Henderson defeats Ko in playoff to claim first major

In 2012, at just 14, Henderson won on the CN Canadian Women’s Tour at Beloieil Golf Club. Though he remained a respected PGA Tour player for several more years and posted one more victory, the green jacket was a crowning achievement to Weir’s career.

Earlier, the 19-year-old Kiwi, seeking her first PGA Championship title, missed a short putt to take the lead at 17 after a stunning approach on the par three, then pared the last hole to send the tournament to extra holes.

And Henderson became the second woman from Canada to win a major.

“I’m still pretty young and feeling pretty good at this point”, Henderson said.

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. Ko has seven, including two wins. “And for Brooke to shoot 65 on the final day at a major at a course like this, it’s very impressive”, Ko told the media afterward.

Ko answered with a birdie at the 11th, but Henderson drew another huge roar with a birdie at the 13th to stay one shot behind. The back nine was a clinic in clutch shot-making, leading to a playoff to crown the champion.

Given the limited advertising space on their clothing, the ideal for golfers is to have deep sponsorship deals with three or four companies as opposed to shallow contracts with many brands, says Brian Cooper of S & E Sponsorship Group.

But Brooke Henderson was watching.

“I think that’s the way Canadians are”, Day said. “And also try to flawless my own”.

After being prompted by organizers, Brooke Henderson, of Canada, plants a kiss on the championship trophy after winning the Women’s PGA Championship golf tournament at Sahalee Country Club on Sunday, June 12, 2016, in Sammamish, Wash. Two years later, she was a runner up in the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Now she has a shot at reaching number one in the professional rankings before she is old enough to buy alcohol in her home province.

Brooke Henderson is riding a whirlwind of congratulatory messages and travel in the wake of winning her first major.

“I wish there were more tournaments in the Northwest”, she said with a grin.

But Henderson is far from done defining her career.

Her second shot with a 7-iron never left its line, landing just in front and rolling up to 3 feet. It was a lot to put on a three-foot roll.

“It was an incredible day today”, said Henderson. “But somehow I was able to knock it in”. The fairway was lined with both the towering Douglas firs, red cedar and hemlocks trees and thousands of cheering fans who yelled their encouragement as the carts passed by them.

It also seems to help that, in her whirlwind of a pro career, where she won past year before even having a Tour card – she was too young to be eligible – Henderson has stuck with the same routines that helped her become a prodigy.

Henderson’s ascension from the two hundreds to No. 2 in the world in the span of a year coincides with golf’s re-entry into the Olympic Games in Rio in August. She played a near-perferct final round at 4-under but was outdone by the brilliance of Henderson on the day.

Asked whether she had ever dreamed of such a moment, she responded: “Definitely in my dreams”. Now, I’m No. 2 in the world, which is really cool. “And for her to win this and for her to win her first major, it’s fantastic”.

“The Olympics is kind of an opportunity of a lifetime”, she said. Henderson called her parents in the middle of taking pictures and getting congratulatory hugs, and then called them again a little later once things had calmed down. That is her nature: she goes for it.

“The reason that she constantly improves is that the recipe hasn’t changed”.

“I don’t know what the effect will be, but for now, she’s just such a terrific role model”, she said. When she turned pro in December of 2014 she was ranked 223rd in the world.

Her father, Dave, is her coach, but he wasn’t there on Sunday. Yes, it has been going OK. Is she anxious about getting worn down? But, separated by just a few months in age, it’s natural to imagine a rivalry develop now that the first head-to-head encounter has gone Henderson’s way. She’s giving it to Brittany, her caddie now. “Every week, when we step up to the hole-in-one vehicle hole, I say to Britt ‘If I get that, I’m giving it to you, ‘” she said. “I didn’t say it this week, but I’m very happy to give it to her”, Henderson said.