who had stiffed approaches on the first and fourth holes to set up easy birdies and added another one from eight feet on the hard par-4 eighth.

Henderson wasn’t finished. She birdied No. 12 to move back to within one stroke of Ko.

Weir was playing in the final group on Sunday at Augusta in 2003 and chasing journeyman Len Mattiace, who had gone out early and grabbed the clubhouse lead.

Ko, after a final-round 67, was first to play from the fairway on No. 18, the first extra frame. She sees herself as being as good as Lydia (Ko). But last time they were just yelling Go Canada.

“I’m not really sure if I pushed it”, Ko said.

The hours after the win were filled with media interviews. And after Henderson and party left the course, what wild celebration ensued?

“Things, they’ve changed so dramatically, and so quickly”, Henderson said. Both continued to make pars until the 17th when Henderson pulled even by dropping a 35-foot birdie putt after pulling her tee shot to the wrong side of the green on the par 3.

The shot that won the championship, though, came right before that-her approach in the playoff on No. 18 against Ko, who was vying for her third straight major title.

“The Canadian support has really been unbelievable leading up to this championship, and then yesterday, text messages, Twitter messages, emails, it was all pretty insane”, she said. “When you’re as good as Brooke is, that’s where you need to be and that’s what’s going to keep you on that path”.

Ko’s play-off loss was the first on the LPGA Tour having won her other three attempts.

Get used to this name on the LPGA Tour – teenager Brooke Henderson of Canada.

“I can’t say that I remember the exact moment when he won [the Masters]”, said Henderson in a media conference call on Monday. “And then things just really went pretty well”. Henderson started working with the national amateur team when she was a 14-year-old with a mismatched set of hand-me-down clubs and she remains the player who had an old seven-wood she could hit 150 yards or 200 yards, depending on what shot she needed. “On the back nine I just couldn’t get a rhythm with the swing and I missed a lot of shots to the right, what I have been doing in the last month or so”, Park said.

“It’s been so awesome”, Brittany said. “We were thinking, ‘Free car!’ but somebody brought up that there’s going to be quite a bit of tax on it”. Her first victory came a year ago in Portland, Oregon.

“I knew I would have to do something special to beat her”, Henderson said, “and I was able to do it”. She played a near-perferct final round at 4-under but was outdone by the brilliance of Henderson on the day. “It’s been an incredible journey”.