AURORA, Ont. — Brooke Henderson couldn’t provide fans with the fairytale ending they wanted on Sunday as her three-under 69 finish wasn’t enough to chase down Jin Young Ko and defend her CP Women’s Open Golf Tournament title.
The world’s number one golfer provided no slack by finishing the final round bogey-free, good for 26-under, five strokes ahead of second place Nicole Broch Larsen.
Ko executed her rescue shots to perfection getting herself out of trouble every time it seemed like a window of opportunity was opening, none more dramatic than the ninth.
“Number nine I hit – par-5 – the 3-wood second shot but the ball goes to the right,” she said. “So it was bad luck, like kick left to right, goes to the hazard, so I did an unplayable.
“Then I hit the fourth shot 63 metres from the rough, but I got par. It was a huge par I think.”
The par save helped keep her bogey-free for the entire tourney and extended a streak she started from the third round of the AIG Women’s British Open to 106 holes.
She’s the only golfer ever to achieve the feat at the CP Women’s Open and the first to do it in the LPGA since Inbee Park in 2015.
That hole was the turning point of the round as Ko took a two-shot lead on the very next hole and never relinquished it.
Two-shot swing!
Jin Young Ko makes birdie, Broch Larsen makes bogey on 10.
Ko -21
Broch Larsen -19
Henderson -18
Salas -18@cpwomensopen @GolfChannel pic.twitter.com/Oy3WXINYO0
— LPGA (@LPGA) August 25, 2019
“I think that saved her whole day, to be honest,” said Henderson. “At that point you kind of knew things were going her way, and then she made two birdies back to back, 10 and 11.
“She was kind of off to the races then.”
The Canadian had her chances to jump ahead early as she was closest to the pin regularly on the front. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to repeat her hot putting performance from Saturday.
“I was hitting it really well,” she said. “I had close birdie looks and was rubbing edges the first six holes.
“I was kind of waiting for it to turn my way like it kind of did yesterday; just didn’t really happen.”
The 21-year-old essentially played a mistake-free round but couldn’t capitalize on her opportunities; Ko was simply too consistent.
That winning putt. She’s had four of them in 2019!
Congratulations to Jin Young Ko on her win @cpwomensopen! pic.twitter.com/P8CnzjLGp4
— LPGA (@LPGA) August 25, 2019
The Korean has now won four tournaments this season and distances herself from the pack as the number one golfer in the CME Globe points rankings.
Broch Larsen ended the day 21-under and alone in second place. This was the best result of her professional career, surpassing a T3 she earned in 2017 at the same event in Ottawa.
While Henderson failed to defend her title, the 19-under T3 finish gives her nine Top 10s this season.