Brooke Henderson celebrates historic win with Mexican food and a drive to Portland, Oregon

SAMMAMISH, Wash. — The celebration for Brooke Henderson, who pulled off what is probably the second biggest victory in Canadian golf history on Sunday, was dinner at a Mexican chain restaurant followed by a 240-kilometre drive to Portland, OR.

The 18-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the second major of the LPGA season, at Sahalee Country Club on Sunday, impressively pulling off clutch shot after clutch shot while shooting a final-round 65 and knocking off the world’s No. 1, Lydia Ko, on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.

Henderson was off to Portland after the great celebration which included hoots of “Go Canada!” and the country's latest golfing hero hefting the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship trophy Stanley Cup style over her head.

She was off to Portland for the media day for the Cambia Portland Classic where she is the defending champion. That win was a runaway last August.

Sunday’s victory, the first major by a Canadian woman since Sandra Post did it at this event in 1968 - and only the third major by a Canadian golfer, period - was a close and dramatic as sporting theatre gets.

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Two of the best moments: as they prepared for the playoff, which would start on the 18th hole and continue on the 14th, 17th and 18th holes if necessary, there were two carts parked on the fairway side of the 18th green.

The carts were loaded up with Henderson and her caddie, sister Brittany, and Ko and her caddie, respectively. The carts then headed off back down the fairway in the direction of the 18th tee. The fairway was lined with both the towering Douglas firs, red cedar and hemlocks trees and thousands of cheering fans who yelled their encouragement as the carts passed by them.

The wave moved along with the players, the cheers growing as they made their way to the tee.

The cheers echoed in the shadows of the magnificent trees and the anticipation of what was to unfold, two talented young women, Ko, 19, and Henderson, 18, playing for a major, made for a wonderful scene.

Henderson’s victory was set up by a magnificent drive, carving in her typical draw, clearing the hill on the uphill 412-yard par-4 and hugging the left side of the fairway. It gave her the best angle into the flag 158 yards away. She pounded it 20 yards past Ko’s tee shot.

Henderson was aggressive with her driver all week on the narrow and intimidating Sahalee layout. That is her nature: she goes for it.

“With this golf course, I needed to hit fairways and the last few weeks I’ve been hitting too much of a draw and missing some fairways, but this week, Sahalee is narrow and I was able to shape it for a couple of holes,” she said in a quiet moment after the media crush. “Some holes I needed a little cut and some holes I needed a draw and I was able to do that.”

That set up the second moment: her 7-iron second shot in the playoff was nails. It launched into the shadows of those big trees and never left the flag. It was set up by the driver which allowed her to be aggressive on the approach. The approach settled inside three feet and when Ko missed from 12 feet for her birdie, Henderson knocked hers in to become the second youngest winner of an LPGA major after Ko.

It’s going to be pretty tough for anybody to ever top Mike Weir’s win at the 2003 Masters as THE moment in Canadian golf history.

But Henderson provided so much drama Sunday: the four sand saves along the way, a 100-foot hole out for eagle on the par-5 11th which pulled her to within a shot of Ko, the 35-foot putt for birdie on the 17th hole that tied her for the lead, rallying for par on the 18th hole in regulation after driving into the trees and that 7-iron on the first playoff hole … take your pick.

Magnificent stuff.