Henderson good, but Kang great
Despite fantastic final round, Canadian falls short
• Brooke Henderson nailed it.
In the moments after her eagle putt on the 18th hole at Olympia Fields Country Club came up one roll short and she wound up a stroke behind winner Danielle Kang, Henderson summed up the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship perfectly.
“Really, she won this,” said Henderson, whose 66 on Sunday was the low round of the day and showed what a competitor she can be when she gets near a trophy.
“I was just trying to make it a little bit closer and maybe force a playoff. I played great and I wouldn’t really take anything back.”
Henderson was classy in defeat and had reason to be upbeat. She played brilliantly. Kang, who won for the first time on the LPGA Tour, played a little bit better. Only she and Kang managed to post four rounds in the 60s: Henderson was 68- 69- 69- 66, Kang 69- 66- 68- 68.
Henderson staged a furious birdie- birdie finish, but Kang dropped a two-foot birdie putt of her own on 18 for the margin of victory in her breakthrough win.
Henderson’s defence of the title she won last year at Sahalee Country Club started with two- sport legend Bo Jackson giving her the nickname Showtime after they played together in a pro- am early in the week. It ended with her living up to it.
“I’m not sure that any player has more heart in terms of wanting to win than she does,” Golf Channel commentator Karen Stupples said.
That desire showed Sunday as the 19- year- old from Smiths Falls, Ont., supplied the drama. With Kang holding a three- shot lead with Henderson on the 17 th tee, Henderson birdied the difficult par-3 17th (she had one of only four birdies there on Sunday) to get to within two shots. She was 2 over par through three rounds on 17 before crushing it on Sunday.
Henderson hit two clutch shots on the par- 5 18th to give herself a chance. She had 234 yards to the flag for her second shot and ripped a three- wood into the wind that came up 30 feet short. There was a tense silence around the 18th green and the silver trophy, which Henderson had hefted above her head Stanley Cup-style last year, glinted in the sunlight as she stepped up to the putt.
It hopped at that start and came up one roll short of dropping, hanging on the lip despite the cries of the gallery. Kang, meanwhile, bogeyed the 17th to fall to 12 under par. They were tied until Kang nursed her own eagle putt to within two feet of the hole and sunk the winner.
“That putt, I took some extra time just trying to read it and just trying to get it right,” Henderson said. “I walked it a couple of times trying to get the pace right and unfortunately missed it by an inch.
“But, you know, it was a great day. Danielle played great. She was 13 under pretty early in the back nine and I knew I had a lot of work to do down the stretch. Congratulations to her.
“Sitting here a few days ago, I would be really happy with a second- place finish and to have the chances and opportunities that I did the last few holes, so I’m happy.”
Kang started the day tied with Chella Choi at 10 under par, three shots ahead of Henderson.
Henderson jumped out of the gates with birdies on the first and fourth holes, added another at the par- 3 seventh from about 40 feet and made the turn in 33, a shot back of the leaders. It was even more impressive given she hit only two fairways in the opening nine holes.
When Choi bogeyed the ninth, Henderson was tied for the lead at 10 under par with Choi and Kang.
It was short- lived, however, because that’s when Kang, after she bogeyed the 10th, started a run of four birdies in a row to get to 13 under. Henderson parred the first seven holes on the back nine, but then showed her teeth with that clutch finish.
When she beat Lydia Ko in a playoff to win this tournament last year, Henderson said she had a feeling during the final round it was going to be her day.
Did she have that feeling again Sunday?
“I don’t know if it was quite as strong as last year,” she said and added with a laugh: “Probably why I finished second.”
Henderson has a win at the Meijer LPGA Classic and now a solo second ( which is worth US$322,446) in her last two starts. She’s playing her best golf of the season with the U.S. Women’s Open two weeks away.
“I feel like my game is in a great spot,” she said. “Hopefully I can ride the momentum and keep the confidence and maybe win a few more times this summer.”