Ko edges Lewis to capture Canadian Pacific Women’s Open

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A week ago, Brooke Henderson, 17, won her first LPGA Tour tournament in Portland, Ore., dominating the field.

This week, at the Canadian Pacific Women's Open at the Vancouver Golf Club, it was quite different, although she had a similarly strong finish.

Henderson landed in Vancouver to a crush of attention, an instant national sensation, but after three uneven rounds she was one-over, tied for 50th, a distant 13 shots off the lead.

With victory out of reach, and her older sister Brittany caddying, Henderson played her best golf of the tournament on Sunday: five birdies, 13 pars, no bogeys and the fewest putts, 28, in her four rounds. And she had big drives, reaching one par-four green from the tee and averaging 286 yards on the day, 15 yards better than her previous best here. She finished with a five-under 67 on the day.

Henderson's four-under for the tournament landed her in a tie for 23rd, the top Canadian, and the best Canadian result since 2010 when Lorie Kane tied for 11th.

The winner was the remarkable Lydia Ko of New Zealand, another teenage sensation, her second victory at the Vancouver Golf Club, and her third Canadian Women's Open in four years. Three out of four ain't bad.

But Ko, No. 2 in the world, was not remarkable on Sunday: she was tied for the lead at the day's beginning, 12-under, but played her worst golf of the tournament, par for the day. Veteran rival Stacy Lewis, the 30-year-old American ranked No. 3 in the world, who was LPGA Tour player of the year in 2012 and 2014, began Sunday tied for sixth at seven-under. Lewis powered to 12-under before a playoff, two birdies on her final three holes.

In the playoff, two of the world's best went one-on-one. Ko won it on the first playoff hole with a par, as Lewis carded a bogey when her par putt came up a couple inches off.

In the crucible, Ko betrayed little anxiety. Walking to 18, the last hole before the playoff, Ko high-fived fans, and gave a golf ball away.

In 2012, at 15, Ko made history here as an amateur, the youngest-ever winner of a LPGA event. Lewis, that year, was Ko's playing partner on the final day, Ko pulling away, and Lewis fading. Ko won in 2013 in Edmonton, again as an amateur, and forwent $300,000 each time. This year, she collects $337,500.

But for Henderson, the final round was a vast improvement. She had one birdie on the front nine and four on the back, capped with two on the final two holes. Coming up the 18th fairway, dressed in black, there was a lightness to her step and an air of relaxed relief she hadn't had earlier in the tournament. She chatted and smiled with her playing partner. Henderson landed her iron near the hole and strolled to the green buoyed by a steady drumbeat of applause from the several hundred fans lining the last stretch and in the stands.

She banged down her last putt, about eight feet, with a particular emphasis, the ball dead centre and smacking the back of the cup.

"I really wanted to make it," Henderson said. "One, to make my score a little bit better, and to please the crowd around me too. I hit it pretty firm … a little firmer than maybe I should have." She laughed, and added of the back of the cup: "Hopefully it's not too big of a dent."

She declared the week to be a 100-per-cent success, one made happier with a solid Sunday and one underscored by off-court lessons, such as how to deal with a torrent of attention. That will be standard for her whenever she plays in Canada, if her ascent in golf continues. Henderson has, in the previous three years, struggled at the Canadian Women's Open, missing the cut at the age of 14 in Vancouver, missing the cut at 15 in Edmonton and last year in London, Ont., finishing tied for 46th at two over.

"I've gotten more and more used to it," Henderson said of the attention. "The more years I come up here, the better I will be with the attention. Hopefully, next year in 2016 in Calgary, I'll just be a pro by then."

Henderson was booked to fly to Alabama on Monday morning, for the LPGA event near Montgomery, and then has a week back home in Ontario, time with friends and at the family cottage to "just chill out," she said. Afterward, she goes back to work: On her 18th birthday, Sept. 10, she tees off in the first round of the last major of the year, the Evian Championship in France. Henderson tied for fifth at the past two majors, in June and July.