Henderson trumps Ko in play-off at PGA Championship

Not much to say, either.

“There is one more step to go”, said Henderson of her chase for the No. 1 ranking.

Wayne native Marina Alex shot a 72 to finish at 6-over 290 and earn $30,556. “This is the first playoff hole I’ve had at a major”.

The roars and applause moving through all the tall Douglas firs and Western red cedars that frame the holes at Sahalee were one explanation for a dramatic final nine, which began with Ko holding a three-stroke lead but developed into a back-and-forth showdown to rival some of the best conclusions in major history.

With this victory, Henderson wins her first major championship title in her ninth major start overall and second KPMG Women’s PGA Championship start.

Then, on the first playoff hole, Henderson blasted a drive up the left side of the tight – they’re all tight, really, at Sahalee – 18th.

“It is only pressure if you let it be pressure”, she says. It was set up for lower scoring.

Thailand’s 20-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn, a multiple LPGA Tour victor this year, has jumped to No 7 after finishing third at the PGA Championship. On Sunday alone, there were 14.

“I was going, ‘OK, I’m not aiming at him anymore, ‘ ” Henderson said. Ko, 19, settled for par on the playoff hole.

The final round was a display of almost flawless golf from the best after players spent the first three rounds getting kicked around at hard Sahalee.

“We ate Chipotle, hopped in the vehicle and came here”, Henderson said. “I was just trying to nestle it up and make sure I made birdie”. Brooks Koepka, who carded a 66 and Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson, who both shot 67, wound up in a three-way tie for second at 270.

Last fall, she was ranked 200-and-something in the world.

Ko had taken the lead after day three yesterday. And when she’s doing it at her age, she’s still only 18.

She got in trouble off the tee at the finishing hole, but ended up saving par with a 12-footer.

On Monday, Henderson was back in the Rose City as the toast of women’s golf after a sensational victory in the Women’s PGA Championship near Seattle, a win in a major championship that catapulted her to No. 2 in the world ranking.

“I was kind of aiming right center, but it nearly broke a little bit”, Ko said.

From 180 yards out, Ko’s approach shot landed in the middle of the green, some 20 feet away from the cup.

“It was a pretty good day for me”, Henderson said after sealing her second victory on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour.

Brooke Henderson had already used up her maximum seven sponsor’s exemptions that non-tour members are allowed, but with Brittany coming to Portland, Brooke figured she would come along and enter Monday qualifying.

“I’m happy with the way I played, I just got outplayed”, Ko said after the trophy presentation.

This could be the start of something special for the talented, go-for-broke Henderson.

Henderson is just the second woman to win an LPGA major, after Sandra Post accomplished the feat in 1968. “The plan right now is to play as many events as I can and hopefully get a couple more wins”.