Kang has major breakthrough
Perry takes U.S. Senior Open; Stanley wins playoff
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. —Danielle Kang birdied the final hole to win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title, edging defending champion Brooke Henderson.
Kang bogeyed the tricky par-3 17th, and Henderson closed with two birdies to move into a tie for the lead, coming up just short on a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th. But Kang responded with two solid shots to get to the green in two, and then two-putted for the victory.
“I just told myself it was my week. It was my day,” Kang said.
It was another great finish for the LPGA Tour’s second major of the season. The 19-year-old Henderson beat Lydia Ko in a playoff last year at Sahalee in Washington.
The 24-year-old Kang trailed Henderson and Chella Choi by one after she bogeyed the par-4 10th at Olympia Fields. But Kang moved in front with four straight birdies on Nos. 11-14, getting hot with her putter at the right time.
Kang also had a clutch 21-foot par putt at 16 on her way to a 4-under 68 and the winner’s check of $525,000. Henderson closed with a 66 to finish a stroke back, and Choi, who was tied with Kang for the lead coming into the day, was third at 10 under after a 71.
Kang’s previous best finish in a major was a tie for 14th in the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open.
Henderson made a strong bid for a second straight title in the event, jumping up the leaderboard with three birdies in her first seven holes. But the Canadian had nine straight pars in the middle of the round.
Mi Hyang Lee (67), Amy Yang (68) and Sei Young Kim (68) tied for third at 9 under, and Lexi Thompson (69) and Inbee Park (68) were another two strokes back.
SENIORS: In Peabody, Mass., Kenny Perry claimed his second U.S. Senior Open, pulling away from Kirk Triplett at Salem Country Club to finish at 16 under and win by two strokes.
The 56-year-old Perry closed with a shot 2-under 68 for a record score of 264. Perry also won the event in 2013 in Omaha, Nebraska. It is his fourth major victory on the senior tour.
Perry started the day one stroke behind Triplett but five ahead of the next-closest contender, Brandt Jobe. Triplett, who tied the tournament record with a 62 in the opening round, shot 71 on Sunday.
Jobe had a 70 to finish seven strokes back. Tom Lehman and Fred Couples each shot 69 to tie for fourth at 8 under.
PGA: In Potomac, Md., Kyle Stanley got up-and-down for par from just over the 18th green to win the Quicken Loans National on the first hole of a playoff with Charles Howell III.
On a chaotic final day at TPC Potomac, Stanley and Howell finished at 7-under 273 after matching final-round 4-under 66s. Howell had a 21-foot putt to win on the final hole of regulation that rolled over the left edge of the cup.
In the playoff, both missed the fairway and the green. Howell’s chip came up short and he missed the 11-foot par putt. Stanley chipped to 5 feet and pumped his fist as the putt dropped.