SAMMAMISH, Wash. – 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 made a long eagle putt on 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 the 19-year-old Ko’s bid for her third consecutive major victory.
Ariya Jutanugarn, in search of a fourth consecutive victory, shot a 66 to finish a stroke back. The 20-year Thai player missed a birdie putt on the 18th that could have put her into the playoff.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Daniel Berger won the FedEx St. Jude Classic for his first PGA Tour title, shooting a 3-under 67 to hold off Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker and Brooks Koepka by three strokes.
The 23-year-old Floridian had had never been in a final pairing until Sunday. When Mickelson, with his 42 career PGA Tour titles, closed within a stroke, Berger birdied three of his next four holes, highlighted by a 32-foot putt on the par-3 14th that pushed his lead to 13 under.
Berger finished at 13-under 267. He became the 13th first-time winner on tour this season and took home the winner’s check of $1.1 million in the 50th start of his career.
Mickelson and Stricker shot 67, and Koepka had a 66 in the round that was delayed three hours because of storms. Dustin Johnson had a 63, setting the back-nine record with a 29, to finish fifth at 9 under.
Berger is the fourth first-time winner at the event in the past six years and 10th overall in Memphis.
FLOURTOWN, Pa. – Bernhard Langer won the Constellation Senior Players Championship for the third consecutive year, holing a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a one-stroke victory at windy Philadelphia Cricket Club.
The 58-year-old German star won his seventh senior major title – his fifth in the last 11 majors – to tie Hale Irwin for second place on the career list, a victory behind Jack Nicklaus.
Three strokes ahead at 2 under entering the round on the difficult Wissahickon Course, Langer closed with a 3-over 73 to finish at 1-over 281 – the highest winning score in the history of the event first played in 1983. Mark O’Meara had the previous record at 7 under in 2010 at TPC Potomac in Maryland.
Langer held off Miguel Angel Jimenez and Joe Durant, saving bogey with a 6-footer on the par-4 17th and getting his birdie putt to drop on the par-4 18th after it caught the edge and circled the cup. Jimenez and Durant each shot 68 for the low rounds of the day.
Langer won in 2014 at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh and last year at Belmont in Massachusetts.
Langer has three victories this year, also winning the Chubb Classic in Florida in February and the major Regions Tradition last month in Alabama. The two-time Masters champion is third on the tour victory list with 28, one behind Lee Trevino. Irwin is the leader with 45.
ATZENBRUGG, Austria – China’s Wu Ashun rallied to win the Lyoness Open for his second European Tour victory, improving his chances of playing in the Rio Olympics.
The 30-year-old Wu closed with a 3-under 69 for a one-stroke victory over Spain’s Adrian Otaegui. The China Open winner last year, Wu finished at 13-under 275 at Diamond Country Club.
