SAMMAMISH, Wash. (AP) – Brooke Henderson beat top-ranked Lydia Ko with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff Sunday in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship after overcoming a three-shot deficit on the back nine.
The 18-year-old Canadian, ranked No. 4 in the world, closed with a bogey-free 6-under 65 – the best round of the week at Sahalee – to match Ko at 6-under 278. Ko finished with a 67.
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. Ko missed to the left and Henderson tapped in to cap a week that started with a hole-in-one on her fourth hole of the tournament and ended with a major championship.
In regulation, Henderson saved par on 18 with a 12-footer, moments before Ko missed a 4-foot birdie try on the par-3 17th. Henderson also eagled the par-5 11th and birdied the par-3 13th. She won last year in Portland, Oregon, for her first tour title.
Henderson became the second-youngest winner in a major championship, with Ko the youngest last year in the Evian Championship in France. Henderson also ended Ko’s bid for her third straight major victory.
Ariya Jautanugarn, in search of a fourth straight victory, shot 66 to finish a stroke back. She missed a birdie putt on the 18th that could have put her into the playoff.