FLOURTOWN, Pa. – Bernhard Langer won the Constellation Senior Players Championship for the third straight year by sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a one-stroke victory.
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It was a case of the teen prodigy being beaten by the next rising star, as Lydia Ko lost out to Brooke Henderson at the Women’s PGA Championship Sunday.
In many ways this is a huge win not only for Henderson, but for the LPGA with Ko and Henderson battling for championships for years to come. The Smiths Falls, Ont., native also became the first Canadian woman since Post to capture a major championship. But last time they were just yelling “Go Canada” and that was kind of a surreal feeling.
“I feel like I’ve blossomed like a butterfly, from the beginning to the end of the week”, said Bermingham.
Henderson, Ko and third-place Ariya Jutanugarn played a combined 56 holes on the final day without a bogey. “It was something I never felt before, and the adrenaline was great”. “And even I was reading some of the names on this trophy and it’s very, very cool”.
Another way to tell the story is the relevant numbers. 16 and 17. Ko finished regulation with seven consecutive pars. Jutanugarn, 20, bidding for her fourth straight victory, finished with a 66.
Wielding a hot putter, Henderson rolled in a 90-foot eagle from off the green at the par-five 11th to throw down the gauntlet. It harkened to Fuzzy Zoeller waving a white towel after Greg Norman sank a long putt at Winged Foot during the final round of the 1984 U.S. Open. “The 6 over I had yesterday was just really disappointing”.
“For Brooke to shoot 65 on the final day at a major at a course like this, it’s very impressive”, Ko said. Then it was a 240-kilometre ride to the next event on her hectic schedule: a Monday media day at the Cambia Portland Classic, where she will defend her title from past year.
Ko, 19, remained steady, even making an unexpected birdie at the eighth hole to grab a three-stroke advantage.
“With this golf course, I needed to hit fairways and the last few weeks I’ve been hitting too much of a draw and missing some fairways, but this week, Sahalee is narrow and I was able to shape it for a couple of holes”, she said in a quiet moment after the media crush.
The carts were loaded up with Henderson and her caddie, sister Brittany, and Ko and her caddie, respectively.
This time previous year, Henderson was an under-ager with no status on either the Symetra or LPGA tours. “To have it go in was incredible”.
And then, in the next breath, the newly-minted World No.-2 ranked golfer added: “I’ve still got one more spot to go”. “That was a huge momentum-changer for me”.
After storming home with a brilliant back nine to set the clubhouse lead at six under, 18-year-old Henderson put her approach shot three feet from the hole on the par-4 18th to move within touching distance of a first major title.
Teenagers have won four of 16 LPGA Tournaments so far this season: Lydia Ko (2), Brooke Henderson (one), Minjee Lee (one).
“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.
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“I didn’t say that this week” – they didn’t realize it was the vehicle hole – “but I’m really happy to give it to her”.
