FOR HENDERSON, VICTORY FULFILLS DREAM
Teen’s first major comes in playoff
SAMMAMISH, WASH. Lydia Ko was closing in on the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship title Sunday, her third major victory. But Brooke Henderson had other ideas.
Henderson shot a final-round 65 that propelled her to a playoff with Ko at Sahalee Country Club. The 18-year-old Canadian claimed her first major victory with a stunning birdie on the first extra hole as they both finished at 6-under-par 278.
“Definitely dreamt of this moment,” Henderson said after becoming the second-youngest player to win a major on the LPGA tour.
Ko, 19, become the youngest last year in the Evian Championship in France.
“I didn’t know if it would actually come true,” Henderson said.
Ko entered the final round with a one-shot lead and a big crowd following her in the final group. She had four birdies in her round of 67, missing just two fairways and hitting 16 of 18 greens.
An eagle on the 11th hole helped Henderson believe she could win.
“That was really the momen- tum changer in my round,” she said.
On No. 17, Henderson dropped a long birdie putt, but Ko’s putt from 4 feet slid past the hole.
“I’m happy with the way I played. I just got outplayed,” Ko said. “That’s all I can do. Even though I came second, I’m proud to be in this position.”
Though Ko and Henderson’s duel carried the majority of the drama, Ariya Jutanugarn threw herself into contention with two late birdies. Jutanugarn finished one shot out of a playoff as she chased a fourth consecutive win. Berger wins: Pressure? What pressure?
As several of the world’s best golfers took aim at Daniel Berger, 23, on Sunday in the rain-delayed final round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic, he steadfastly refused to allow their résumés — and shotmaking — to knock him from his perch atop the leaderboard.
The steely resolve allowed Berger, son of former world top-10 tennis pro Jay Berger, to capture the first PGA Tour title of his fledgling career at TPC Southwind in Memphis with a 67 for a total of 13-under-par 267.
Berger withstood a late charge by world No. 6 and 2012 St. Jude’s champion Dustin Johnson, repeated challenges from 17thranked Brooks Koepka and multiple runs by World Golf Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson and veteran Steve Stricker, a 12-time winner on tour.
Koepka (66), Stricker (67) and Mickelson (67) finished three shots back at 270, and Johnson fired a 63 — the best round of the tournament — to post a 271.
In a final round delayed three hours by rain and thunder, Berger, the PGA Tour’s reigning rookie of the year, refused to be intimidated. He never lost the lead despite briefly being tied by Koepka early in the round.
In fact, he never trailed after taking the 36-hole lead at 9-under 131.
At 23 years and 2 months, Berger became the secondyoungest champion in the tournament’s 59-year history and denied Mickelson, 45, and Stricker, 49, the opportunity to become the first 40-or-older winner on the tour this season.
For Johnson, it was good preparation for this week’s U.S. Open.